Policy of the occupiers in the protectorate: Formally, the Czech government remained in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, but in practice it was the main imperial Reichsprtector. Instead of the previously existing two parties - National Unity and the National Labor Party, one was created - National Solidarity. The media is promoting the futility of resistance. The occupiers transferred the economy to a military footing, and the entire industry worked for the needs of Germany. Herm subjugated the financial system, obligatory supplies of food and raw materials were imposed on agriculture. Aryanization Law - confiscation of Jewish property and sending them to concentration camps. From October 1941, the sending of Czechs to concentration camps began (the famous Terezin camp).
Resistance movement: The efforts of the occupiers encountered opposition from patriotic youth, intellectuals, and social activists; they supported optimism and polemicized against propaganda. Political character took place in a manifestation on National Independence Day, October 28, 1939. During the attack, medical student Jan Opletal was wounded. He soon died and his funeral turned into a new manifestation. Repression followed on November 17. All higher education institutions were closed. This date after the war is celebrated as International Student Solidarity Day. By the summer of 1939, the first underground resistance groups had formed. For example, the “Political Center” - there were members from all parties, the edge of the communists - the organization is not very massive, but influential - there are connections with the London Benes emigration center (since 1940). “Defense of the Nation” is an organization of former military personnel. “Petition Committee - we will remain faithful!” - creative intelligence social-democracy orientation. Spring 1940 - a focal point for the Resistance movement emerged. But the communist underground retained organizational independence. In addition to the London emigration center, a communist center arose in Moscow, headed by Gottwald. The London emigrant government entered the anti-Hitler coalition. On July 18, 1941, Benes concluded a Czechoslovak-Soviet agreement on mutual assistance and the fight against Germany. The significance is that the Soviet side recognized the Czechoslovak Committee in London as the government of sovereign Czechoslovakia and a partner in the anti-Hitman coalition. The response to the intensification of the underground was Nazi terror. In September, Heydrich took over the post of tector, and under him there was an active fight against the underground. On May 27, 1942, the London Center organized a successful assassination attempt on Heydrich. After this, there was even more terror, arrests, the liquidation of all formed centers, the second in a row from the beginning of the occupation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was destroyed, but soon the communists created a third, but connections with Moscow were restored only in 1943. Since 1942, the formation of Czechoslovak military units began in the USSR, they accepted participation in the battles for Kyiv, etc., then they turned into an army corps. With the growing authority of the USSR, Benes recognized the Moscow center of the Resistance movement as an equal partner. On December 12, 1943, in Moscow, Benes and Stalin signed an agreement on friendship and post-war cooperation. Negotiations between the leaders of the centers: the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia demanded strengthening of armed methods of struggle, the National Benes refused to recognize the Slovaks as a distinctive nation. The Communist Party of Human Rights managed to insist on supplementing the pre-war system of power with new bodies - national committees. We outlined a program for the renewal of the country on a people's democratic basis. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia refused the offer to join the emigrant government of Benes, so two centers remained, although a line was outlined towards the creation of a united anti-fascist front.
Slovakia: In Slovakia, after the declaration of independence, the Tiso regime was formed. The country was led by supporters of the fascistization of the society. According to the Constitution of 1939, the state was called the Slovak Republic, they created an army, police, and state apparatus - all this at first in euphoria from independence. Slovakia is the only newly created state in Europe that was used by Hitler for propaganda purposes. Slovakia achieved limited international recognition, including from the USSR in 1939-41. As fascisation progressed, liberal and leftist opposition to the regime intensified. During 1939-1943, 4 Central Committees of the Communist Party of Slovakia were destroyed, the fifth managed to establish contact with the Moscow leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The communists began to advocate for a free Slovakia as part of liberated Czechoslovakia. The course to prepare the national democratic revolution. As the crisis of the Tiso regime grew, anti-fascist sentiments in the Slovak army intensified. By the end of 1943, the Slovak National Council (SNC) was formed as a single center of resistance. This was the result of negotiations between anti-fascist forces and their conclusion on December 25, 1943 of the so-called Christmas agreement. The SNS advocated the renewal of the republic on new principles, for the equality of Czechs and Slovaks. Outside the framework of the SNA, the Shrobar group, oriented towards Benes, operated. Spring 1944 - agreement between the SNA and the military, who recognized the terms of the birth agreement. A serious force is the anti-fascist military. By the summer of 1944, partisan activity increased, and the regime could not cope with them. On August 29, German troops crossed the Slovak border, which served as a signal for an armed uprising. Banska Bystrica became the center. The rebel radio station started operating, the overthrow of the ruling Tiso regime was announced in the territory of Zvolen-Banska Bistrica-Brezno and a people's democratic republic was proclaimed. The uprising was the beginning of the national democratic revolution in Czechoslovakia. A new Slovak government corps of commissioners was created. The government in London recognized the SNA as the supreme authority in Slovakia. Help from the Soviet side. The General Staff was created partisan movement. On September 8, 1944, in support of the Red Army, the Carpathian-Dukel operation was launched, but it dragged on, it was not possible to involve military personnel from Eastern Slovakia, and there was no clear coordination of actions. On October 27, 1944, the center of the uprising, Banska Bystrica, fell. Everything was disbanded, some fled to the mountains. Suppression - Nazi terror. The uprising takes a place in the anti-fascist struggle. Together with the Red Army, Czechs and Slovaks fought in the north-east of Slovakia, on April 4, 1944 Bratislava was liberated, and by the end of April almost all of Slovakia.
