In March 1939, Germany took advantage of the activity of the Slovak separatist movement to dismember Czechoslovakia.
The new state - Slovakia had no choice but to accept German patronage and become a true ally of Germany.
On March 23-25, 1939, there were armed clashes between Slovak detachments and Hungarian troops, and the city of Spisska-Nova was bombed by Hungarian aircraft. As a result, the Slovaks lost 22 soldiers and 7 civilians killed. Further developments stopped the intervention of Germany.
In Slovakia, they hastened to create an army that received Czechoslovak weapons stored in warehouses on the territory that had ceded to Slovakia. Slovak officers were graduates of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces, and the new armed forces inherited much of what was inherent in this highly professional army.
The infantry divisions created in Slovakia were traditional "triangular" formations with partially motorized reconnaissance units and horse-drawn artillery.
By the beginning of World War II, the Slovak army consisted of 3 infantry divisions.
The Slovak sector was in the combat zone of Army Group South. Germany's ally fielded the "Bernolac" army under the command of General Ferdinand Chatlos ( Ferdinand Catlos).
General Ferdinand Chatlosh
The composition of "Bernolak" included:
1st Infantry Division (General of the 2nd rank Antonin Pulanich ( Antonin Pulanich) - 2 infantry regiments and 1 separate infantry battalion, 1 artillery regiment and 1 division.
2nd Infantry Division (until September 5 - Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Imro ( Ivan Imro), from September 5 - General of the 2nd rank Alexander Chunderlik ( Alexandr Chunderlik) - 1 infantry regiment, 3 infantry battalions, 1 artillery regiment.
3rd Division (Colonel Augustin Malar ( Augustin Malar) - 2 infantry regiments, 2 infantry battalions, 1 artillery regiment and 1 division. This division was part of the German 18th mountain corps.
In addition to the Bernolak army, the Slovak invasion forces included:
Group "Shibka" (command on September 5 was taken over by lieutenant colonel Ivan Imro), 2 artillery regiments, armored train "Bernolak", 1 communications battalion "Bernolak", battalion "Topol", 2 separate infantry battalions
The total number of Slovak troops was 50,000.
During the fighting in the Tatras, the Slovaks lost 18 soldiers killed.
This cooperation influenced the consolidation of the status of a loyal ally of Germany for Slovakia and prevented the absorption of the state by Hungary. The Slovak government and army command believed that it would be more profitable for them to offer the Germans assistance in the war against the USSR. Therefore, Slovakia became in fact the first country among Germany's allies.
Slovak soldiers. 1941
Major General Augustin Malar
1 stage of the war with the USSRSince July 1941, the Slovak army corps (45,000 soldiers and officers) under the command of General Ferdinand Chatlosh was part of Army Group South. The corps included the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions. Due to the lack of vehicles, they were used mainly to protect communications. The most effective Slovak military unit was the “mobile brigade” under the command of Major General Augustin Malar, which consisted of a separate tank, motorized infantry, engineering battalion and an artillery battalion.
From the air it was covered by 63 aircraft Slovak Air Force.
Slovak troops advanced through Lviv in the direction of Vinnitsa. On July 8, 1941, its units came under the operational command of the 17th German Army. By July 22, they entered Vinnitsa, continuing to advance with heavy fighting through Berdichev and Zhitomir to Kyiv.
In August 1941, it was decided to withdraw the infantry divisions back to Slovakia and form a 10,000th mobile division and a 6,000th security division.
The mobile division had two small infantry regiments, an artillery regiment with 3 9-gun batteries and 1 reconnaissance battalion (all mechanized units), as well as a tank company armed with 12 Czechoslovak tanks LTvz 35, 38 and 40. The security division also had 2 regiment with 1 regiment of horse-drawn artillery, a partially mechanized reconnaissance battalion and an armored car platoon, which was later transferred to the mobile division. These divisions were handed over to the German army, although the command remained with the Slovak generals.
In mid-September 1941, a motorized division under the command of General Gustav Malar was advanced to Kyiv. After participating in the assault on the capital of Ukraine, she was transferred to the reserve of Army Group South. The Slovaks took part in the battles near Kremenchug, advancing along the Dnieper. On October 2, the 1st motorized division fought as part of the 1st German tank army on the territory of the right-bank Ukraine. Then she fought fierce battles near Mariupol and Taganrog. Winter 1941-1942 the Slovak division met at the turn of the Mius River.
