Czechoslovak People's Army

CSPA tank parade in Prague on Victory Day, 9 May 1985.

The Czechoslovak People's Army (Czech: Československá lidová armáda, Slovak: Československá ľudová armáda, ČSLA) was the armed forces of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1954[1] until 1990. From 1955 it was a member force of the Warsaw Pact. On 14 March 1990 the Army's name was reverted to the Czechoslovak Army removing the adjective "People's" from the name. Czechoslovak Army was split into the Army of the Czech Republic and the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1993.

Transition to Communist rule

On 25 May 1945 the Provisional organization of the Czechoslovak armed forces was approved, according to which there was a reorganization of the Czechoslovak army. Soldiers who had fought against Nazism on all fronts of World War II gradually returned. The territory of Czechoslovakia was divided into four military areas in which emerged gradually over 16 infantry divisions, which complemented the Tank Corps and Artillery Division. The Czech I Corps which had served under Soviet control became the 1st Czech Army, before becoming the 1st Military Area.[2] Initial optimism about the plans to rebuild the army was replaced by disillusionment, stemming from a broken post-war economy and the lack of human and material resources. The Czechoslovak Army after the war was commissioned to expel Germans and Hungarians, and was also involved in helping the national economy. In addition, units of the National Security Corps participated in the fighting against the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists.

After 1948, when the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia took power, there were significant changes in the military. More than half of the officers began to experience persecution as well as soldiers, and many were forced to leave. The political processes focused mainly on soldiers who fought in World War II in Western Europe, but paradoxically there was also persecution of soldiers fighting the war on the Eastern Front. The army came fully under the power of the Communist Party and in 1950 there was a major reorganization of the Soviet model, and the military areas were disbanded. In 1951 there was signed between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union the Agreement on the manner and terms of settlement for the supplied equipment and material provided by the USSR loan of almost 44 million rubles for the purchase of military equipment, especially aircraft and radars. There has been an increase in proliferation and increasing the number of members of the army, which since 1953 has reached 300,000 people.

Components

The ČSLA was composed of Ground Forces, Air Forces and Air Defence Forces.

Ground Forces

Of the approximately 201,000 personnel on active duty in the ČSLA in 1987, about 145,000, or about 72 percent, served in the ground forces (commonly referred to as the army). About 100,000 of these were conscripts.[3] There were two military districts, Western and Eastern. They contained infantry, supported by tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery. Czechoslovak military doctrine demanded large tank columns spearheading infantry assaults. While the armoured columns secured objectives, the infantry would provide close support with mortars, snipers, anti-tank guns and medium artillery. The majority of the soldiers in the Ground Forces were recruited through conscription, compulsory military service of 24 months for all males between 18 and 27.

Air Force

The Czechoslovak Air Force was fully equipped with supersonic jet fighters, attack helicopters, air defence systems and electronic tracking equipment.

Air Defence Forces

The Army's air defence (PVOS, Protivzdušná obrana státu) was formed with anti-aircraft missile units, interceptor fighter aircraft and special services radio-technical units (radar and direction-finding).

Czechoslovak People's Army Organisation 1989

In 1989 the Czechoslovak People's Army consisted of the following units:[4]

Ministry of National Defence

General Staff of the Czechoslovak People's Army

Western Military District

District HQ
9th Tank Division
1st Army
1st Tank Division
2nd Motor Rifle Division
19th Motor Rifle Division
20th Motor Rifle Division
4th Army
3rd Motor Rifle Division
4th Tank Division
15th Motor Rifle Division
Soviet HQ
18th Motor Rifle Division
15th Tank Division
31st Tank Division
48th Motor Rifle Division
Western Military District main units and Soviet formations (in red) in 1989
Western Military District Operational Structure in 1989 (click to enlarge)
1st Army
1st Army Structure in 1989 (click to enlarge)
4th Army
4th Army Structure in 1989 (click to enlarge)

Eastern Military District

District HQ
13th Tank Division
14th Tank Division
30th Motor Rifle Division
Eastern Military District main units and Soviet formations (in red) in 1989
Eastern Military District Operational Structure in 1989 (click to enlarge)

Air Forces Command

Air Forces Command Structure in 1989 (click to enlarge)
10th Air Army
1st Fighter Division
34th Fighter-Bomber Division

Air Defence Command

Air Defence Command Structure in 1989 (click to enlarge)
2nd Air Defence Division
3rd Air Defence Division

Regimental and Battalion Organization

Below follow the organizations of the regiments in the Tank and Motor Rifle divisions:

By the end of the Cold War the standard main battle tank in the Czechoslovak tank regiments was the T-72M or T-72M1 of which Czechoslovakia had built 973. Some of the tank units in motor rifle divisions still fielded the locally produced T-54A.

