Government force of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
The government force of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( government force for short , Vládní vojsko in Czech ) was an armed force of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia . It was erected on July 25, 1939 , after the " smashing of the rest of the Czech Republic " and the establishment of the Protectorate, and was used exclusively for ceremonial purposes. Their troop strength was 280 officers and 7,000 soldiers.
history
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The creation of the Protectorate's own armed forces , which, according to the official version, serve to "maintain internal peace and order" and prevent a revolt by soldiers of the Czechoslovak Army , which had been disbanded on March 15, 1939 , should preserve a semblance of independence for the Protectorate. In fact, it was only used for ceremonial purposes. Wehrmacht units of sufficient strength, around 5,800 members of the Gestapo and a system of informers ensured the protection of German sovereignty in the protectorate
In order to be accepted into the government troops, an age of 18 to 25 years, a height of at least 165 cm, a completed elementary school education as well as political reliability and a perfect state of health were required. Only unmarried and childless men of Czech ethnicity were hired . The supreme body of the government troops was the General Inspection in the former building of the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defense, which in turn was subordinate to three regional commandos (corresponding to the command offices of the regiments ). A maximum of about 7,000 soldiers (including about 280 officers ) served in the government troops in twelve battalions, each with a strength of 480-540 men. To the Inspector General of Government forces of General First Class (which corresponds General of the type of weapon) Jaroslav Eminger appointed. He stayed that way for the entire duration of the Second World War . The government troops were monitored by a liaison office called the German Liaison Office in the government troops of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia . Generals Erich Friderici (July 1939 to October 1941), Rudolf Toussaint (October 1941 to September 1943 and then again from July 1944 to May 1945) and Ferdinand Schaal (September 1943 to July 1944) commanded this one after the other . The government troops were the only institution of the Protectorate in which only Czech was used as the lingua franca.
Units were trained primarily for guard and parade duties. Due to the low allocation of ammunition, target practice was very limited, often only pistols were used . Maneuvers or field exercises never took place. The armament of the government troops was also only light, it corresponded more to that of a police unit (no planes , tanks , armored vehicles , artillery , machine weapons or hand grenades ). The soldiers were mostly used for disaster control , but only rarely for fighting gangs . This was probably mainly due to the unreliability of the government troops, because hardly any results were achieved in the pursuit of partisans or the investigation of explosive attacks due to the deliberate hindrance of soldiers and officers. 72 of its members were arrested for resistance and 33 were sent to concentration camps. President Emil Hácha twice proposed to German authorities to send a “Czech Legion” ( České legie ) to the Eastern Front . Despite similar efforts by the OKW , this failed primarily because of the distrust of Hitler due to the experience of the First World War with mass desertions of Czech soldiers to the Russians.
End of war
In May 1944, eleven of the twelve battalions of the government troops were relocated to Northern Italy for construction and excavation work. The castle guard was the only battalion to remain in Prague to carry out its task as guard for the President of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia . This was mainly because it was feared that the soldiers might join the approaching Red Army . The general inspection was in Verona , the three subordinate regional commands in Bologna , Varese and Turin . Operationally it was subordinate to the SSPF Northern Italy Middle Ernst-Albrecht Hildebrandt . A total of 5,002 men and 272 officers were deployed. Despite the initial prohibitions, the situation required the government troops to fight against Italian partisans . These clashes resulted in 10 deaths and 15 wounded on the part of government troops. About 800 soldiers joined the partisans or deserted (officially they were considered "kidnapped"). The rest of the government troops were disarmed in October 1944 (only officers were allowed to keep their personal weapons) and all eleven battalions were reclassified into labor battalions to build fortifications in the Alps . The soldiers experienced the end of the war in Italy and returned to Czechoslovakia in July 1945. The remaining castle guard took part in the Prague uprising in May 1945 . The inspector general of the government troops Jaroslav Eminger was accused by the communists of collaborating with the Germans after the end of the war , but the allegations were dropped in April 1947.
structure
General Inspection - Prague- Dewitz (General 1st class Jaroslav Eminger )
Regional Command I - Prague (General III class František Fabian, from 1942 General III class Karel Pražák)
1st Battalion - Prague u. Lana (Guard of Prague Castle , seat of the President of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia )
2nd Battalion - Rakonitz u. Kralowitz
3rd Battalion - Pisek u. Moldautein
4th Battalion - Tschaslau u. Beneschau
5th Battalion - Kuttenberg
Regional Command II - Königgrätz (General III Class Karel Procházka)
6th Battalion - Königgrätz
7th Battalion - Josefstadt
8th Battalion - Jitschin u. Turnau
11th battalion - Reichenau an der Knieschna u. Adlererkosteletz
Regional Command III - Brno (General III class Eduard Horák)
9th Battalion - Hohenmauth
10th Battalion - Butschowitz u. Bisenz
12th Battalion - Leipnik
Ranks
| 1939-40 | 1940-45 | Corresponding rank of the Army of the Wehrmacht |
|---|---|---|
| Vojín | Střelec | Sagittarius |
| Svobodník | Svobodník | Private |
| Desátník | Desátník (corporal) |
Corporal |
| Četař | Četař | Sergeant |
| Rotný | Rotný | Sergeant major |
| Rotmistr | Strážmistr (sergeant) |
sergeant |
| Štábní rotmistr | Vrchní strážmistr (Oberwachtmeister) | Sergeant Major |
| Praporčík | Štábní strážmistr (staff sergeant ) | Staff Sergeant |
| Poručík | Poručík | lieutenant |
| Nadporučík | Nadporučík | First lieutenant |
| Captain | Hejtman | Captain |
| Štábní kapitán | Hejtman I. třídy (Captain I. Class) | - |
| major | major | major |
| Podplukovník | Podplukovník | Lieutenant colonel |
| Plukovník | Plukovník | Colonel |
| Generál III. třídy | Generál III. třídy (General III class) |
Major general |
| Generál II. Třídy | Generál II. Třídy (General II class) |
Lieutenant General |
| Generál I. třídy | Generál I. třídy (General I. Class) |
General of the branch of service |
References
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b http://www.arcig.cz/projekty/historseminar/kuzvart.pdf
- ↑ Jörg K. Hoensch : History of Czechoslovakia , Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-17-011725-4 , p. 106f.
- ↑ http://www.fronta.cz/sekce/dotazy-a-odpovedi?list=12
- ↑ http://en.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/t/45888