Formation of the National Front of Czechs and Slovaks and the liberation of the country: In March 1945, negotiations between representatives of the London emigration, the Moscow Center (CHR) and the SNS on the composition of the Czechoslovak government and the program of action. The basis is the platform of the HRC. Six parties took part; these forces soon created the National Front of Czechs and Slovaks. Benes accepted the results. Kosice program (promulgated in Kosice). The government that moved there was formed on a parity basis - 4 people from each party. Prime Soc-Dem Fierlinger. The program recognized the identity of the Slovak nation and its equality with the Czechs. Czechoslovakia was proclaimed a state of two equal peoples. There are different forces in the United National Front. The end of the war was preceded by the strengthening of the resistance movement in Czech lands. May 5th uprising in Prague. The National Committee took over, barricades appeared, and Soviet units came to the aid of the rebels. The rebels have unequal heavy forces, aid is delayed. On May 8, the rebels signed an armistice agreement, according to which the Germans received the right to retreat unhindered, having surrendered all heavy weapons. But they did not carry out everything; they burned and killed the population. On May 9, Soviet help arrived, very opportunely, before they had time to defeat Prague.
29) Poland in the years 2 WW. 1 Sep. 1939 Germany attacked Poland...Sept. 3. English and Franz. declared war on Ger. At Ger. Huge superiority in manpower and technology. Germany struck from Pomerania, East. Prussia, Silesia, Czech Republic and Slovakia. On the 3rd day of the war, the Poles were defeated. 8-27 Sep. - siege of Warsaw. K ser. Sep. It is obvious that Poland lost. In the West " Strange War" 17 Sep. - USSR invasion of Poland under the pretext of protecting the population of the West. Ukraine and Western Belarus. On the night of 17 to 18 September. The country's civilian and military leadership left Poland. Poland's losses were 65 thousand people killed, 240 thousand in captivity. 28 Sep. Soviet-Ger. signed in Moscow. friendship treaty and borders => territory. partition of Poland => Lithuania in the sphere of interests of Moscow. Hitler dismembered Poland à Western, part of the center. and sowing districts are included in Ger. (10 million people) => there is immediately terror against the Poles... The rest of Poland - General - Governorate with the center in Krakow => terror against the Gypsies and Jews. It was hard for the West too. Ukraine and Western Belarus given over to the Soviets has a class approach (deportation - execution of the bourgeoisie, intelligentsia, wealthy peasantry). In total, about 400 thousand Poles were deported. In 1940, 21,857 Polish officers were shot. In total, during 2 MV. Poland lost approx. 6 million people Polish resistance: 30 Sep. A Polish government was created in Paris. in migration. In 1940 he moved to England. Prime Minister and commander of the troops, Gen. V. Sikorsky. Formed Polish army - 84 thousand soldiers. Already in 1939, on the occupier. ter. the Union of Armed Struggle is created (since 1942 - Home Army) => resistance to the Germans... End of Dec. 1941 - dropped into the occupier. zone Polish communists => 5 Jan. In 1942, the Polish Workers' Party (PWP) was formed. Another center of resistance to the fascists was the creation of the Ludova Guard, from the spring of 1944 - the Ludova Army.
Establishment of dual power: During Operation Bagration, the Red Army reached the state border in 1941. July 21 Sov. The army did not enter. Poland. On the same day, the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKNO) was created in Moscow -> a government of leftist forces. PCNO announced the government. in England self-proclaimed and guilty of war... Since 1943, the head of the Polish government in England is S. Mikolajczyk. August 1, 1944 - uprising in Warsaw... but there was no help from the Soviets and the Germans drowned the uprising in blood... January 1945 - offensive of the Red Army in Poland => the entire territory of Poland was liberated. The Soviets lost 600 thousand killed.
Slovakia participated in World War II on the side of Germany, but did not have any serious influence on the course of military operations on the Eastern Front and had rather symbolic significance, supporting international image Germany, as a country that has allies at least in the rank of satellites. In addition, Slovakia had a border with Soviet Union, which in a geopolitical sense was very important
Slovakia began to establish its relations with Germany immediately after the defeat of France and on June 15, 1941 joined the Axis countries by signing a corresponding pact. The country became "the only Catholic state in the area of dominance of National Socialism." Somewhat later, blessing the soldiers for the war with Russia, the papal nuncio stated that he was glad to tell the Holy Father the good news from the exemplary Slovak state, a truly Christian state, which is implementing a national program under the motto: “For God and the Nation!”
The population of the country was then 1.6 million, of which 130,000 were Germans. In addition, Slovakia considered itself responsible for the fate of the Slovak minority in Hungary. The national army consisted of two divisions and numbered 28,000 men.
When preparing to implement the Barbarossa plan, Hitler did not take into account the Slovak army, which he considered unreliable and feared fraternization due to Slavic solidarity. The command of the ground forces did not count on her either, leaving behind only the tasks of maintaining order in the occupied areas. However, a sense of rivalry with Hungary and the hope for a more favorable establishment of borders in the Balkans forced the Slovak Minister of War to declare to the Chief of the German General Staff Halder during his visit to Bratislava on June 19, 1941 that Slovak army ready for combat. The order for the army said that the army did not intend to fight with the Russian people or against the Slavic idea, but with the mortal danger of Bolshevism.
As part of the German 17th Army, an elite brigade of the Slovak army numbering 3,500 people, armed with outdated light Czech tanks, took the battle on June 22, which ended in defeat. A German officer assigned to the brigade noted that the work of the headquarters was below any criticism and he was only afraid of getting injured, since the equipment of the field hospital corresponded to the times of Maria Theresa.
It was decided not to allow the brigade to participate in the battles. Moreover, the level of training of Slovak officers turned out to be so low that it was pointless to form the Slovak army anew. And therefore, the Minister of War, along with the majority of the soldiers, was returned to their homeland two months later. Only the motorized brigade, brought to the size of the division (about 10,000), and the lightly armed security division, consisting of 8,500 people, took part in the fight against the partisans, first near Zhitomir, and then Minsk.
