Slovak troops. Slovakia in World War II

Bratislava. Catholic cathedral St. Martin's. Place of coronation of the Holy Roman Emperors and Austria-Hungary

Slovakia participated in World War II on the side of Germany, but did not have any serious influence on the course of military operations on the Eastern Front and had rather symbolic meaning, supporting the international image of Germany as a country with allies at least in the rank of satellites. In addition, Slovakia had a border with the Soviet Union, which was very important in a geopolitical sense

Slovakia began to establish its relations with Germany immediately after the defeat of France and on June 15, 1941 joined the Axis countries by signing a corresponding pact. The country became "the only Catholic state in the area of dominance of National Socialism." Somewhat later, blessing the soldiers for the war with Russia, the papal nuncio stated that he was glad to tell the Holy Father the good news from the exemplary Slovak state, a truly Christian state, which is implementing a national program under the motto: “For God and the Nation!”

The population of the country was then 1.6 million, of which 130,000 were Germans. In addition, Slovakia considered itself responsible for the fate of the Slovak minority in Hungary. The national army consisted of two divisions and numbered 28,000 men.

When preparing to implement the Barbarossa plan, Hitler did not take into account the Slovak army, which he considered unreliable and feared fraternization due to Slavic solidarity. The command didn’t count on her either. ground forces, leaving behind only the tasks of maintaining order in the occupied areas. However, a sense of rivalry with Hungary and the hope for a more favorable establishment of borders in the Balkans forced the Slovak Minister of War to declare to the Chief of the German General Staff Halder during his visit to Bratislava on June 19, 1941 that Slovak army ready for combat. The order for the army said that the army did not intend to fight with the Russian people or against the Slavic idea, but with the mortal danger of Bolshevism.

As part of the German 17th Army, an elite brigade of the Slovak army numbering 3,500 people, armed with outdated light Czech tanks, took the battle on June 22, which ended in defeat. A German officer assigned to the brigade noted that the work of the headquarters was below any criticism and he was only afraid of getting injured, since the equipment of the field hospital corresponded to the times of Maria Theresa.

It was decided not to allow the brigade to participate in the battles. Moreover, the level of training of Slovak officers turned out to be so low that it was pointless to form the Slovak army anew. And therefore, the Minister of War, along with the majority of the soldiers, was returned to their homeland two months later. Only the motorized brigade, brought to the size of the division (about 10,000), and the lightly armed security division, consisting of 8,500 people, took part in the fight against the partisans, first near Zhitomir, and then Minsk.

Subsequently, the combat path of the Slovak armed forces is closely connected with the actions of this brigade (German: Schnelle Division). During the heavy and prolonged battles on the Mius River, this combat unit, under the command of Major General August Malar, held a ten-kilometer-wide front from Christmas 1941 to July 1942. At the same time, it was protected on the flanks by a Wehrmacht mountain division and Waffen SS units. Then, during the catastrophic Second German offensive for the Soviets in the summer of 1942, this unit in the battle formations of the 4th Tank Army advanced on Rostov, crossed the Kuban and took part in the capture of the oil regions near Maykop.

The attitude of the German command towards the needs of the Slovaks was dismissive and therefore their losses were determined not so much by combat interaction with the enemy, but by poor nutrition and epidemic diseases. In August 1942, this unit occupied defenses near Tuapse, and after the catastrophic defeat at Stalingrad, it was difficult to cross to Kerch, losing its equipment and artillery.

The unit was then reorganized and became known as the First Slovak Infantry Division, which was entrusted with the defense of the 250 km coastline of Crimea.

The division's combat and general rations remained at an extremely low level. Slovakia's relations with its stronger neighbor Hungary remained tense and Slovak President Tiso appealed to Hitler to remind him of Slovakia's participation in the war on the Eastern Front with the hope that this would provide protection against Hungarian claims.

In August 1943, Hitler decided to create strong defensive positions in front of the “Fortress of Crimea”. Part of the division remained on the territory of the peninsula beyond Perekop, and its main structure took up defense at Kakhovka. And he immediately found himself in the direction of the main attack of the Soviet army, suffering a crushing defeat within one day. After this, the remnants of the division went over to the side of Soviet Russia, which was prepared by the activities of the communist agents of Czechoslovakia.