2nd stage of the war with the USSR
In 1942, the Slovaks offered to send the 3rd Division to the front to form the Slovak Corps, but this proposal was not accepted.
On the Eastern Front, the Slovak army used mainly the weapons of the former Czechoslovak army, although the Germans supplied it with certain types of mortars, anti-tank, field and anti-aircraft guns. Slovak tactics boiled down to ensuring rapid rotation between the internal army and divisions located in the USSR.
The command even went so far as to exempt conscripts from service if their term of service expired during the war.
In general, the tactic of maintaining one elite field formation was successful, at least until 1943. The Germans spoke well of the mobile division and constantly used it on the front line.
Slovak paratrooper. Spring 1944
In the winter of 1941/42, an elite mobile division fought in the Mius region, where, as one of the German officers noted, the Slovaks proved to be "brave soldiers with very good discipline." The division also took part in the capture of Rostov, fighting side by side with the SS Viking division, then fought in the Kuban as part of the 1st Panzer Army, where it launched an offensive on Tuapse.
Then the division helped cover the retreat from the North Caucasus after the Battle of Stalingrad and was surrounded near the village of Saratovskaya near Krasnodar, but managed to escape, leaving behind all heavy weapons and equipment. Then the surviving soldiers and officers were evacuated by air to the Crimea, where they took part in the protection of the Sivash coastline.
All this time, the security division served along the Kyiv-Zhitomir railway.
3rd stage of the war with the USSR
During 1943, the mobile division was transformed into the 1st infantry division, it was removed from the front and sent to guard the Black Sea coast. Together with the German and Romanian troops, the Slovaks retreated with battles through Kakhovka, Nikolaev and Odessa.
The security division was transferred to the Ukrainian Polesie, where it took part in battles with Soviet and Ukrainian partisans.
The morale of the soldiers began to decline sharply, desertion became widespread in both divisions. In December 1943, 1250 Slovak soldiers of the Guard Division went over to the side of the Soviet partisans.
The Slovak command offered to transfer their units to the Balkans or Western Europe, but the Germans refused them. Then the Slovaks asked to be allowed to return to their homeland, but even here the Germans refused, although they agreed not to use them on the front line without the prior consent of the Slovak command. When another Soviet offensive forced the Germans to break this promise, the Slovak units could no longer be relied upon.
In 1944, they were withdrawn to the reserve, disarmed and transformed into construction brigades (the 1st was used in Romania and Hungary, and the 2nd in Italy).
4th stage of the war with the USSR
During 1943, 2 new divisions (1st and 2nd infantry) were formed in Slovakia for fighting in the Carpathians. Another 1 division was formed in Central Slovakia, when an anti-German uprising began at the end of August 1944.
Slovak uprising of 1944
August 28 - German troops occupied Slovakia. Of the disintegrated 42,000-strong Slovak army, 18,000 went over to the side of the rebels. From a tactical point of view, the performance turned out to be premature, and the Germans managed to disarm 2 field divisions. The rebels continued to fight until the end of October. They were assisted by the Czechoslovak air force brigade deployed by air from the Soviet-German front, which included many former soldiers of the mobile division who were captured by the Soviets in 1942.
By October 17, German troops managed to push the rebels from the important centers of the country into the mountains.
On October 19, the German command issued an ultimatum to the Slovak rebels to surrender. The Slovak National Council rejected him.
On October 27, 1944, German troops occupied the "capital" of the rebels - the city of Banska Bystrica and finally crushed the Slovak uprising.
The Tiso government remained in power thanks to the support of the armed Glinkovsky Guard and part of the military units loyal to the government, which by February 1945 consisted of 1 infantry regiment, 1 anti-aircraft regiment and 1 artillery battery. All Slovak Germans were transferred to the Wehrmacht in exchange for German citizens of Slovak origin. From several disarmed Slovak detachments, 2 more construction brigades were formed.
In April 1945, the Slovak formations surrendered to the Soviet troops.
The composition of the Slovak divisions on the Eastern Front:
Mobile division(in 1943 - 1944 1st infantry): 20th, 21st infantry, 11th artillery regiments, 5th reconnaissance battalion, 11th company of medium tanks (disbanded in 1943).
Security division: 101st, 102nd Infantry, 31st Artillery Regiments, 12th Reconnaissance Battalion.
1st Infantry Division(1941 and 1944): 1st, 2nd, 3rd infantry, 1st artillery regiments, 1st reconnaissance battalion.