Subsequently, the combat path of the Slovak armed forces closely associated with the actions of this brigade (German: Schnelle Division). During the heavy and prolonged battles on the Mius River, this combat unit, under the command of Major General August Malar, held a ten-kilometer-wide front from Christmas 1941 to July 1942. At the same time, it was protected on the flanks by the Wehrmacht mountain division and Waffen SS units. Then, during the catastrophic Second German offensive for the Soviets in the summer of 1942, this unit in the battle formations of the 4th Tank Army advanced on Rostov, crossed the Kuban and took part in the capture of the oil regions near Maykop.
The attitude of the German command towards the needs of the Slovaks was dismissive and therefore their losses were determined not so much by combat interaction with the enemy, but by poor nutrition and epidemic diseases. In August 1942, this unit occupied defenses near Tuapse, and after the catastrophic defeat at Stalingrad, it was difficult to cross to Kerch, losing its equipment and artillery.
The unit was then reorganized and became known as the First Slovak Infantry Division, which was entrusted with the defense of the 250 km coastline of Crimea.
The division's combat and general rations remained at an extremely low level. Slovakia's relations with its stronger neighbor Hungary remained tense and Slovak President Tiso appealed to Hitler to remind him of Slovakia's participation in the war on the Eastern Front with the hope that this would provide protection against Hungarian claims.
In August 1943, Hitler decided to create strong defensive positions in front of the “Fortress of Crimea”. Part of the division remained on the territory of the peninsula beyond Perekop, and its main structure took up defense at Kakhovka. And he immediately found himself in the direction of the main attack of the Soviet army, suffering a crushing defeat within one day. After this, the remnants of the division went over to the side Soviet Russia, which was prepared by the activities of the communist agents of Czechoslovakia.
Constantly diminished in numbers due to desertion, the remaining 5,000 soldiers under the command of Colonel Karl Peknik carried out guard duty in the interfluve between the Bug and the Dnieper. Hundreds of Slovaks joined partisan detachments, and many soldiers led by officers became part of the First Czechoslovak Brigade of the Red Army. The demoralized remnants of the Slovak army were, at the direction of the German command, sent to Italy, Romania and Hungary, where they were used as construction units.
Nevertheless, the Slovak Army continued to exist and the German command intended to use it to create a defensive line in the Beskids. By August 1944, it became clear to everyone that the war was lost and a movement began in all Balkan countries in favor of finding ways out of the war. Back in July, the National Council of Slovakia began preparing an armed uprising with the participation of a well-armed and trained army corps stationed in Eastern Slovakia, numbering up to 24,000 people. The German troops at that time in the direction of the main attack of Marshal Konev were commanded by Henrici (German: Heinrici). It was assumed that the Slovak soldiers would occupy the peaks of the Beskydy mountain range in his rear and open the way for the approaching units Soviet army. In addition, the 14,000 Slovak soldiers located in the central part of Slovakia were supposed to be used as a center of armed resistance in the Banska Bystrica region. At the same time, the activities of the partisans intensified, which convinced the German command of the inevitability of an uprising in their rear.
On August 27, 1944, mutinous Slovak soldiers killed 22 German officers passing through at one of the train stations, which caused an immediate reaction from the German authorities. At the same time, an uprising was raised in central Slovakia, in which 47,000 people took part. A Waffen-SS unit of 10,000 under the command of Obergruppenführer Berger eliminated the rear danger in a strategically extremely important part of the country.
Nevertheless, the rebels managed to hold the Dukla pass for two months, where heavy fighting took place between the German First Tank Army and Soviet troops. After the war, a monument to 85,000 was erected here Soviet soldiers. During the last battles, General Svoboda distinguished himself, becoming one of the national heroes of post-war Czechoslovakia and its eighth president.
After Czechoslovakia was occupied by German troops and liquidated in March 1939, the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovak Republic were formed. The Slovak Glinka Party (Slovak: Hlinkova slovenská ?udová strana, HS?S) established cooperation with Berlin even before the fall of Czechoslovakia, setting as its goal maximum autonomy for Slovakia or its independence, so it was considered an ally by the German National Socialists.
It should be noted that this clerical-nationalist party has existed since 1906 (until 1925 it was called the Slovak People's Party). The party advocated autonomy for Slovakia, first within Hungary (part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) and then within Czechoslovakia. One of its founders was Andrei Glinka (1864 - 1938), who led the movement until his death. The social base of the party was the clergy, intelligentsia and the “middle class”. By 1923 the party had become the largest in Slovakia. In the 1930s, the party established close ties with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, with Hungarian and German-Sudeten separatists, and the ideas of Italian and Austrian fascism became popular. The number of the organization grew to 36 thousand members (in 1920 the party numbered about 12 thousand people). In October 1938, the party proclaimed the autonomy of Slovakia.
After Glinka's death, Josef Tiso (1887 - executed on April 18, 1947) became the leader of the party. Tiso studied at the Žilina gymnasium, at the seminary in Nitra, then, as a gifted student, he was sent to study at the University of Vienna, from which he graduated in 1910. He served as a priest, and at the outbreak of the First World War he was a military chaplain in the Austro-Hungarian troops. Since 1915, Tiso has been the rector of the Theological Seminary in Nitra and a gymnasium teacher, later a professor of theology and secretary to the bishop. Since 1918, member of the People's Party of Slovakia. In 1924 he became dean and priest in Banovci nad Bebravou, remaining in this position until the end of World War II. Member of Parliament since 1925, 1927-1929. headed the Ministry of Health and Sports. After Slovakia declared autonomy in 1938, he became the head of its government.