Constantly diminished in numbers due to desertion, the remaining 5,000 soldiers under the command of Colonel Karl Peknik carried out guard duty in the interfluve between the Bug and the Dnieper. Hundreds of Slovaks joined partisan detachments, and many soldiers led by officers became part of the First Czechoslovak Brigade of the Red Army. The demoralized remnants of the Slovak army were, at the direction of the German command, sent to Italy, Romania and Hungary, where they were used as construction units.

Nevertheless, the Slovak Army continued to exist and the German command intended to use it to create a defensive line in the Beskids. By August 1944, it became clear to everyone that the war was lost and a movement began in all Balkan countries in favor of finding ways out of the war. Back in July, the National Council of Slovakia began preparing an armed uprising with the participation of a well-armed and trained army corps stationed in Eastern Slovakia, numbering up to 24,000 people. By German troops at that time, in the direction of the main attack of Marshal Konev, Henrici (German: Heinrici) commanded. It was assumed that the Slovak soldiers would occupy the peaks of the Beskid mountain range in his rear and open the way for the approaching units of the Soviet Army. In addition, the 14,000 Slovak soldiers located in the central part of Slovakia were supposed to be used as a center of armed resistance in the Banska Bystrica region. At the same time, the activities of the partisans intensified, which convinced the German command of the inevitability of an uprising in their rear.

On August 27, 1944, mutinous Slovak soldiers killed 22 German officers passing through at one of the train stations, which caused an immediate reaction from the German authorities. At the same time, an uprising was raised in central Slovakia, in which 47,000 people took part. A Waffen-SS unit of 10,000 under the command of Obergruppenführer Berger eliminated the rear danger in a strategically extremely important part of the country.

He became one of the national heroes of post-war Czechoslovakia and its eighth president.

The Slovak uprising was finally suppressed by three German divisions brought into action. The decisive operation began on October 18, 1944. The Germans captured Banska Bystrica. Armed detachments of the Carpathian Germans (German Heimatschutzes) also took part in this, which subsequently led to a massacre, the victims of which were 135,000 Volksdeutsche. On the other hand, about 25,000 Slovaks died during the punitive operations of the Germans. About a third of the uprising participants fled to their homes. 40% turned out to be in German concentration camps. A small part joined the partisans.

This victory of the German army, in a historical sense, became the most recent victory that the Wehrmacht was able to win over the army of another state. At the same time, it brought the First Slovak Republic to its end.

Slovakia participated in World War II on the side of Germany, however, it did not have any serious influence on the course of military operations on the Eastern Front and had rather symbolic significance, supporting the international image of Germany as a country with allies at least in the rank of satellites. In addition, Slovakia had a border with the Soviet Union, which was very important in a geopolitical sense

When preparing to implement the Barbarossa plan, Hitler did not take into account the Slovak army, which he considered unreliable and feared fraternization due to Slavic solidarity. The command of the ground forces did not count on her either, leaving behind only the tasks of maintaining order in the occupied areas. However, a sense of rivalry with Hungary and the hope for a more favorable establishment of borders in the Balkans forced the Slovak Minister of War to tell the Chief of the German General Staff, Halder, when he visited Bratislava on June 19, 1941, that the Slovak army was ready for combat. The order for the army said that the army did not intend to fight with the Russian people or against the Slavic idea, but with the mortal danger of Bolshevism.

Subsequently, the combat path of the Slovak armed forces is closely connected with the actions of this brigade (German: Schnelle Division). During the heavy and prolonged battles on the Mius River, this combat unit, under the command of Major General August Malar, held a ten-kilometer-wide front from Christmas 1941 to July 1942. At the same time, it was protected on the flanks by the Wehrmacht mountain division and Waffen SS units. Then, during the catastrophic Second German offensive for the Soviets in the summer of 1942, this unit in the battle formations of the 4th Tank Army advanced on Rostov, crossed the Kuban and took part in the capture of the oil regions near Maykop.

The unit was then reorganized and became known as the First Slovak Infantry Division, which was entrusted with the defense of the 250 km coastline of Crimea.