2nd Infantry Division(1941 and 1944): 4th, 5th, 6th infantry, 2nd artillery regiments, 2nd reconnaissance battalion.
Little was written about the participation of Slovakia in World War II in the USSR. From the Soviet course of history, only the Slovak National Uprising of 1944 is memorable. And the fact that this country fought for five years on the side of the fascist bloc was mentioned only in passing. After all, Slovakia was perceived by us as part of the unified 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 Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler, an 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, the Slovak Nazis, led by the Catholic Bishop Josef Tiso, seized power in Bratislava and proclaimed Slovakia an independent state, which concluded an alliance treaty with Germany. The regime established by the Slovak fascists not only copied the orders in force in Nazi Germany, but also had a clerical bias - in addition to communists, Jews and gypsies, Orthodox Christians were also persecuted in Slovakia.
Defeat at Stalingrad
Slovakia entered World War II already on September 1, 1939, when Slovak troops, together with the Nazi Wehrmacht, invaded Poland. And Slovakia declared war on the Soviet Union on the very first day of the German attack on the USSR - June 22, 1941. The 36,000th Slovak corps then went to the Eastern Front, which, together with Wehrmacht divisions, passed through Soviet soil to the foothills of the Caucasus.
But after the defeat of the Nazis near 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 word was spoken by the people
In the summer of 1944, the 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 be unable to hold back the advance of the Soviet troops, but were also ready to follow the example of their comrades who massively surrendered 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 the underground communists and representatives of other anti-fascist forces of the country, declared the government of Tiso deposed. Almost the entire Slovak army, at the call of this council, turned its weapons against the Nazis and their Slovak henchmen.
In the first weeks of fighting, 35,000 partisans and Slovak soldiers who had gone over to the side of the insurgents 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 the Soviet Union actually ended.
Help for the Red Army
In those days, the President of the Czechoslovak Republic in exile, Edvard Benes, turned to the USSR with a request to provide military assistance to the rebellious Slovaks. The Soviet government responded to this request by sending experienced instructors in organizing the partisan movement, signalmen, demolition workers and other military specialists to Slovakia, as well as organizing the supply of weapons, ammunition and medicines to the partisans. The USSR even helped to preserve the country's gold reserves - from the partisan airfield Triduby, 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.
Bandera they called "the most bastard"
In the fall of 1944, the Nazis threw 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 most bastard." After all, the Bandera punishers fought not so much with the rebels as with the local population.
The Soviet command, specifically to help the insurgent Slovaks, from September 8 to October 28, 1944, carried out the Carpathian-Dukla offensive operation. 30 divisions, up to 4,000 guns, over 500 tanks and about a thousand aircraft took part in this battle on both sides. There has never been such a concentration of troops in mountainous conditions in the history of wars. Having liberated a significant part of Slovakia in the most difficult battles, the Red Army provided decisive assistance to the rebels. However, even before the arrival of 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 Alexei Yegorov commanded large partisan brigades (over three thousand people each). They destroyed 21 bridges, derailed 20 military echelons, destroyed a lot of manpower and military equipment of the Nazis. For courage and heroism, Yegorov 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 badge "Egorov's Star" was established.
Slovaks do not glorify Hitler's accomplices
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, the 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 outskirts of Bratislava and reached the eastern and northeastern outskirts of the capital of Slovakia. Another part of the forces of the 7th Guards made a roundabout maneuver and approached the city from the north and northwest. On April 4, these formations entered Bratislava and completely crushed the resistance of its German garrison.
Josef Tiso managed to escape from the country with the retreating German troops, but was arrested by the military police of the US Army and handed over to the Czechoslovak authorities. On charges of high treason and collaboration with the German Nazis, a Czechoslovak court in 1946 sentenced him to death by hanging.
Today in many states of Eastern Europe there is a revision of the history of the Second World War. However, Slovakia considers itself the legal successor not of the Slovak state of Josef Tiso, but of the Czechoslovak Republic common with the fraternal Czech Republic. According to polls, most of the country's citizens consider the period of Slovakia's history from 1939 to the start of the national uprising to be at least not deserving of a positive attitude, or even simply shameful. It never occurs to anyone in Slovakia to declare Josef Tiso a national hero, although his last words before his execution were the pompous phrase: "I am dying as a martyr for the sake of the Slovaks."