In Berlin they convinced Tiso to proclaim the independence of Slovakia in order to destroy Czechoslovakia. On March 9, 1939, Czechoslovak troops, trying to prevent the collapse of the country, entered the territory of Slovakia and removed Tiso from the post of head of the autonomy. On March 13, 1939, Adolf Hitler received Tiso in the German capital and, under his pressure, the leader of the Slovak People's Party declared the independence of Slovakia under the auspices of the Third Reich. Otherwise, Berlin could not guarantee the territorial integrity of Slovakia. And its territory was claimed by Poland and Hungary, which had already captured part of the Slovak land. On March 14, 1939, the legislative branch of Slovakia declared independence; the Czech Republic was soon occupied by the German army, so it could not stop this action. Tiso again became head of government, and on October 26, 1939, president of Slovakia. On March 18, 1939, a German-Slovak treaty was signed in Vienna, according to which the Third Reich took Slovakia under its protection and guaranteed its independence. On July 21, the Constitution of the First Slovak Republic was adopted. The Republic of Slovakia was recognized by 27 countries of the world, including Italy, Spain, Japan, the pro-Japanese governments of China, Switzerland, the Vatican and the Soviet Union.
Prime Minister of Slovakia from October 27, 1939 to September 5, 1944 Vojtech Tuka.
Vojtěch Tuka (1880 - 1946) was appointed head of government and minister of foreign affairs, and Alexander Mach (1902 - 1980), representatives of the radical wing of the Slovak People's Party, as minister of internal affairs. Tuka studied law at the universities of Budapest, Berlin and Paris, becoming the youngest professor in Hungary. He was a professor at the University of Pecs and Bratislava. In the 1920s, he founded the paramilitary nationalist organization Rodobrana (Defense of the Motherland). An example for Tuck was the detachments of Italian fascists. Rodobrana had to protect the shares of the Slovak People's Party from possible attacks from the communists. Tuka also focused on the National Socialist German Workers' Party. In 1927, the Czechoslovak authorities ordered the dissolution of Rodobran. Tuka was arrested in 1929 and sentenced to 15 years in prison (he was pardoned in 1937). After his release from prison, Tuca became general secretary Slovak People's Party. Based on Rodobrana and following the example of the German SS, he began to form units of the “Hlinka Guard” (Slovakian: Hlinkova garda - Glinkova Garda, HG). Its first commander was Karol Sidor (since 1939 Alexander Mach). Officially, the “guard” was supposed to provide basic military training to young people. However, it soon became a real security force that performed police functions and carried out punitive actions against communists, Jews, Czechs and gypsies. Tuka, unlike the more conservative Tis, was more focused on cooperation with Nazi Germany.
Flag of the Glinka Guard.
In 1938, by the decision of the First Vienna Arbitration, the southern part of Carpathian Ruthenia and the southern regions of Slovakia, populated mainly by Hungarians, were torn away from Czechoslovakia and transferred to Hungary. As a result, part of the lands lost after the collapse of Austria-Hungary was returned to Hungary. The total area of the Czechoslovak territories transferred to Hungary was about 12 km. sq., more than 1 million people lived on them. The agreement was signed on November 2, 1938, and the arbiters were the foreign ministers of the Third Reich - I. Ribbentrop and Italy - G. Ciano. Slovakia lost 21% of its territory, a fifth of its industrial potential, up to a third of agricultural land, 27% of power plants, 28% of iron ore deposits, half of its vineyards, more than a third of its pig population, 930 km railway tracks. Eastern Slovakia lost its main city, Kosice. Carpathian Rus' lost two main cities - Uzhgorod and Mukachevo.
This decision did not suit both sides. However, the Slovaks did not protest, fearing a worse scenario (complete loss of autonomy). Hungary wanted to solve the “Slovak issue” radically. There were 22 clashes between November 2, 1938 and January 12, 1939 on the border between Hungary and Slovakia. After Czechoslovakia ceased to exist, Berlin hinted to Budapest that the Hungarians could occupy the remaining part of Carpathian Rus', but other Slovak lands should not be touched. On March 15, 1939, in the Slovak part of Carpathian Rus', the establishment of an independent republic of Carpathian Ukraine was announced, but its territory was captured by the Hungarians.
Hungary concentrated 12 divisions on the border and on the night of March 13-14 the advanced units Hungarian army began a slow advance. Units of the “Carpathian Sich” (a paramilitary organization in Transcarpathia with up to 5 thousand members) were mobilized by order of Prime Minister Augustin Voloshin. However, Czechoslovak troops, on orders from their superiors, tried to disarm the Sich. Armed clashes began and lasted for several hours. Voloshin tried to resolve the conflict politically, but Prague did not respond. On the morning of March 14, 1939, the commander of the Czech Eastern Group Slovak troops General Lev Prhala, believing that the Hungarian invasion was not sanctioned by Germany, ordered resistance. But, soon after consultations with Prague, he gave the order for the withdrawal of Czechoslovak troops and civil servants from the territory of Subcarpathian Ukraine.
In these circumstances, Voloshin declared the independence of Subcarpathian Ukraine and asked Germany to take the new state under its protectorate. Berlin refused support and offered not to resist the Hungarian army. The Rusyns were left alone. In turn, the Hungarian government invited the Rusyns to disarm and join the Hungarian state peacefully. Voloshin refused and announced mobilization. On the evening of March 15, the Hungarian army launched a general offensive. The Carpathian Sich, reinforced by volunteers, tried to organize resistance, but had no chance of success. Despite the complete superiority of the enemy army, the small, poorly armed "Sich" in a number of places organized fierce resistance. So, near the village of Goronda there were a hundred M fighters. Stoyka held the position for 16 hours, fierce battles took place for the cities of Khust and Sevlyush, which changed hands several times. A bloody battle took place on the outskirts of Khust, on the Red Field. On March 16, the Hungarians stormed the capital of Subcarpathian Rus' - Khust. By the evening of March 17 - morning of March 18, the entire territory of Subcarpathian Ukraine was occupied by the Hungarian army. True, for some time the Sich members tried to resist in partisan detachments. The Hungarian army lost, according to various sources, from 240 to 730 killed and wounded. The Rusyns lost about 800 people killed and wounded, and about 750 prisoners. The total losses of the Sich, according to various sources, ranged from 2 to 6.5 thousand people. This was caused by the terror after the occupation, when the Hungarians shot prisoners and “cleared” the territory. In addition, in just two months after the occupation, about 60 thousand residents of Transcarpathian Rus' were deported to work in Hungary.
