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The Czechoslovakian army never got to fight as a unified force, after the country was forced to accept the Munich Agreement of 1938, and then full German occupation soon afterwards. However enough Czechoslovakian troops escaped to allow them to fight for both the Western Allies and the Soviets. Back in Czechoslovakia a small force served under the Germans, and we also look at the resistance forces.
We start with a brief overview of the inter-war Czechoslovak Army, from the formation of the country at the end of the First World War to 1938. This shows that the country had a modern army, with 22 infantry divisions, four Mobile Divisions, armoured car squadrons and a tank brigade. We get a detailed breakdown of this inter-war army, showing how it was expanding in the late 1930s. The Uniform and Insignia chapter looks at this version of the army.
The section on the Fall of Czechoslovakia looks at how the country was abandoned by her western Allies in 1938 and forced to accept German demands, before being occupied in March 1939. This section also covers the brief battles fought by parts of the Czechoslovak armies against their other neighbours as they seized the areas granted them by the Germans.
We then move on to the Czechoslovak armies that fought in exile. This started in France, where a mix of French resident Czechoslovaks and exiles formed a 11,405 strong infantry division, which fought during the battles of 1940. One third of this force managed to reach Sete in the Mediterranean, from where they were evacuated to Liverpool.
A longer commitment came with the British Army in the Middle East, where we once again see a force coming together from a variety of sources. This included 206 volunteers who were in Beirut when the French surrendered, and who were allowed to move to British controlled Palestine. They were joined by about 1,000 men coming from the Soviet Union. Other sources brought the Czechoslovak force in British service up to nearly 3,500 strong, with another 1,250 in the RAF. The Czechoslovak contribution to the British war effort was wide spread, with troops fighting in North Africa, Syria, the Far East and in North-Western Europe in 1944-45. This last contingent included many of the men who had escaped from France in 1940, and then spent years training in Britain waiting for D-Day.
Perhaps the most significant contribution was made by Czechoslovak airmen, who formed three fighter squadrons and a bomber squadron in the RAF, and provided one of the most successful pilots of the Battle of Britain in Sgt Josef Frantisek of No.303 Squadron.
Numerically the largest force fought under the Soviets, expanding massively from its formation with only 100 men in the immediate aftermath of the German invasion, to became the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in 1944 (although this wasn’t actually much larger than the French Division of 1940). This corps managed to take part in some of the final battles of the war in Czechoslovakia.
On the Home Front we see the common fate of the occupied countries of Europe, with some men joining German organised forces, and others the Resistance. However in this case it is clear that the ‘Government Army’ wasn’t a success, starting with only 7,000 men in 1939, and ending as a labour brigade in northern Italy (where they mutinied, joined the Americans, and also ended up fighting in Prague in the spring of 1945!).
A brief look at the main resistance organisations shows that one of them came largely from the former army. We then move onto Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, who served as Acting Governor of Bohemia-Moravia from September 1941.
We finish with a brief look at the Battle of Prague of May 1945, which saw many aspects of the Czechoslovak armed forces come back together, including troops fighting under the Soviets, the mutineers from Italy and the home based resistance. This battle was still in progress when the German armistice came into effect.
This is a useful overview of both the pre-war Czechoslovak army, and its very varied fates, with men fighting under British, French and Soviet command as well as with the home based Resistance.
Chapters
Introduction
Prelude, 1933-38
Uniforms and Insignia
The Fall of Czechoslovakia, 1938-39
With the Western Allies, 1939-45
With the Red Army, 1941-45
The Home Front, 1939-45
Author: Nigel Thomas
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 48
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2024