After Czechoslovakia was occupied by German troops in March 1939 and liquidated, the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovak Republic were formed. The Slovak Glinka Party (Slovak. Hlinkova slovenská ľudová strana, HSĽS) established cooperation with Berlin even before the fall of Czechoslovakia, aiming at maximum autonomy for Slovakia or its independence, therefore it was considered by the German National Socialists as an ally.
It should be noted that this clerical-nationalist party has existed since 1906 (until 1925 it was called the Slovak People's Party). The party advocated the autonomy of Slovakia, first within Hungary (which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), and then Czechoslovakia. One of its founders was Andrei Glinka (1864 - 1938), who led the movement until his death. The social base of the party was the clergy, the intelligentsia and the "middle class". By 1923 the party had become the largest in Slovakia. In the 1930s, the party established close ties with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, with Hungarian and German-Sudet separatists, and the ideas of Italian and Austrian fascism became popular. The membership of the organization grew to 36,000 members (in 1920 the party had about 12,000 members). In October 1938, the party declared the autonomy of Slovakia.
The leader of the party, after the death of Glinka, was Josef Tiso (1887 - executed on April 18, 1947). Tiso studied at the Zilina gymnasium, at the seminary in Nitra, then, as a gifted student, he was sent to study at the University of Vienna, from which he graduated in 1910. He served as a priest, with the outbreak of World War I was a military chaplain in the Austro-Hungarian troops. Since 1915, Tiso was rector of the Theological Seminary in Nitra and teacher of the gymnasium, later professor of theology and secretary of the bishop. Since 1918, a member of the People's Party of Slovakia. In 1924 he became dean and priest in Banovci nad Bebravou, remaining in this position until the end of World War II. Since 1925, a member of parliament, in 1927-1929. headed the Ministry of Health and Sports. After the proclamation of Slovakia as autonomy in 1938, he became the head of its government.
President of Slovakia from October 26, 1939 to April 4, 1945 Josef Tiso.
In Berlin, Tiso was urged to proclaim the independence of Slovakia in order to destroy Czechoslovakia. On March 9, 1939, Czechoslovak troops, trying to prevent the collapse of the country, entered the territory of Slovakia and removed Tiso from the post of head of autonomy. On March 13, 1939, Adolf Hitler received Tiso in the German capital and, under his pressure, the leader of the Slovak People's Party announced the independence of Slovakia under the auspices of the Third Reich. Otherwise, Berlin could not guarantee the territorial integrity of Slovakia. And its territory was claimed by Poland and Hungary, which had already captured part of the Slovak land. On March 14, 1939, the legislature of Slovakia declared independence, the Czech Republic was soon occupied by the German army, so it could not stop this action. Tiso again became the head of government, and on October 26, 1939 - the president of Slovakia. On March 18, 1939, a German-Slovak treaty was signed in Vienna, according to which the Third Reich took Slovakia under its protection and guaranteed its independence. On July 21, the Constitution of the First Slovak Republic was adopted. The Republic of Slovakia was recognized by 27 states of the world, including Italy, Spain, Japan, the pro-Japanese governments of China, Switzerland, the Vatican and the Soviet Union.
Prime Minister of Slovakia from October 27, 1939 to September 5, 1944 Vojtech Tuka.
Vojtech Tuka (1880 - 1946) was appointed head of government and minister of foreign affairs, and Alexander Mach (1902 - 1980), representatives of the radical wing of the Slovak People's Party, was appointed minister of the interior. Tuka studied law at the universities of Budapest, Berlin and Paris, becoming the youngest professor in Hungary. He was a professor at the University of Pecs and Bratislava. In the 1920s, he established the paramilitary nationalist organization Rodobrana (Defence of the Motherland). An example for Tuka were the detachments of the Italian fascists. Rodobran was supposed to protect the shares of the Slovak People's Party from possible attacks by the communists. Tuka also focused on the National Socialist German Workers' Party. In 1927, the Czechoslovak authorities instructed to dissolve Rodobran. Tuka was arrested in 1929 and sentenced to 15 years in prison (he was pardoned in 1937). After his release from prison, Tuka became the general secretary of the Slovak People's Party. On the basis of Rodobran and modeled on the German SS, he began to form the Glinka Guard units (Slovak. Hlinkova garda - Glinkova Garda, HG). Its first commander was Karol Sidor (since 1939 Alexander Makh). Officially, the "guard" was supposed to conduct initial military training for young people. However, it soon became a real power structure that performed police functions and carried out punitive actions against communists, Jews, Czechs and gypsies. Tuka, unlike the more conservative Tees, was more focused on collaboration with Nazi Germany.