Slovak-Hungarian War. On March 17, Budapest announced that the border with Slovakia should be revised in favor of Hungary. The Hungarian government has proposed significantly moving the Hungarian-Slovak border from Uzhgorod to the border with Poland. Under direct pressure from the German government, Slovak leaders agreed on March 18 in Bratislava to make a decision to change the border in favor of Hungary and to establish a bilateral commission to clarify the border line. On March 22, the work of the commission was completed and the agreement was approved by Ribbentrop in the German capital.
The Hungarians, without waiting for the treaty to be ratified by the Slovak parliament, launched a major invasion of eastern Slovakia on the night of March 23, planning to advance as far west as possible. The Hungarian army advanced in three main directions: Velikiy Berezny - Ulich - Starina, Maly Berezny - Ublya - Stakchin, Uzhgorod - Tibava - Sobrance. The Slovak troops did not expect an attack by the Hungarian army. Moreover, after the transfer of southeastern Slovakia to the Hungarians in 1938, the only railway that led to eastern Slovakia was cut off by Hungarian territory and ceased to function. Slovak troops in the east of the country could not quickly receive reinforcements. But they managed to create three centers of resistance: near Stakchin, in Michalovce and in the western part of the border. At this time, mobilization was carried out in Slovakia: 20 thousand reservists and more than 27 thousand soldiers of the Glinsky Guard were called up. The arrival of reinforcements to the front line stabilized the situation.
On the morning of March 24, reinforcements with armored vehicles arrived in Mikhailovtsi. The Slovak troops launched a counterattack and were able to overthrow the advanced Hungarian units, but when attacking the main enemy positions, they were stopped and retreated. On the evening of March 24, more reinforcements arrived, including 35 light tanks and 30 other armored vehicles. On March 25, the Slovaks launched a new counterattack and somewhat pushed back the Hungarians. On March 26, Hungary and Slovakia, under pressure from Germany, concluded a truce. On the same day, the Slovak units received new reinforcements, but organizing a counteroffensive made no sense, due to the significant superiority of the Hungarian army in numbers.
As a result of the Slovak-Hungarian War or the “Little War” (Slovak: Mal vojna), the Slovak Republic actually lost the war to Hungary, losing 1,697 km of territory with a population of about 70 thousand people to the latter. This is a narrow strip of land along the conditional line Stachkin - Sobrance. Strategically, Hungary did not achieve success, because it planned a more radical expansion of its territory.
Repartition of Czechoslovakia in 1938-1939. The territory ceded to Hungary as a result of the First Vienna Arbitration is highlighted in red.
Slovakia under German patronage
The Slovak-German treaty concluded on March 18, 1939 also provided for coordination of the actions of the armed forces of both states. Therefore, on September 1, 1939, Slovak troops entered World War II on the side of Nazi Germany, taking part in the defeat of the Polish state. After the defeat of Poland, on November 21, 1939, according to the German-Slovak treaty, the Cieszyn region, seized by the Poles in 1938 from Czechoslovakia, was transferred to the Slovak Republic.
The financial system of Slovakia was subordinated to the interests of the Third Reich. Thus, the German Imperial Bank determined the exchange rate favorable only for Germany: 1 Reichsmark cost 11.62 Slovak crowns. As a result, the Slovak economy was a donor to the German Empire throughout the Second World War. In addition, as in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the German authorities used Slovak labor. The corresponding agreement was concluded on December 8, 1939.
In domestic policy Slovakia gradually followed the course of Nazi Germany. On July 28, 1940, the German leader summoned Slovak President Josef Tiso, head of government Vojtech Tuka and commander of the Glinka Guard Alexander Mach to Salzburg. In the so-called The Salzburg Conference decided to transform the Slovak Republic into a National Socialist state. A few months later, “racial laws” were adopted in Slovakia, the persecution of Jews and the “Aryanization of their property” began. During World War II, approximately three-quarters of Slovakia's Jews were sent to concentration camps.
On November 24, 1940, the republic joined the Tripartite Pact (alliance of Germany, Italy and Japan). In the summer of 1941, Slovak President Josef Tiso proposed to Adolf Hitler that he send Slovak troops to war with the Soviet Union after Germany started a war with him. The Slovak leader wanted to show his irreconcilable position towards communism and the reliability of the allied relations between Slovakia and Germany. This was to maintain the patronage of the German military-political leadership in the event of new territorial claims by Budapest. The Führer showed little interest in this proposal, but ultimately agreed to accept military assistance from Slovakia. On June 23, 1941, Slovakia declared war on the USSR, and on June 26, 1941, Slovakia was sent to the Eastern Front expeditionary force. On December 13, 1941, Slovakia declared war on the United States and England, as its allies under the Berlin Pact entered into war with these powers (Japan attacked the United States on December 7, 1941; Germany and Italy declared war on the United States on December 11).
Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka during the signing of the protocol on Slovakia's accession to the Triple Alliance. November 24, 1940
Slovak troops
The Slovak army was armed with Czechoslovak weapons, which remained in the arsenals of Slovakia. Slovak commanders were the successors to the fighting traditions of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces, so the new armed forces inherited all the basic elements of the Czechoslovak army.