Constantly diminished in numbers due to desertion, the remaining 5,000 soldiers under the command of Colonel Karl Peknik carried out guard duty in the interfluve between the Bug and the Dnieper. Hundreds of Slovaks joined the partisan detachments, and many soldiers, led by officers, became part of the First Czechoslovak Brigade of the Red Army. The demoralized remnants of the Slovak army were, at the direction of the German command, sent to Italy, Romania and Hungary, where they were used as construction units.

Nevertheless, the Slovak Army continued to exist and the German command intended to use it to create a defensive line in the Beskids. By August 1944, it became clear to everyone that the war was lost and a movement began in all Balkan countries in favor of finding ways out of the war. Back in July, the National Council of Slovakia began preparing an armed uprising with the participation of a well-armed and trained army corps stationed in Eastern Slovakia, numbering up to 24,000 people. The German troops at that time in the direction of the main attack of Marshal Konev were commanded by Henrici (German: Heinrici). It was assumed that the Slovak soldiers would occupy the peaks of the Beskydy mountain range in his rear and open the way for the approaching units of the Soviet Army. In addition, the 14,000 Slovak soldiers located in the central part of Slovakia were supposed to be used as a center of armed resistance in the Banska Bystrica region. At the same time, the activities of the partisans intensified, which convinced the German command of the inevitability of an uprising in their rear.

Nevertheless, the rebels managed to hold the Dukla pass for two months, where heavy fighting took place between the German First Tank Army and Soviet troops. After the war, a monument to 85,000 was erected here Soviet soldiers. During the last battles, General Svoboda distinguished himself, becoming one of the national heroes of post-war Czechoslovakia and its eighth president.

How the Slovaks went to war against the Poles

In March 1939, Adolf Hitler summoned the leaders of the Slovak People's Party to Berlin and threatened them that if they did not withdraw Slovakia from Czechoslovakia, he would allow the Hungarians to take over their country. And the Slovaks decided to join the Axis. In the twentieth anniversary between the two world wars, relations along the Warsaw-Prague line were, to put it mildly, strained. By the beginning of the Second World War, a significant amount of mutual claims had accumulated between the two states, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The collapse of Czechoslovakia, which began after the Munich Agreement, led to the inclusion of Cieszyn Silesia (Zaolzia) into Poland, the conduct of a sabotage operation by Polish intelligence on Czechoslovak territory, codenamed “Scrap”, and the emergence of a new power on the European map - the Slovak Republic.

The declaration of “independence” took place on March 23, but the territory of Transcarpathian Rus', which was part of Slovakia, was occupied by Hungary, and on March 23 Bratislava signed an agreement with the Third Reich. With this document, Berlin guaranteed Slovakia the integrity of its borders, but at the same time the Slovak authorities were not to interfere with the passage of German troops through their territory. By signing a pact with Berlin, the Slovaks, in fact, assumed allied obligations in relations with Nazi Germany. At the same time, the Third Reich well understood that in a future war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth the southern, Slovak flank could play a significant role.

Warsaw also understood this, so immediately after the organization of the Polish embassy in Bratislava, its employees began to work to establish a dialogue with the Slovak authorities and even hoped for possible military cooperation with them. On March 21, Polish Ambassador Mieczyslaw Chalupczynski informed his leadership that General Ferdinand Czatlas spoke positively about the development of Polish-Slovak relations and asserted that “cooperation with Germany is a bitter necessity for his country.” On June 15, 1939, the Polish embassy informed Warsaw that "Catlash refused to participate in the development of an operational plan for a German attack on Poland." But the reality turned out to be somewhat different.

Already in the spring of 1939, officers of the German General Staff, with the help of the Slovak authorities, began to actively study the territories bordering Poland. In accordance with the Weiss plan, a strike from the territory of Slovakia was of very important strategic importance and was supposed to lead to the encirclement of parts of the Polish Army east of the Vistula. In addition, the offensive from the south eliminated the possibility of organizing logistical support for the Polish troops. In the summer of 1939, anti-Polish propaganda intensified in the Slovak press. The development of events was also influenced by information from Slovak diplomats in Warsaw that politicians of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were seriously considering the issue of the possibility of dividing Slovakia between Poland and Hungary.

