The General Moravec's 601st Special Forces Group or 601 SFG (' or ''601. SkSS'') is a

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit of the

Czech Armed Forces The Czech Armed Forces (), also known as the Czech Army, are the military responsible for the defence of the Czech Republic as the main part of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic (). The Czech Armed Forces led by the General Staff consis ...

. It was officially created in 2003, the product of reorganizations in the Military of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in that year. However, it has roots that go back as far as 1952 when it was a

paratroop A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

brigade.

History

The 601 SFG finds its roots in a paratroop brigade created in 1952. This unit was based in

Prešov Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, but in 1960 it was relocated to

Prostějov Prostějov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is historically known for its fashion industry. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zo ...

and the unit joined the 22nd Paratroop Brigade, which was based in Prostějov. Until 1969 the members of the units were trained according to

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

military doctrine Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. A military doctrine outlines what military means should be used, how forces should be structured, where forces shou ...

, training mass parachute operations, defending points of military interest until the arrival of main ground forces. From 1970 to 1988, the unit began to focus on the training of small

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

groups, which were to be inserted to the rear of an enemy to carry out diversionary and reconnaissance missions.

Military operations and deployments

Members of the 601st Special Forces Group participate or participated in many

military operation A military operation (op) is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operati ...

s: *Saudi Arabia (1990) *former Yugoslavia **

UNPROFOR The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR; also known by its French acronym FORPRONU: ''Force de Protection des Nations Unies'') was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and ...

(1992—1995) **

IFOR The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background In ...

(1996) **

SFOR The Stabilisation Force (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian War. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It was replaced by EUFOR Alt ...

(from 1996—2001) **SFOR (2004) **

KFOR KFOR may refer to: * KFOR (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, * KFOR-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/27 digital) licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, * KFOR-TV (Nebraska), a defun ...

(from 1999—2006) *Albania — AFOR (1999) *Afghanistan **

ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

(2002) **

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

(2004) *Iraq **

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

1991 **

(2003) ** MNF (I) (2004) *Kuwait — EF (2002, 2003) 6th Special Forces Company was the first Czech military unit which operated in Kosovo in 1999. It laid foundations for activities of other Czech military units in this territory. So far, the most important operation the 601 SFG has taken part in was Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2004. This was the first combat operation of the Czech Armed Forces since World War II. More than 100 people participated for six months and, without break, fulfilled their tasks in arduous climatic conditions. Participation in this operation was highly praised by the highest state officials as well as the

Army of the Czech Republic The Czech Armed Forces (), also known as the Czech Army, are the military responsible for the defence of the Czech Republic as the main part of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic (). The Czech Armed Forces led by the Staff (military), Gen ...

and

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

coalition partners. In 1999, this group received the honorary historical name of '' General Moravec'' after the leader of Czechoslovak intelligence before and during World War Two.

References

Notes

Sources

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External links