Motor rifle units fielded the locally produced BVP-1 tracked infantry fighting vehicle and the OT-64 wheeled armored transports vehicle.

Divisional artillery regiments were organized as follows: (Note: 1st Army divisional artillery regiments replaced their 122mm M1938 towed howitzers with 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers in the late 1980ties)[6][7]

Divisional anti-aircraft missile regiment were organized as follows and began to introduce either 20x 2K12 Kub or 20x 9K33 Osa surface-to-air missile systems in the early 1980ties. When the Cold War ended all divisions except for the 13th Tank division and the 3rd and 15th Motor Rifle divisions had received Kub or Osa systems:

Civil defence regiments supported the authorities during times of national disaster:

Divisional reconnaissance battalions were organized as follows:

Divisional separate rocket launcher divisions were organized as follows:[8]

Divisional Chemical Defence battalions were organized as follows:

Equipment

Ground Forces

Tanks Origin Type Versions In service Notes
T-72  Soviet Union  Czechoslovakia Main battle tank M, M1 700
T-55  Soviet Union Main battle tank 1,908 1,277 (48% of all Czech tanks) in reserve status
APC/AFC Origin Type Versions In service Notes
BVP-2  Czechoslovakia IFV 280
BVP-1  Czechoslovakia IFV 1,390
OT-90  Czechoslovakia APC 620
OT-64  Czechoslovakia APC 1,600
OT-62 TOPAS  Czechoslovakia APC Czechoslovak version of BTR-50
BRDM-2  Czechoslovakia Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle

Air and Air Defence Forces

Model Origin Type Versions In service Notes
MiG-29  Soviet Union Fighter 20 18 Single-Seat, 2 Training
MiG-23  Soviet Union Fighter BN,MF,ML,U 70
MiG-21  Soviet Union Fighter,Ground-Attack <195
Su-25  Soviet Union Ground-Attack K,UBK 38 36 Single-Seat, 2 Training
Su-22  Soviet Union Attack M,UM 57 49 Single-Seat, 8 Training
Mi-24  Soviet Union Attack Helicopter D,V 62 29 Mi-24D,2 Mi-24UD,31 Mi-24V
Mi-17  Soviet Union Transport
L-39  Czechoslovakia Training C,ZA,V 57+ 24 L-39C,27 L-39ZA,6 L-39V

Characteristics

The final Report of the Commission of Inquiry of the Federal Assembly for clarification of events November 17, 1989 was characterized by Czechoslovak People's Army as follows: "... the Czechoslovak Army was next to the SNB and LM understood as one of the direct power tools designed for control over the society and for immediate management of internal political problems; the Communist Party by means of a vast staff of the Main Political Administration (HPS) of ČSLA penetrated as far as into the lowest units and in this way virtually ensured its absolute influence on the Army."[9]

During the Velvet Revolution, Communist Minister of National Defence Milan Václavík proposed to use the army against demonstrators, but his suggestion was not heeded.[9]

Ranks of the Czechoslovak People's Army

Enlisted and non-commissioned officers

Warrant officers

Officers

See also

References

  1. ↑ Burian, Michal; Rýc, Jiří (2007). Historie spojovacího vojska [History of [Czechoslovak] Signal Corps] (in Czech). Prague: Ministerstvo obrany – Agentura vojenských informací a služeb. p. 148. ISBN 978-80-7278-414-1.
  2. ↑ Valka.cz, Vojenska-oblast-1 1945–1950, accessed July 2013.
  3. ↑ Library of Congress Country Study: Czechoslovakia, Ground Forces, 1987
  4. ↑ http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/123489/Ministerstvo-narodni-obrany-1950-1990
  5. ↑ http://www.fortifikace.net/pov_pvos_76_plrb_brno.html
  6. ↑ http://www.palba.cz/viewtopic.php?t=3357
  7. ↑ http://www.palba.cz/viewtopic.php?f=299&t=3025
  8. ↑ http://www.palba.cz/viewtopic.php?f=299&t=3334
  9. 1 2 Final report of the inquiry commission of the Federal Assembly to clarify the events of 17 November 1989, Part IV. – Czechoslovak People's Army, [cit. 28 October 2009]. Available online.

External links

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