The Army of the Czech Republic (Czech: Armáda České republiky, AČR) is a military organization responsible for the defense of this country in accordance with international obligations and collective defense treaties. The army is called upon to support peacekeeping, rescue and humanitarian operations both on the territory of the country and abroad. The armed forces consist of the General Staff, Ground Forces, Air Force and support units.
Army of the Czech Republic: History
From the end of 1940 to 1989, the Czechoslovak People's Army (about 200,000 people) was one of the pillars of the Warsaw Pact military alliance. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic carried out a major reorganization and reduction of the armed forces, which continued after the Czech Republic joined NATO on March 12, 1999.
In accordance with the Law of the Czech Republic No. 219/1999 the army of the Czech Republic is the official armed forces of the state.
Kingdom of Bohemia
The military history of the Czech people dates back to the Middle Ages and the creation of the Principality of Bohemia, and later the Kingdom of Bohemia. During the Hussite Wars, Jan ižka became a military leader, and became famous for his excellence and superiority that the Hussite heritage became an important and enduring part of Czech military traditions. European religious wars destroyed the Czech lands again, and in the battle for the White Mountain in 1620 Czech independence was surrendered to the Habsburg monarchy. Over the centuries of foreign rule, the Czechs underwent intensive Germanization. Nevertheless, they retained their ethnic identity and seized the opportunity for independence during the First World War. Czechs and Slovaks deserted in large numbers from the Austro-Hungarian army and by the end of the war formed the Czechoslovak Legion, who fought on the Entente's side for the independence of Czechoslovakia.
The era of the first Czechoslovakia
The Czechoslovak Armed Forces were formed on June 30, 1918, when the 6,000 members of the Czechoslovak Legion, which was created in 1914, took the oath of France and received their own battle flag from the French, which preceded the official declaration of independence of Czechoslovakia four months later. The military achievements of the Czechoslovak legions on the French, Italian, and especially the Russian front became one of the main arguments that Czech leaders addressed in order to enlist the support of the country's independence from the allies of the First World War.
The Czechoslovak army was officially founded in 1918 after Czechoslovakia gained independence from Austria-Hungary.
Ambiguous Glory
Created on the model and likeness of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces, the army included former members of the Czechoslovak Legion, who fought along with the Entente during the First World War. She took part in a short Polish-Czechoslovak war, in which this young country annexed Zaozie, a region that had previously belonged to Poland. The army was quite modern by that standards, with extensive border fortifications, good rifles and even their own tanks. The armed forces of the young republic mobilized during the Munich Conference did not participate in any organized defense of the country from German invasion due to the international isolation of Czechoslovakia.
The end of the republic
The army was disbanded after the German capture of Czechoslovakia in 1939. During World War II, it was recreated in exile, first in the form of a new Czechoslovak Legion, who fought with Poland during the invasion of this country, and then in the form of troops loyal to the Czechoslovak government in exile, based in London.
In 1938, servicemen from the Czechoslovak Army and the Guard of Defense participated in an undeclared border war against the German-supported forces of the Sudeten Federation, as well as Polish and Hungarian militias. As a result of the Munich Agreement, areas densely populated by ethnic German-speaking people were included in the Third Reich, and military personnel living there were subject to conscription in the Wehrmacht.
As part of the Third Reich: protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
After the complete annexation of Czechoslovakia in 1939 and the creation of the protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the protectorate government had its own armed force - the government army (6,500 people), which were entrusted with the tasks of ensuring public safety. On the other side of the conflict, a number of Czechoslovak units and formations served in the Polish Army (Czechoslovak Legion), the French Army, the Royal Air Force, the British Army (1st Czechoslovak Armored Brigade) and the Red Army. Four Czech and Slovak squadrons serving under the command of the Allies were transferred under the control of recreated Czechoslovakia at the end of 1945.
The era of the second Czechoslovakia
After the war, Czech and Slovak units, who fought along with the allies, returned to Czechoslovakia and formed the core of the new, recreated Czechoslovak army. Nevertheless, this new republic, led by the pro-Soviet government, was more Sovietized and in 1954 its army was officially renamed the Czechoslovak People's Army. The army of Czechoslovakia returned to its former name in 1990, after the Velvet Revolution, but in 1993, after the Velvet Divorce, it was disbanded and divided into the modern army of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Armed Forces.
From 1954 to 1990 this army was known as the Czechoslovak People's Army (CSA). Although the CSA, formed in 1945, included both expatriates and volunteers trained by Soviet and British forces, the “western” soldiers were expelled from the CSA after 1948, when the communists took power. The CSA did not resist the invasion organized by the Soviets in 1968 in response to the Prague Spring, and was reorganized by the Soviets after the restoration of the communist regime in Prague.
Strength and Characteristics
What can be said about the ground forces of the Czech Republic and Slovakia of that time? Of the approximately 201,000 active duty personnel at CSA in 1987, approximately 145,000 (approximately 72%) served in the ground forces, commonly referred to as the army. About 100,000 of them were conscripts. There were two military districts - Western and Eastern. The 1989 list of troops shows two Czechoslovak armies in the west: the 1st army in Pribram with one tank division and three motorized rifle divisions, the 4th army in Pisek with two tank divisions and two motorized rifle divisions. In the Eastern Military District there were two tank divisions, the 13th and 14th, with supervisory headquarters in Trencin - the Slovak part of the country.
During the Cold War, CSA was equipped mainly with Soviet weapons, although some types of weapons, such as the OT-64 SKOT armored personnel carrier, the L-29 Delfín and L-39 Albatros aircraft, and the P-27 Pancéřovka anti-tank missile launcher were locally produced.
Czech Armed Forces: 21st Century
The army of the Czech Republic was formed after the split of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces that occurred after the collapse of Czechoslovakia on January 1, 1993. The strength of the Czech armed forces in 1993 was 90,000. This number was soon reduced to 65,000, and then to 63,601 in 1999 and to 35,000 in 2005. At the same time, the forces were modernized and reoriented to the defensive tactics of warfare. In 2004, the army turned into a fully professional organization, and compulsory military service was abolished. She maintains an active reserve.
International context
The Czech Republic is a member of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. At the 1999 Washington Summit, the Czech Republic joined NATO. Since 1990, the Czech army has participated in numerous peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, including in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Albania, Turkey, Pakistan and, together with coalition forces, in Iraq. She continues to participate in all NATO operations, even aggressive and offensive.
Rearmament
What remains of the Soviet army in the Czech Republic? First of all, many Soviet weapons remained in this country. The Czech army still heavily uses weapons dating back to the Warsaw Pact. During the Cold War, Czechoslovakia was the main supplier of tanks, armored personnel carriers, military trucks and training aircraft - the bulk of the military export went to partners in the airborne forces. At the moment, she urgently needs to replace obsolete equipment and ensure its compliance with NATO standards. Modernization plans include the acquisition of new multi-purpose helicopters, transport aircraft, combat vehicles for transporting infantry, as well as radar and air defense missiles. At the same time, the Czech government focuses on domestic products. In addition, the republic’s army is equipped with approximately 3,000 T810 and T815 vehicles of various modifications manufactured by the Czech company Tatra Trucks. The Tatra Defense Vehicle factory provides licensed production of the Pandur II and Titus armored vehicles.