On January 18, 1940, the republic adopted a law on universal military service. By the beginning of World War II, the Slovak army had three infantry divisions, with partially motorized reconnaissance units and horse-drawn artillery units. By the beginning of the Polish Company in Slovakia, the field army "Bernolák" (Slovakian: Slovenská Po?ná Armáda skupina "Bernolák") was formed under the command of General Ferdinand Chatlos, it was part of the German Army Group "South".
The total number of the army reached 50 thousand people, it included:
1st Infantry Division, under the command of General 2nd Rank Anton Pulanich (two infantry regiments, a separate infantry battalion, an artillery regiment and a division);
2nd Infantry Division, initially under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Jan Imro, then General of the 2nd Rank Alexander Chunderlik (infantry regiment, three infantry battalions, artillery regiment, division);
3rd Infantry Division, under the command of Colonel Augustin Malar (two infantry regiments, two infantry battalions, an artillery regiment and a battalion);
Mobile group "Kalinchak", since September 5, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jan Imro (two separate infantry battalions, two artillery regiments, communications battalion "Bernolak", battalion "Topol", armored train "Bernolak").
To be continued…
BO, Samsonov Alexander
Slovakia in the Second World Wargovtsi, Slovakia in the Second World War with
Slovakia participated in World War II on the side of Germany, however, it did not have any serious influence on the course of military operations on the Eastern Front and had rather symbolic significance, supporting the international image of Germany as a country with allies at least in the rank of satellites. In addition, Slovakia had a border with the Soviet Union, which was very important in a geopolitical sense
Slovakia began to establish its relations with Germany immediately after the defeat of France and on June 15, 1941 joined the Axis countries by signing a corresponding pact. The country became "the only Catholic state in the area of dominance of National Socialism." Somewhat later, blessing the soldiers for the war with Russia, the papal nuncio stated that he was glad to tell the Holy Father the good news from the exemplary Slovak state, a truly Christian state, which is implementing a national program under the motto: “For God and the Nation!”
The population of the country was then 1.6 million, of which 130,000 were Germans. In addition, Slovakia considered itself responsible for the fate of the Slovak minority in Hungary. The national army consisted of two divisions and numbered 28,000 men.
When preparing to implement the Barbarossa plan, Hitler did not take into account the Slovak army, which he considered unreliable and feared fraternization due to Slavic solidarity. The command of the ground forces did not count on her either, leaving behind only the tasks of maintaining order in the occupied areas. However, a sense of rivalry with Hungary and the hope for a more favorable establishment of borders in the Balkans forced the Slovak Minister of War to tell the Chief of the German General Staff, Halder, when he visited Bratislava on June 19, 1941, that the Slovak army was ready for combat. The order for the army stated that the army did not intend to fight with the Russian people or against the Slavic idea, but with the mortal danger of Bolshevism.
As part of the German 17th Army, an elite brigade of the Slovak army numbering 3,500 people, armed with outdated light Czech tanks, took the battle on June 22, which ended in defeat. A German officer assigned to the brigade noted that the work of the headquarters was below any criticism and he was only afraid of getting injured, since the equipment of the field hospital corresponded to the times of Maria Theresa.
It was decided not to allow the brigade to participate in the battles. Moreover, the level of training of Slovak officers turned out to be so low that it was pointless to form the Slovak army anew. And therefore, the Minister of War, along with the majority of the soldiers, was returned to their homeland two months later. Only the motorized brigade, brought to the size of the division (about 10,000), and the lightly armed security division, consisting of 8,500 people, took part in the fight against the partisans, first near Zhitomir and then Minsk.
Subsequently, the combat path of the Slovak armed forces is closely connected with the actions of this brigade (German: Schnelle Division). During the heavy and prolonged battles on the Mius River, this combat unit, under the command of Major General August Malar, held a ten-kilometer-wide front from Christmas 1941 to July 1942. At the same time, it was protected from the flanks by the Wehrmacht mountain division and Waffen SS units. Then, during the catastrophic Second German offensive for the Soviets in the summer of 1942, this unit, in the battle formations of the 4th Tank Army, advanced on Rostov, crossed the Kuban and took part in the capture of the oil regions near Maykop.
The attitude of the German command towards the needs of the Slovaks was dismissive and therefore their losses were determined not so much by combat interaction with the enemy, but by poor nutrition and epidemic diseases. In August 1942, this unit occupied defenses near Tuapse, and after the catastrophic defeat at Stalingrad, it was difficult to cross to Kerch, losing its equipment and artillery.
The unit was then reorganized and became known as the First Slovak Infantry Division, which was entrusted with the defense of the 250 km coastline of Crimea.
The division's combat and general rations remained at an extremely low level. Slovakia's relations with its stronger neighbor Hungary remained tense and Slovak President Tiso appealed to Hitler to remind him of Slovakia's participation in the war on the Eastern Front with the hope that this would provide protection against Hungarian claims.
In August 1943, Hitler decided to create strong defensive positions in front of the “Fortress of Crimea”. Part of the division remained on the territory of the peninsula beyond Perekop, and its main structure took up defense at Kakhovka. And he immediately found himself in the direction of the main attack of the Soviet army, suffering a crushing defeat within one day. After this, the remnants of the division went over to the side of Soviet Russia, which was prepared by the activities of the communist agents of Czechoslovakia.
Constantly decreasing in numbers due to desertion, the remaining 5,000 soldiers under the command of Colonel Karl Peknik carried out guard duty in the area between the Bug and the Dnieper. Hundreds of Slovaks joined the partisan detachments, and many soldiers, led by officers, became part of the First Czechoslovak Brigade of the Red Army. The demoralized remnants of the Slovak army were, at the direction of the German command, sent to Italy, Romania and Hungary, where they were used as construction units.