At the request of Germany, Slovakia quickly formed three divisions: the 1st Infantry Division "Janosik" (commander - General of the Second Rank Anton Pulanich); 2nd Infantry Division "Shkultety" (Second Rank General Alexander Chunderlik); 3rd Infantry Division "Razus" (certified Colonel Augustin Malar). All of them were united into the Bernalak army. In addition to the divisions, the army included mobile group"Kalinchak" under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Jan Imr.

The Slovak army had at its disposal 50 light tanks LT vz.35; 27 light tanks LT vz. 34; 30 wedges Tc.Vz. 33; three Skoda armored vehicles; 18 Tatra armored vehicles. In addition, the Slovaks were armed with 271 anti-tank guns, 24 medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns, 62 small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, 375 light field guns, 151 heavy howitzers, 150 mortars. The Air Force of the Army of the Slovak Republic consisted of 90 Czechoslovak-designed fighters, 88 reconnaissance aircraft and 3 bombers. The overall command of the Slovak army was assumed by the Minister of Defense, General Ferdinand Čatlas. The task of the Slovak troops during military operations against Poland was to cover the eastern wing of the 14th German Army (Army Group South) under the command of General Wilhelm List. At the same time, the Slovaks had to be prepared for a possible Polish offensive on their own territory. German officers led by General Erwin Engelbrecht were seconded to the main headquarters of the Slovak army. Also on the territory of Slovakia, the Luftwaffe headquarters was formed, which coordinated German air raids on Warsaw and Krakow.

And so at 5 o’clock in the morning on September 1, 1939, the Slovak army crossed the Polish border. This ally of Hitler operated in the Zakopane-Bukovina-Jurgau directions; Piwniczna-Nowy Soncz-Grybov-Tylich; Kamancha-Sanok-Lesna-Cisna. The first blow of the Slovaks was taken by the outposts of the Polish border guard. Under enemy attacks, units of the Border Guard Corps in most areas were forced to retreat. But in the Pivnichnaya area, the Slovak units were repulsed by the Polish border guards, and the soldiers of the 1st company of the KPO "Zhatyn" even went on a counter-offensive and were able to take control for some time of the Slovak villages of Mniszak nad Paprad, Kacze and Pilhavcek. However, in other areas the situation for the Poles was catastrophic. Near Barvinov, a platoon of Polish border guards "Karpaty" fell into a Slovak ambush, resulting in the death of its commander, Lieutenant Raymond Sventakhovsky. In response, the Poles crossed the border and destroyed the building of one of the Slovak border posts along with its garrison.

The 1st Slovak Infantry Division under General Anton Pulanić occupied Jaworzyn and Zakopane, and then began to advance towards Nowy Targ. These actions forced units of the 3rd Polish Mountain Brigade to retreat, and the Slovaks then captured the town of Jaslisk. The 2nd Infantry Division practically did not participate in the fighting. The 3rd Division advanced in the direction of Jasly-Krosny-Sanok and penetrated 90 km into Polish territory.

On September 17, 1939, Slovak aviation attacked a Polish military train that was transporting... units of the Czechoslovak Legion as part of the Polish Army. As a result of the bombing, several legionnaires were wounded and one was killed. Even earlier, on September 6, 1939, a Slovak fighter piloted by Sergeant Hanowiec shot down a Polish reconnaissance plane in the Astravana area.

Soon the "Polish campaign" of the Slovak troops was completed. The losses of the Slovak military were 18 dead, 46 wounded and another 11 people missing. During the fighting, the Poles managed to shoot down two Slovak aircraft and destroy one armored car. But the Slovaks captured 1,350 soldiers and commanders of the Polish Army. In January 1940, the Slovak authorities handed over about 1,200 prisoners to the German and Soviet authorities, and the rest were placed in a special camp in Lesce.

On the territory of Spis, local residents joyfully greeted the Slovak troops. For example, in Jawazhyna Spiszka, local residents built a “triumphal gate” similar to those that were built in some places in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus as a sign of welcome to the Red Army units that came there during the so-called Liberation Campaign in September 1939. Among those who rejoiced at the arrival of the Slovaks were representatives of the Ukrainian national minority.

