BAHNA is a regular no-fee public presentation of the

Army of the Czech Republic 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 ...

in military training ground ''Zadní Bahna'' near

Strašice Strašice is a municipality and village in Rokycany District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,500 inhabitants. Strašice lies approximately east of Rokycany, east of Plzeň, and south-west of Prague. History The fi ...

Plzeň Region Plzeň Region ( cs, Plzeňský kraj; german: Pilsner Region) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') in the western part of Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is named after its capital Plzeň ( English, german: Pilsen). In terms of area, Plzeň ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

. Its purpose is to promote the armed forces, to show military technology and to remember the military traditions and historical operations. The name is uppercased to distinguish the event from the location. Starting in 1990 the event was organized by a military history club in

Volduchy Volduchy is a municipality and village in Rokycany District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. Volduchy lies approximately north-east of Rokycany, east of Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilse ...

as a competition between historical vehicles in an extremely rough terrain (in

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, ...

''bahno'', plural ''bahna'' means ''the silt''). The popularity of the event gradually grew up among both the public and the professional soldiers. Since 1994 BAHNA is the official ''Land Forces Day'' (''Den pozemního vojska'') of the Czech army. As of 2006 BAHNA has one day to present up-to-date military equipment, professional skills and readiness of Land Forces soldiers, including members of the Active Reserve. Military history clubs engage in

historical reenactment Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspect ...

s related to Czech military history (usually from

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

WWII 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

era). BAHNA's typically have several hundredths participants including some soldiers from the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

countries. In recent years, about 50,000 visitors attended the event.

External links

*
BAHNA at the website of Czech Army
(some texts in English)
Photo galleries of BAHNA 2006Photo galleries of BAHNA 2006

Schematic map of the training area
(descriptions in Czech)
http://www.klub-vm.eu
{{Authority control Military of the Czech Republic Reenactment of the late modern period