Nevertheless, the Slovak Army continued to exist and the German command intended to use it to create a defensive line in the Beskids. By August 1944, it became clear to everyone that the war was lost and a movement began in all Balkan countries in favor of finding ways out of the war. Back in July, the National Council of Slovakia began preparing an armed uprising with the participation of a well-armed and trained army corps stationed in Eastern Slovakia, numbering up to 24,000 people. The German troops at that time in the direction of the main attack of Marshal Konev were commanded by Henrici (German: Heinrici). It was assumed that the Slovak soldiers would occupy the peaks of the Beskid mountain range in his rear and open the way for the approaching units of the Soviet Army. In addition, the 14,000 Slovak soldiers located in the central part of Slovakia were supposed to be used as a center of armed resistance in the Banska Bystrica region. At the same time, the activities of the partisans intensified, which convinced the German command of the inevitability of an uprising in their rear.
On August 27, 1944, mutinous Slovak soldiers killed 22 German officers passing through at one of the train stations, which caused an immediate reaction from the German authorities. At the same time, an uprising was raised in central Slovakia, in which 47,000 people took part. A Waffen-SS unit of 10,000 under the command of Obergruppenführer Berger eliminated the rear danger in a strategically extremely important part of the country.
Monument to the battles on Dukla
Nevertheless, the rebels managed to hold the Dukla pass for two months, where heavy fighting took place between the German First Tank Army and Soviet troops. After the war, a monument to 85,000 Soviet soldiers was erected here. During the last battles, General Svoboda distinguished himself, becoming one of the national heroes of post-war Czechoslovakia and its eighth president.
The Slovak uprising was finally suppressed by three German divisions brought into action. The decisive operation began on October 18, 1944. The Germans captured Banska Bystrica. Armed detachments of the Carpathian Germans (German Heimatschutzes) also took part in this, which subsequently led to a massacre, the victims of which were 135,000 Volksdeutsche. On the other hand, about 25,000 Slovaks died during the punitive operations of the Germans. About a third of the uprising participants fled to their homes. 40% ended up in German concentration camps. A small part joined the partisans.
This victory of the German army, in a historical sense, became the most recent victory that the Wehrmacht was able to win over the army of another state. At the same time, it brought the First Slovak Republic to its end.
Notes
- Rolf-Dieter Müller An der Seite der Wermacht. Hitlers aualändische Helfer beim "Rreuzzug gegen Bolschewismus" 1941-1945. Ch. Links Verlag. Berlin. 1.Auflage, September 2007 ISBN 978-3-86153-448-8
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Slovakia in World War II Information About
In March 1939, Germany took advantage of the activity of the Slovak separatist movement to dismember Czechoslovakia.
The new state, Slovakia, had no choice but to accept German patronage and become a loyal ally of Germany.
On March 23 - 25, 1939, armed clashes between Slovak troops and Hungarian troops took place, and the city of Spiszka Nova was bombed by Hungarian aircraft. As a result, the Slovaks lost 22 military personnel and 7 civilians. Further developments stopped German intervention.
In Slovakia, they hastened to create an army that received Czechoslovak weapons, which were stored in warehouses on the territory ceded to Slovakia. Slovak officers were graduates of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces, and the new armed forces inherited much of what was inherent in this highly professional army.
The infantry divisions created in Slovakia were traditional “triangular” formations with partially motorized reconnaissance units and horse-drawn artillery.
By the beginning of World War II, the Slovak army consisted of 3 infantry divisions.
The Slovak sector was in the combat zone of Army Group South. Germany's ally fielded the Bernolak army under the command of General Ferdinand Chatlos ( Ferdinand Čatloš).
General Ferdinand Chatlosh
Bernolak included:
1st Infantry Division (2nd Rank General Antonin Pulanich ( Antonin Pulanich) - 2 infantry regiments and 1 separate infantry battalion, 1 artillery regiment and 1 division.
2nd Infantry Division (until September 5 - Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Imro ( Ivan Imro), from September 5 - General of the 2nd rank Alexander Chunderlik ( Alexandr Čunderlik) - 1 infantry regiment, 3 infantry battalions, 1 artillery regiment.
3rd Division (Colonel Augustin Malar ( Augustin Malar) - 2 infantry regiments, 2 infantry battalions, 1 artillery regiment and 1 division. This division was part of the German 18th Mountain Corps.
In addition to the Bernolak army, the Slovak invasion forces included:
Group "Shibka" (command took over on September 5 by Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Imro), 2 artillery regiments, armored train "Bernolak", 1 communications battalion "Bernolak", battalion "Topol", 2 separate infantry battalions
The total number of Slovak troops was 50,000.
During the fighting in the Tatras, the Slovaks lost 18 soldiers killed.
This cooperation helped secure Slovakia's status as a loyal ally of Germany and prevented the state from being absorbed by Hungary. The Slovak government and army command believed that it would be more profitable for them to offer assistance to the Germans in the war against the USSR. Therefore, Slovakia became in fact the first country among Germany's allies.
Slovak soldiers. 1941
Major General Augustin Malar
Stage 1 of the war with the USSRSince July 1941, the Slovak Army Corps (45,000 soldiers and officers) under the command of General Ferdinand Chatlos was part of Army Group South. The corps included the 1st and 2nd infantry divisions. Due to the lack of vehicles, they were used mainly to protect communications. The most effective Slovak military unit was the “mobile brigade” under the command of Major General Augustin Malar, which consisted of separate tank, motorized infantry, engineer battalions and an artillery battalion.
It was covered from the air by 63 aircraft Slovak Air Force.
