French military mission in Czechoslovakia

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A postcard from Vojtěch Preissig from 1915 for the purpose of recruiting for the Czechoslovak legions

The French military mission in Czechoslovakia , which was established in Prague on February 13, 1919 , played an essential role in the creation of the new Czechoslovak army, both in terms of its design and strategic objectives, command structure and the establishment of military educational institutions.

background

During the First World War , Czechoslovak soldiers of the Czechoslovak Legions fought alongside the Entente . Among other things, they were used on the Western Front , most recently as autonomous units within the French army, which was recorded in a decree of the French government under Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of December 16, 1917. This recognition as an independent army, which was regarded as an Allied army goes to efforts of the Czechoslovak National Council back in Paris, organized since 1916, the recruitment of soldiers for the legions. The National Council, whose representatives included Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , Edvard Beneš and the Slovak Milan Rastislav Štefánik (then General of the French Army), was recognized on June 29, 1918, first by France and later by other powers. On October 14th, ie before the creation of Czechoslovakia on October 28th, 1918, the National Council transformed itself into the so-called provisional Czechoslovak government . This was immediately recognized internationally as an incumbent Czechoslovak government in exile and replaced on November 14, 1918 by the first regular government Karel Kramář . Štefánik was the first minister of war.

history

After its founding in 1918, Czechoslovakia viewed France as its most important ally, based on its positive experiences so far. On the other hand, due to its strategic location, it also played an important role in France's alliance planning - but only in the event that it was at a high military level. The new Czechoslovak government also wanted to solve this task and at the end of 1918 turned to the French government with a request for help in building up the army. This also corresponded to the intentions of France: Marshal Ferdinand Foch , at the end of the war the commander-in-chief of the Allied armies, took over responsibility for the Czechoslovak army and insisted that new, combat-ready divisions should be set up as soon as possible, which would be able to counteract if necessary Germany to be used.

After the corresponding agreements were concluded between France and Czechoslovakia in January 1919, the French military mission arrived in Prague in February 1919, which was supposed to guarantee these goals. Their tasks consisted in building up a working defense ministry, in building up the general staff and also in setting up military training facilities at all levels. The mission had a major influence on the Czechoslovak army because the respective commander of the mission also provided the chief of staff of the Czechoslovak army. This brought great recognition to the mission when the first commander, Maurice Pellé , successfully defended the integrity of the new state in the spring of 1919 in the conflict with Hungary.

The important foundations of the future army were laid in the first phase of the mission's activity. The Ministry of Defense was successfully reorganized as early as 1919, with some departments of the mission being absorbed into the Ministry. General Pellé also had a major influence on the government draft of the Defense Act, which was adopted in March 1920. From July 1919 the Army General Staff was able to work normally. The mission workers pushed through their studies and had a major influence on the first operational plan of the General Staff from May 1919 and in particular the studies on warfare with Germany, Hungary and Poland at the end of 1920.

The mission also helped set up the military training facilities. In this regard, the establishment of the Vysoká škola válečná (War College) on November 1, 1919 in Prague and its continued operation, whose structure was based on the French École supérieure de guerre in Paris, was significant . The mission also influenced educational institutions at the middle and lower levels.

On January 1, 1926, an order from President Masaryk came into force, according to which the French mission should only have an advisory role. Czechoslovak officers took over the higher command posts in the General Staff : General Jan Syrový became the first Czechoslovak Chief of Staff after he had already taken over the newly created post of Deputy Chief of Staff in 1924. Nevertheless, French officers remained active in various posts until 1938.

The cooperation between the two allies was underscored by the alliance treaty signed between France and Czechoslovakia on January 25, 1924.

Missionary staff

Head of Mission

Maurice Pellé in a Czechoslovak army uniform (Prague, 1920)

The following military officers took over the function of commander of the French military mission in Czechoslovakia after 1919:

While Pellé and Mittelhauser also held the position of Chief of Staff of the Czechoslovak Army, Faucher no longer had this function.

Mission officers as a whole

After the mission's arrival in Prague, there were 45 members (March 1919); In mid-September 1919, the highest number was recorded with 146 officers, on January 1, 1920 there were 135 officers. After that, their number fell continuously: 85 officers on January 1, 1921, 50 officers on January 1, 1925, 7 officers on January 1, 1931; on January 1, 1938, there were still 4 French officers in Czechoslovakia.

Remarks

  1. ↑ The Czechoslovak National Council dealt with here is not to be confused with the Czechoslovak National Committee of 1918 or the Czechoslovak National Committee , established in France in 1939.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard Georg Plaschka : Avant-garde of resistance. Model cases of military rebellion in the 19th and 20th centuries (= studies on politics and administration. 60). Volume 1. Böhlau, Vienna et al. 2000, ISBN 3-205-98390-4 , p. 284, online (excerpts) at: books.google.de / ...
  2. ^ Wolfdieter Bihl : The First World War. 1914-1918. Chronicle - data - facts. Böhlau, Vienna et al. 2010, ISBN 978-3-205-78379-4 , p. 224, online (excerpts) at: books.google.de/
  3. ↑ Období první republiky 1918–1938. A publication of the portal of the Government of the Czech Republic, online at: vlada.cz/assets / ...
  4. ↑ Karel Straka: Výročí francouzského generála, který velel všem branným silám v Československu. Publication of the Vojenský historický ústav VHÚ (Military History Institute) of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, online at: vhu.cz / ...
  5. ↑ československý odboj za první světové války. Keyword of the online encyclopedia CoJeCo, online at: cojeco.cz / ...
  6. ↑ Národní rada československá. Keyword of the online encyclopedia CoJeCo, online at: cojeco.cz / ...
  7. ^ Národní výbor československý. Keyword of the online encyclopedia CoJeCo, online at: cojeco.cz / ...
  8. ↑ a b c d e f Karel Straka: Francouzská vojenská mise v Československu 1919–1938. Publication of the Vojenský historický ústav VHÚ (Military History Institute) of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, online at: vhu.cz ...
  9. ↑ a b c Vysoká škola válečná v Praze. In: Eduard Stehlík: Srdce armády. Generální štáb 1919-2009. 2nd, expanded edition. Ministerstvo obrany České republiky - Prezentační a informační centrum MO, Prague 2009, ISBN 978-80-7278-515-5 , p. 14ff., Online at: mocr.army.cz / ...
  10. ^ Karel Straka: Vojenské školství meziválečného Československa. Publication of the Vojenský historický ústav VHÚ (Military History Institute) of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, online at: vhu.cz / ...