Marie Ljalková-Lastovecká (3 December 1920 – 7 November 2011) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

sniper and member of the

Czech Army The Army of the Czech Republic ( cs, Armáda České republiky, AČR), also known as the Czech Army, is the military service responsible for the defence of the Czech Republic in compliance with international obligations and treaties on collecti ...

who fought in exile in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Personal life

Ljalková (born Petrušáková) was born in

Horodenka Horodenka ( uk, Городе́нка, pl, Horodenka, occasionally ''Horodence'', yi, האראדענקע ''Horodenke'') is a city located in Kolomyia Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, in Western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Horodenka u ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

(today in Ukraine) to a family of

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

n Czechs. She lost her parents at the age of 12 and then lived with her aunt in Stanisławów (today Ivano-Frankivs'k, Ukraine) where she met her first husband, Michal Ljalko. After the World War she remarried twice.

World War II

After the German attack on the Soviet Union, Ljalková together with her husband joined the

First Czechoslovak Independent Field Battalion First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

as a volunteer in March 1942, aged 21. She then underwent a

medic A medic is a person involved in medicine such as a medical doctor, medical student, paramedic or an emergency medical responder. Among physicians in the UK, the term "medic" indicates someone who has followed a "medical" career path in postgra ...

al course and three-month sniper course in Buzuluk. Her first combat experience came during the three-day Battle of Sokolovo (8–11 March 1943) when she was credited with killing seven

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

soldiers, earning her immediate ''ace status''. Her performance was even noticed by Nazi anti-Czechoslovak propaganda in the occupied Czech lands (in order to stress the outlandish character of the Czechoslovak military unit.). Ljalková later became a sniper instructor of the Czechoslovak and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

infantry. After the women were withdrawn from combat units in 1944, she became a head medic of the Czechoslovak

tank battalion is a multi-directional shooter arcade video game that was released by Namco in 1980. The only direct home conversion is for the MSX, and in 1985 a similar game release is ''Battle City'' for the Family Computer. ''Tank Battalion'' received a ...

Awards

She was credited with at least 30 confirmed kills during the war. This number is not exact according to Ljalková's own words, because the real numbers are not known. She was awarded the Soviet Order of the Red Star and the Czechoslovak War Cross.

Post World War II

After the war, she studied medicine and worked as a military doctor in

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...

and at the Central Military Hospital in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. She later moved to Brno hospital where she met her second husband, Václav Lastovecký. She eventually attained the rank of colonel, but due to health problems she left the army and started to work as a tour guide for Russian-speaking tourists. She spent the rest of her life in Brno. On 28 October 2010, she received the Order of the White Lion, Second Class, the Czech Republic's second highest military honour.

References

Sources

* Láník, Jaroslav - ''Vojenské osobnosti československého odboje 1939-1945'' (2005) * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ljalkova, Marie 1920 births People from Horodenka Military personnel from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Czech military doctors Czech people of World War II Women in World War II Women in the Russian and Soviet military Czechoslovak military personnel of World War II Grand Officers of the Order of the White Lion Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross 2011 deaths Polish emigrants to Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak Army officers