Slovak troops advanced through Lviv in the direction of Vinnitsa. On July 8, 1941, its units came under the operational command of the German 17th Army. By July 22, they entered Vinnitsa, continuing to advance with heavy fighting through Berdichev and Zhitomir to Kyiv.
In August 1941, it was decided to withdraw the infantry divisions back to Slovakia and form a 10,000-strong mobile division and a 6,000-strong security division.
The mobile division had two small infantry regiments, an artillery regiment with 3 9-gun batteries and 1 reconnaissance battalion (all mechanized units), as well as a tank company armed with 12 Czechoslovak tanks LTvz 35, 38 and 40. The security division also had 2 regiment with 1 horse-drawn artillery regiment, a partially mechanized reconnaissance battalion and an armored car platoon, which was later transferred to the mobile division. These divisions were transferred to the German army, although command remained with the Slovak generals.
In mid-September 1941, a motorized division under the command of General Gustav Malar was advanced to Kyiv. After participating in the assault on the capital of Ukraine, she was transferred to the reserve of Army Group South. The Slovaks took part in the battles near Kremenchug, advancing along the Dnieper. On October 2, the 1st Motorized Division fought as part of the 1st German Tank Army on the territory of right-bank Ukraine. Then she fought fierce battles near Mariupol and Taganrog. Winter 1941-1942 the Slovak division met at the turn of the Mius River.
2nd stage of the war with the USSR
In 1942, the Slovaks proposed sending the 3rd Division to the front to form the Slovak Corps, but this proposal was not accepted.
On the Eastern Front, the Slovak army used mainly weapons from the former Czechoslovak army, although the Germans supplied it individual species mortars, anti-tank, field and anti-aircraft guns. Slovak tactics boiled down to ensuring rapid rotation between the internal army and divisions located in the USSR.
The command even went so far as to release conscripts from service if their term of service expired during the war.
In general, the tactic of maintaining one elite field formation was successful, at least until 1943. The Germans spoke well of the mobile division and constantly used it on the front line.
Slovak paratrooper. Spring 1944
In the winter of 1941/42, the elite mobile division fought in the Mius area, where, as one German officer noted, the Slovaks proved themselves to be “brave soldiers with very good discipline.” The division also took part in the capture of Rostov, fighting side by side with the SS Viking division, then fought in the Kuban as part of the 1st Tank Army, where it launched an offensive on Tuapse.
The division then helped cover the retreat with North Caucasus after the Battle of Stalingrad and found herself surrounded near the village of Saratovskaya near Krasnodar, but managed to escape, abandoning all heavy weapons and equipment. Then the surviving soldiers and officers were evacuated by air to Crimea, where they took part in protecting the Sivash coastline.
All this time, the security division served along the Kyiv-Zhitomir railway.
3rd stage of the war with the USSR
During 1943, the mobile division was transformed into the 1st Infantry Division, it was removed from the front and sent to guard the Black Sea coast. Together with German and Romanian troops, the Slovaks retreated in battle through Kakhovka, Nikolaev and Odessa.
The security division was transferred to Ukrainian Polesie, where it took part in battles with Soviet and Ukrainian partisans.
The morale of the soldiers began to decline sharply, and desertion became widespread in both divisions. In December 1943, 1,250 Slovak soldiers of the Security Division went over to the side of the Soviet partisans.
The Slovak command proposed to transfer its units to the Balkans or to Western Europe, but the Germans refused them. Then the Slovaks asked to be allowed to return to their homeland, but even here the Germans refused, although they agreed not to use them on the front line without the prior consent of the Slovak command. When is the next Soviet offensive forced the Germans to break this promise, the Slovak units could no longer be relied upon.
In 1944 they were put into reserve, disarmed and converted into construction crews(1st was used in Romania and Hungary, and 2nd in Italy).
4th stage of the war with the USSR
During 1943, 2 new divisions (1st and 2nd infantry) were formed in Slovakia for fighting in the Carpathians. Another 1 division was being formed in Central Slovakia when the anti-German uprising began at the end of August 1944.
Slovak uprising 1944
August 28 - German troops occupied Slovakia. From the disintegrated 42,000-strong Slovak army, 18,000 went over to the side of the rebels. From a tactical point of view, the attack turned out to be premature, and the Germans managed to disarm 2 field divisions. The rebels continued to fight until the end of October. They were assisted by the Czechoslovak air brigade, airlifted from the Soviet-German front, which included many former soldiers of the mobile division who were caught in Soviet captivity in 1942
By October 17, German troops managed to push the rebels away from the important centers of the country into the mountains.
On October 19, the German command presented the Slovak rebels with an ultimatum to surrender. The Slovak National Council rejected it.
On October 27, 1944, German troops occupied the “capital” of the rebels - the city of Banska Bystrica and finally suppressed the Slovak uprising.
The Tiso government remained in power thanks to the support of the armed “Glinka Guard” and part of the military units loyal to the government, which by February 1945 numbered 1 infantry regiment, 1 anti-aircraft regiment and 1 artillery battery. All Slovak Germans were transferred to Wehrmacht units in exchange for German citizens of Slovak origin. From several disarmed Slovak detachments, 2 more construction brigades were formed.
In April 1945, Slovak formations surrendered to Soviet troops.
Composition of Slovak divisions on the Eastern Front:
Mobile Division(in 1943 - 1944 1st Infantry): 20th, 21st Infantry, 11th Artillery Regiments, 5th Reconnaissance Battalion, 11th Medium Tank Company (disbanded in 1943).
Security Division: 101st, 102nd Infantry, 31st Artillery Regiments, 12th Reconnaissance Battalion.
1st Infantry Division(1941 and 1944): 1st, 2nd, 3rd Infantry, 1st Artillery Regiments, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion.
2nd Infantry Division(1941 and 1944): 4th, 5th, 6th Infantry, 2nd Artillery Regiments, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion.