The creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 was the culmination of the long struggle of the Czechs against their Austrian rulers and of the Slovaks against their Hungarian rulers. At the outbreak of World War I, the Czechs and Slovaks showed little enthusiasm for fighting for their respective enemies, the Germans and the Hungarians, against fellow Slavs, the Russians and the Serbs. In 1916, together with Edvard Beneš and MIlan Rastislav Štefánik, Masaryk created the Czechoslovak National Council. In early October 1918, Germany and Austria proposed peace negotiations. On October 28, the National Committee issued a declaration of Czechoslovak independence. and Ivan Šedivý.