At the end of September 1939, Hitler publicly thanked the leadership of “independent” Slovakia for their assistance in the Polish campaign. Soon new awards appeared in the Slovak system - " Military cross"and the medal "Javazina-Arava". In the town of Zakopane, the Slovaks held a "victory parade", which was hosted by General Ferdinand Chatlas. Finally, on November 21, 1939, the main event for Slovakia took place - part of the territories recaptured from Poland (the northern part of Spis and Arava - approximately 770 sq. km with 34.5 thousand inhabitants). During the Second World War, the new authorities carried out a brutal policy of “Slovakization” on these lands, destroying everything that reminded of the location of these territories as part of Poland.

Interesting fact is that the Slovak ambassador in Warsaw Ladislav Shatmar was critical of Slovakia’s attack on Poland and in the first days of the war, in a conversation with Polish diplomats, admitted that he really would not want “fate to grant Slovakia participation in the war on the side of Nazi Germany.”

Sources: Melnik I. Myazha la Zaslavya 1921-1941. - Minsk: Galiyafi, 2015. - 328 p.
Translation from Belarusian is our own. :)

Czech Republic and Slovakia during the Second World War

Policy of the occupiers in the protectorate: Formally, the Czech government remained in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, but in practice it was the main imperial Reichsprtector.
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Instead of the previously existing two parties - National Unity and the National Labor Party, one was created - National Solidarity. The media is promoting the futility of resistance. The occupiers transferred the economy to a military footing, and the entire industry worked for the needs of Germany. Germ has subjugated the financial system, obligatory supplies of food and raw materials have been imposed on agriculture. Aryanization Law - confiscation of Jewish property and sending them to concentration camps. From October 1941, the sending of Czechs to concentration camps began (the famous Terezin camp).

Resistance movement: The efforts of the occupiers encountered opposition from patriotic youth, intellectuals, and social activists; they supported optimism and polemicized against propaganda. Political character took place on the day of national independence on October 28, 1939ᴦ. During the attack, medical student Jan Opletal was wounded. He soon died and his funeral turned into a new manifestation. Repression followed on November 17. All higher education institutions were closed educational establishments. This date after the war is celebrated as International Student Solidarity Day. By the summer of 1939, the first underground resistance groups had formed. For example, “Political Center” - there were members from all parties, the edge of the communists - the organization is not very massive, but influential - there are connections with the London center of emigration Benes (since 1940). “Defense of the Nation” is an organization of former military personnel. ʼʼPetition Committee - we will remain faithful!ʼʼ-creative intelligence social-democracy orientation. Spring 1940 - a focal point for the Resistance movement emerged. But the communist underground retained organizational independence. In addition to the London emigration center, a communist center arose in Moscow, headed by Gottwald. The London emigrant government entered anti-Hitler coalition. On July 18, 1941, Benes concluded a Czechoslovak-Soviet agreement on mutual assistance and the fight against Germany. The significance is that the Soviet side recognized the Czechoslovak Committee in London as the government of sovereign Czechoslovakia and a partner in the anti-Hitman coalition. The response to the intensification of the underground was Nazi terror.
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In September, Heydrich took over the post of tector, and under him there was an active fight against the underground. On May 27, 1942, the London Center organized a successful assassination attempt on Heydrich. After this, there was even more terror, arrests, the liquidation of all formed centers, the second one was destroyed since the beginning of the occupation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, but soon the communists created a third, but connections with Moscow were restored only in 1943. Since 1942, the formation of Czechoslovak military units began in the USSR, they took part in the battles for Kyiv, etc., then turned into an army corps. With the growing authority of the USSR, Benes recognized the Moscow center of the Resistance movement as an equal partner. On December 12, 1943, in Moscow, Benes and Stalin signed an agreement on friendship and post-war cooperation. Negotiations between the leaders of the centers: the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia demanded strengthening of armed methods of struggle, the National Benes refused to recognize the Slovaks as a distinctive nation. The Communist Party of Human Rights managed to insist on supplementing the pre-war system of power with new bodies - national committees. We outlined a program for renovating the country on a people's democratic basis. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia refused the offer to join the emigrant government of Benes, so only 2 centers remained, although a line was outlined towards the creation of a united anti-fascist front.

