The Czech and Slovak Legion, also known as the Czechoslovak Legion, was a military unit formed in the
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
after
Germany occupied Czechoslovakia in March 1939. The unit took symbolic part in the defence of Poland during the
German invasion on 1 September 1939.
Background
After the
Munich agreement
The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
and subsequent occupation of the
Czech lands
The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands (, ) is a historical-geographical term which denotes the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia out of which Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic and Slovakia, were formed. ...
, the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was created as the quasi-
autonomous territory controlled by Nazi Germany and surrounded mostly by countries well-disposed towards the
Nazi regime
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
. Those who were directly endangered by Nazis from political or racial reasons and those who wanted to fight for the recovery of Czechoslovak independence had to choose between the illegal route to
emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
either via
Slovak state
Slovak may refer to:
* Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'')
* Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group
* Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages
* Slovak, Arkan ...
and
Hungarian kingdom (both considered as the client states of Germany) or via Poland.
Poland, although taking part in the
Partition of Czechoslovakia in 1938, was considered as the next target of the Nazi expansion and the most possible theater of war with Nazi Germany and was therefore the sought-after country especially for the members of military resistance who hoped in the creation of Czechoslovak armed forces similar to the
Czechoslovak legions in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
For the Czechoslovak resistance movement abroad were the key-elements those of the ex-Czechoslovak embassies whose ambassadors and other staff did not accept the occupation of their country and refused to hand over the building to the hands of German diplomats. In the case of Poland, it was the embassy in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
and the consulate in
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
where thousands of Czechoslovak civilians as well as military personnel were seeking shelter.
From the military group to the legion
Czechoslovak emigrants in Poland were roughly separated into three groups:
political refugees,
Jewish refugees
This article lists expulsions, refugee crises and other forms of displacement that have affected Jews.
Timeline
The following is a list of Jewish expulsions and events that prompted significant streams of Jewish refugees.
Assyrian captivity
...
and military personnel, the latter being the only group who wanted to stay in Poland and wait for war.
Lev Prchala, Czechoslovak general and former member of the
autonomous government of Carpathian Ukraine, negotiated with his friends from the Polish military. However, the Polish government was reluctant to allow any military organization of Czechoslovak emigrants, so the majority, about 4,000 Czechs and Slovaks, left the Poland in six transports between 22 May and 21 August 1939 to join the
French Foreign Legion. About 1,000 men stayed in Poland either by their own decision or because they arrived in Poland in late summer.
The future Legion had a strength of about 700 infantry soldiers under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Ludvík Svoboda and in early July it moved from Kraków to an empty military camp in
Bronowice Małe. About 200 flying personnel were instead assigned to a ''Czechoslovak Reconnaissance Squadron''. The Legion was however not fully formed by the time of
German invasion of Poland (on 1 September) and it was only on 3 September 1939 when Polish president
Ignacy Mościcki officially created the "Legion Czechów i Słowaków" — it was the first organisation of Czechoslovak resistance abroad, which was officially recognized by any allied government. General Prchala was named the commander of the Legion with Lieutenant-Colonel Svoboda as the deputy commander.
With the exception of Czechoslovak airmen, the Czechoslovak soldiers were not directly involved in the fighting in Poland. The official recognition came too late and the members of the Legion got only a handful of weapons (several machineguns for
counter-air defence), neither did they have
uniform
A uniform is a variety of costume worn by members of an organization while usually participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency serv ...
s. The Reconnaissance Squadron was involved in the fight in the air alongside the
Polish Air Force
The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...
, although primarily in the reconnaissance role, as the aircraft they received from Poland (
Potez XXV,
RWD-8 and
PWS-26
The PWS-26 was a Polish advanced training aircraft, used from 1937 in aviation, 1937 to 1939 in aviation, 1939 by the Polish Air Force, constructed in the PWS (aircraft manufacturer), PWS (''Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów'' - Podlasie Aircraft Fac ...
), were mostly obsolete in air combat. On 2 September, during the German bombing of the Polish airfield in
Dęblin
Dęblin is a town at the Confluence (geography), confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with adjacent towns of Ryki and Puławy, which together have over 100,000 inhabitan ...
three airmen, 1st Lt. Štěpán Kurka, Lt. Zdeněk Rous and Lt. Andrej Šandor, were killed and became the first Czechoslovak servicemen fallen in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
The infantry Legion was evacuated from Bronowice to the east on 12 September. The Czechoslovak transport was several times attacked by German planes. The first fallen member of Czechoslovak infantry, Sgt. Vítězslav Grünbaum, was killed on 15 September when leading the anti-aircraft fire in the train station of Hłuboczek Wielki near
Tarnopol
Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret (river), Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia (Central Europe ...
.
Most of the Legion under the command of Lt Col. Svoboda was eventually interned by the
invading Soviets on 19 September. Others, particularly Gen. Prchala and his suite, managed to cross the Polish-Romanian border and were interned in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, as did also the Czechoslovak airmen who were ordered to withdraw with the remaining aircraft to Romania on 22 September.
Aftermath and significance
Although Poland did not become a theater of a successful fight for the restoration of Czechoslovakia and the official existence of the Czechoslovak Legion was only short-lived, its impact on the morale of the emerging
Czechoslovak resistance in exile and its international recognition was huge. The recognition from the French government came shortly thereafter and the Czechoslovak Army in France was officially created on 2 October 1939, though the
Western front saw
no action for months.
The core of the army in France consisted mainly of the exiled soldiers who passed the refugees centre in Kraków or the camp in Bronowice.
After the Czechoslovak leaders in exile reached an agreement with the Soviet government in January 1941, most of the Czechoslovak soldiers were released from Soviet internment and joined the
Czechoslovak units in
Middle East and Africa. Their commander Lt Col.
Ludvík Svoboda became member of the Czechoslovak Military Mission in USSR and after the
German invasion he was commander of the 1st Czechoslovak Independent Field Battalion in USSR and later on the commander of the
Czechoslovak Army Corps. On the other side, general Lev Prchala, who shortly became commander of Czechoslovak forces in Poland and successfully escaped to France via Romania, was blamed by fellow officers for abandoning his troops, got isolated, and later he became a leader of the opposition against Czechoslovak government-in-exile led by
Eduard Beneš. Other notable members of the Legion include
Richard Tesařík and
Otakar Jaroš who later received the highest Soviet decoration (
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...
), or the aces of the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
such as
Josef František.
Citations
Notes
References
Further reading
*
* ''Legion czechosłowacki w Polsce'', Śląski Instytut Naukowy, Katowice 1989
*
*
External links
1939 - Legion Czechosłowacki
{{Authority control
Expatriate units and formations of Czechoslovakia
*1939
Military units and formations of Poland in World War II
Military units and formations of Czechoslovakia in World War II
Invasion of Poland
Military units and formations established in 1939
Czechoslovakia–Poland relations