Václav Šára (General)

Václav Šára

Václav Šára (born March 27, 1893 in Struhaře , today part of Spálené Poříčí ; † October 1, 1941 in Prague ) was a Czechoslovak soldier, legionnaire and brigadier general ( division general in memoriam ) in the Czechoslovak Army . As a leading member of the Obrana národa resistance group, he was a figure in the Czechoslovak resistance from 1939 to 1945 against National Socialism .

Life

After completing his general studies, Šára joined the army in 1913 and attended an officers' school in Innsbruck . After the outbreak of war he was posted to the Russian Eastern Front , where he was taken prisoner and eventually joined the Czechoslovak legions . In their ranks he fought, among other things, in the battle of Zborów ; After some injuries and further fighting, Šára finally returned to Czechoslovakia in 1920.

After 1920, Václav Šára attended courses for general staff officers and began studying at the Vysoká škola válečná ( War College ) in Prague. After that, he held some command positions, especially in artillery units. From 1933 he had an important leading position in the Ministry of Defense, on July 1, 1934 Šára was promoted to brigadier general. After 1937 he held a position on the board of directors of the Zbrojovka Brno arms factory .

After the occupation of the country by the Wehrmacht and the proclamation of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia , Václav Šára joined the resistance organization Obrana národa . After the arrest of the general and first country commander for Bohemia of this resistance group Hugo Vojta on February 13, 1940, Šára led the operations of the Obrana národa in Bohemia. In September 1941 he was arrested by the Gestapo . After the martial law had been declared on September 28, 1941, he and others were sentenced to death by an order issued by the new Reich Protector Heydrich . The sentence was carried out on October 1, 1941.

Awards

• Czechoslovak War Cross 1914–1918
• Czechoslovak Revolution Medal
• Czechoslovak Victory Medal 1918
• Croix de guerre avec palm
• Order of the Crown of Romania (Ordinul Coroana Romăniei eu spade in gradul Comandor cu paglica de Virtute Militara)
• La Croce al Merito di Guerra
• Russian Order of Saint George
• Czechoslovak War Cross 1939 in memoriam

swell

• ŠÁRA Václav , In: Vojenské osobnosti československého odboje 1939–1945 , publication of the Historical Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic, AVIS, Prague 2005, p. 280, online (archived) at: vojenskaakademiehranice.ic.cz / ...
• Přehled popravených, umučených a padlých československých generálů , keyword brigádní generál Václav ŠÁRA , biography, online at: codyprint.cz / ...