Slovakia: In Slovakia, after the declaration of independence, the Tiso regime was formed. The country was led by supporters of the fascistization of the society. According to the Constitution of 1939, the state was called the Slovak Republic, they created an army, police, state apparatus - all this at first in the euphoria of independence. Slovakia is the only newly created state in Europe that was used by Hitler for propaganda purposes. Slovakia achieved limited international recognition, including from the USSR in 1939-41. As fascisation progressed, liberal and leftist opposition to the regime intensified. During 1939-1943, 4 Central Committees of the Communist Party of Slovakia were destroyed, the fifth managed to establish contact with the Moscow leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The communists began to advocate for a free Slovakia as part of liberated Czechoslovakia. The course to prepare the national democratic revolution. As the crisis of the Tiso regime grew, anti-fascist sentiments in the Slovak army intensified. By the end of 1943, the Slovak National Council (SNC) was formed as a single center of resistance. This was the result of negotiations between anti-fascist forces and their conclusion on December 25, 1943 of the so-called Christmas agreement. The SNS advocated the renewal of the republic on new principles, for the equality of Czechs and Slovaks. Outside the framework of the SNA, the Shrobar group, oriented towards Benes, operated. Spring 1944 - agreement between the SNA and the military, who recognized the terms of the birth agreement. A serious force is the anti-fascist military. By the summer of 1944, partisan activity increased, and the regime could not cope with them. On August 29, German troops crossed the Slovak border, which served as a signal for an armed uprising. Banska Bistrica became the center. The rebel radio station started working, the overthrow was announced in the territory of Zvolen-Banska Bistrica-Brezno ruling regime Tiso and a people's democratic republic was proclaimed. The uprising was the beginning of the national democratic revolution in Czechoslovakia. A new Slovak government corps of commissioners was created. The government in London recognized the SNA as the supreme authority in Slovakia. Help from the Soviet side. The General Staff of the partisan movement was created. On September 8, 1944, in support of the Red Army, the Carpathian-Dukel operation was launched, but it dragged on, it was not possible to involve military personnel from Eastern Slovakia, and there was no clear coordination of actions. On October 27, 1944, the center of the uprising, Banska Bystrica, fell. Everything was disbanded, some fled to the mountains. Suppression - Nazi terror.
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The uprising takes a place in the anti-fascist struggle. Together with the Red Army, Czechs and Slovaks fought in the north-east of Slovakia, on April 4, 1944 Bratislava was liberated, and by the end of April almost all of Slovakia.

Formation of the National Front of Czechs and Slovaks and the liberation of the country: In March 1945, negotiations between representatives of the London emigration, the Moscow Center (CHR) and the SNS on the composition of the Czechoslovak government and the program of action. The basis is the platform of the HRC. Six parties took part; these forces soon created the National Front of Czechs and Slovaks. Benes accepted the results. Kosice program (promulgated in Kosice). The government that moved there was formed on a parity basis - 4 people from each party. Prime Soc-Dem Fierlinger.
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The program recognized the identity of the Slovak nation and its equality with the Czechs. Czechoslovakia was proclaimed a state of two equal peoples. In the United National Front different forces. The end of the war was preceded by the strengthening of the resistance movement in the Czech lands. May 5th uprising in Prague. The National Committee took over, barricades appeared, and Soviet units came to the aid of the rebels. The rebels have unequal heavy forces, aid is delayed. On May 8, the rebels signed an armistice agreement, according to which the Germans received the right to retreat unhindered, surrendering all heavy weapons. But they didn’t do everything; they burned and killed the population. On May 9, Soviet help arrived, very opportunely, before they had time to defeat Prague.

29) Poland in the years 2 WW. 1 Sep. 1939 ᴦ. Germany attacked Poland...Sept. 3. English and Franz. declared war on Ger.
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At Ger.
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Huge superiority in manpower and technology. Germany struck from Pomerania, East. Prussia, Silesia, Czech Republic and Slovakia. On the 3rd day of the war, the Poles were defeated. 8-27 Sep. - siege of Warsaw. K ser.
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Sep. It is obvious that Poland lost. In the West " Strange War" 17 Sep. - USSR invasion of Poland under the pretext of protecting the population of the West. Ukraine and Western Belarus. On the night of 17 to 18 September. The country's civilian and military leadership left Poland. Poland's losses were 65 thousand people killed, 240 thousand in captivity. 28 Sep. Soviet-Ger. signed in Moscow.
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friendship treaty and borders => territory.
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partition of Poland => Lithuania in the sphere of interests of Moscow. Hitler dismembered Poland à Western, part of the center.
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and sowing districts are included in Ger.
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(10 million people) => there is immediate terror against the Poles... The rest of Poland - General - Governorate with the center in Krakow => terror against the Gypsies and Jews. It was hard for the West too. Ukraine and Western Belarus given over to the Soviets, there is a class approach (deportation - execution of the bourgeoisie, intelligentsia, wealthy peasantry). In total, about 400 thousand Poles were deported. In 1940, 21,857 were executed Polish officers. In total, during 2 MV. Poland lost approx. 6 million people Polish resistance: 30 Sep. A Polish government was created in Paris. in migration. In 1940 he moved to England. Prime Minister and commander of the troops, Gen. V. Sikorsky. Formed
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Polish army - 84 thousand soldiers. Already in 1939, on the occupier.
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ter.
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the Union of Armed Struggle is created (since 1942 - Home Army) => resistance to the Germans... End of Dec. 1941 - thrown into the occupier.
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zone Polish communists => 5 Jan. In 1942, the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) was formed. Another center of resistance to the fascists was the creation of the Ludova Guard, from the spring of 1944 - the Ludova Army.

Establishment of dual power: During Operation Bagration, the Red Army reached the state border in 1941. July 21 Sov. The army did not enter.
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Poland. On the same day, the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKNO) was created in Moscow -> a government of leftist forces. PCNO announced the government. in England self-proclaimed and guilty of war... Since 1943, the head of the Polish government in England is S. Mikolajczyk. August 1, 1944 - uprising in Warsaw... but there was no help from the Soviets and the Germans drowned the uprising in blood... January 1945 - offensive of the Red Army in Poland => the entire territory of Poland was liberated. The Soviets lost 600 thousand killed.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia during the Second World War - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Czech Republic and Slovakia during the Second World War" 2017, 2018.

Little was written about Slovakia's participation in World War II in the USSR. The only thing memorable from the Soviet history course is the Slovak National Uprising of 1944. And the fact that this country fought for five whole years on the side of the fascist bloc was mentioned only in passing. After all, we perceived Slovakia as part of the united Czechoslovak Republic, which was one of the first victims of Hitler’s aggression in Europe...

A few months after the signing in September 1938 in Munich by the prime ministers of Great Britain, France and Italy Neville Chamberlain, Edouard Daladier, Benito Mussolini and German Chancellor Adolf Hitler of the agreement on the transfer of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to the Third Reich, German troops occupied other Czech regions, proclaiming them the "Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia". At the same time, Slovak Nazis, led by Catholic Bishop Josef Tiso, seized power in Bratislava and proclaimed Slovakia an independent state, which entered into an alliance treaty with Germany. The regime established by the Slovak fascists not only copied the rules in force in Hitler’s Germany, but also had a clerical bias - in addition to communists, Jews and gypsies in Slovakia, Orthodox Christians were also persecuted.

Defeat at Stalingrad

Slovakia entered the Second world war already on September 1, 1939, when Slovak troops, together with Hitler's Wehrmacht, invaded Poland. And Slovakia declared war on the Soviet Union on the very first day of Germany’s attack on the USSR - June 22, 1941. On Eastern front then the 36,000-strong Slovak corps set off, which, together with Wehrmacht divisions, passed through Soviet soil to the foothills of the Caucasus.

But after the defeat of the Nazis at Stalingrad, they began to surrender en masse to the Red Army. By February 1943, more than 27 thousand Slovak soldiers and officers were in Soviet captivity, who expressed a desire to join the ranks of the Czechoslovak Army Corps, which was already being formed in the USSR.

The people have spoken

In the summer of 1944, troops of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts reached the borders of Czechoslovakia. The government of Josef Tiso understood that units of the Slovak army would not only not be able to hold back the advance of the Soviet troops, but were also ready to follow the example of their comrades, who surrendered en masse to the Red Army in 1943. Therefore, the Slovak fascists invited German troops to the territory of their country. The people of Slovakia responded to this with an uprising. On the day the Wehrmacht divisions entered the country - August 29, 1944 - in the city of Banska Bystrica, the Slovak National Council, created by underground communists and representatives of other anti-fascist forces in the country, declared the Tiso government deposed. Almost the entire Slovak army, at the call of this council, turned its arms against the Nazis and their Slovak henchmen.

In the first weeks of fighting, 35 thousand partisans and Slovak military personnel who went over to the side of the rebels took control of the territory of 30 regions of the country, where more than a million people lived. Slovakia's participation in the war against Soviet Union actually ended.

Help for the Red Army

In those days, the President of the Czechoslovak Republic in exile, Edvard Beneš, turned to the USSR with a request to provide military assistance to the rebel Slovaks. The Soviet government responded to this request by sending experienced instructors in organizing the partisan movement, signalmen, demolitions and other military specialists to Slovakia, as well as organizing the supply of weapons, ammunition and medicine to the partisans. The USSR even helped preserve the country's gold reserves - from the Triduby partisan airfield, Soviet pilots took 21 boxes of gold bars to Moscow, which were returned to Czechoslovakia after the war.

By September 1944, the rebel army in the mountains of Slovakia already numbered about 60 thousand people, including three thousand Soviet citizens.

They called Bandera’s members “the very bastards”

In the fall of 1944, the Nazis sent several more military formations against the Slovak partisans, including the SS Galicia division, staffed by volunteers from Galicia. Slovak partisans deciphered the letters SS in the name of the division “Galicia” as “the very bastard.” After all, Bandera’s punitive forces fought not so much with the rebels as with the local population.

The Soviet command, specifically to help the rebel Slovaks, carried out the Carpathian-Duklinskaya from September 8 to October 28, 1944 offensive operation. Thirty divisions, up to four thousand guns, over 500 tanks and about a thousand aircraft took part in this battle on both sides. Such a concentration of troops in mountainous conditions has never happened before in the history of wars. Having liberated a significant part of Slovakia in difficult battles, the Red Army provided decisive assistance to the rebels. However, even before the approach of the Soviet troops on October 6, 1944, the Nazis stormed Banska Bystrica, captured the leaders of the uprising, executed several thousand partisans, and sent about 30 thousand to concentration camps.

But the surviving rebels retreated to the mountains, where they continued the fight.

During the national uprising in Slovakia, Soviet officers Pyotr Velichko and Aleksei Egorov commanded large partisan brigades (over three thousand people each). They destroyed 21 bridges, derailed 20 military trains, destroyed a lot of manpower and military equipment fascists. For his courage and heroism, Egorov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And in Czechoslovakia, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising, the “Egorov’s Star” badge was established.

Slovaks do not glorify Hitler's collaborators

Of course, the Slovak rebels played a significant role in the liberation of their homeland, but even today in Slovakia no one doubts that without the Red Army their victory over the Nazi invaders would have been impossible. The liberation of the main part of the country's territory and its capital city of Bratislava became part of the Bratislava-Brnov operation of the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky. On the night of March 25, 1945, several advanced divisions of the 7th Guards Army of this front suddenly crossed the flooded Gron River for the enemy. On April 2, the advanced units of the army broke through the line of fortifications on the approaches to Bratislava and reached the eastern and northeastern outskirts of the capital of Slovakia. Another part of the 7th Guards forces made a roundabout maneuver and approached the city from the north and northwest. On April 4, these formations entered Bratislava and completely suppressed the resistance of its German garrison.

Josef Tiso managed to flee the country with the retreating German troops, but was arrested by the US Army military police and handed over to the Czechoslovak authorities. On charges of treason and collaboration with the German Nazis, a Czechoslovak court in 1946 sentenced him to death by hanging.

Today in many countries of Eastern Europe The history of the Second World War is being revised. However, Slovakia considers itself not the legal successor of the Slovak state of Josef Tiso, but of the common Czechoslovak Republic with the fraternal Czech Republic. According to surveys, most of citizens of the country considers the period of Slovak history from 1939 until the start of the national uprising to be at least undeserving of a positive attitude, and even simply shameful. No one in Slovakia would think of declaring Josef Tiso a national hero, although his last words spoken before his execution were the pompous phrase: “I am dying as a martyr for the sake of the Slovaks.”