Flag of the Glinka Guard.
Capture of Carpathian Rus. Slovak-Hungarian war 23 - 31 March 1939
In 1938, by decision of the First Vienna Arbitration, the southern part of Carpathian Rus and the southern regions of Slovakia, inhabited mainly by Hungarians, were torn away from Czechoslovakia and transferred to Hungary. As a result, part of the lands lost after the collapse of Austria-Hungary was returned to Hungary. The total area of the Czechoslovak territories transferred to Hungary amounted to about 12 km. sq., more than 1 million people lived on them. The agreement was signed on November 2, 1938, and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Third Reich - I. Ribbentrop and Italy - G. Ciano acted as arbitrators. Slovakia has lost 21% of the territory, a fifth of the industrial potential, up to a third of agricultural land, 27% of power plants, 28% of iron ore deposits, half of the vineyards, more than a third of the pig population, 930 km of railway lines. Eastern Slovakia lost its main city - Kosice. Carpathian Russia lost two main cities - Uzhgorod and Mukachevo.
This decision did not suit both sides. However, the Slovaks did not protest, fearing a worse scenario (complete loss of autonomy). Hungary wanted to solve the "Slovak issue" radically. Between November 2, 1938 and January 12, 1939, there were 22 collisions on the border of Hungary and Slovakia. After Czechoslovakia ceased to exist, Berlin hinted to Budapest that the Hungarians could occupy the rest of the Carpathian Rus, but other Slovak lands should not be touched. On March 15, 1939, in the Slovak part of Carpathian Rus, the establishment of an independent republic of Carpathian Ukraine was announced, but its territory was captured by the Hungarians.
Hungary concentrated 12 divisions on the border and on the night of March 13-14, the advanced units of the Hungarian army began a slow advance. Units of the "Carpathian Sich" (a paramilitary organization in Transcarpathia, which had up to 5 thousand members) was mobilized by order of Prime Minister Avgustin Voloshin. However, the Czechoslovak troops, on the orders of their superiors, tried to disarm the Sich. Armed clashes began, lasting several hours. Voloshin tried to resolve the conflict by political means, but Prague did not respond. On the morning of March 14, 1939, the commander of the eastern group of Czechoslovak troops, General Lev Prhala, believing that the invasion of the Hungarians was not sanctioned by Germany, ordered resistance. But, shortly after consultations with Prague, he ordered the withdrawal of Czechoslovak troops and civil servants from the territory of Subcarpathian Ukraine.
In these circumstances, Voloshin declared the independence of Subcarpathian Ukraine and asked Germany to take the new state under his protectorate. Berlin refused to support and offered not to resist the Hungarian army. The Russians were left alone. In turn, the Hungarian government offered the Rusyns to disarm and join the Hungarian state in a peaceful way. Voloshin refused, announced mobilization. On the evening of March 15, the Hungarian army launched a general offensive. The Carpathian Sich, reinforced by volunteers, tried to organize resistance, but had no chance of success. Despite the complete superiority of the enemy army, the small, poorly armed "Sich" in a number of places organized fierce resistance. So, near the village of Goronda, a hundred fighters of M. Stoika held the position for 16 hours, fierce battles went on for the cities of Khust and Sevlyush, which changed hands several times. A bloody battle took place on the outskirts of Khust, on the Red Field. On March 16, the Hungarians stormed the capital of Subcarpathian Rus - Khust. By the evening of March 17 - morning of March 18, the entire territory of Subcarpathian Ukraine was occupied by the Hungarian army. True, for some time the Sich men tried to resist in partisan detachments. The Hungarian army lost, according to various sources, from 240 to 730 killed and wounded. Rusyns lost about 800 people killed and wounded, about 750 prisoners. The total losses of the Sich, according to various sources, ranged from 2 to 6.5 thousand people. This was caused by terror, after the occupation, when the Hungarians shot the prisoners and "cleansed" the territory. In addition, in just two months after the occupation, about 60 thousand residents of Transcarpathian Rus were driven to work in Hungary.
Slovak-Hungarian war. On March 17, Budapest announced that the border with Slovakia should be revised in favor of Hungary. The Hungarian government proposed to significantly move the Hungarian-Slovak border from Uzhgorod to the border with Poland. Under direct pressure from the German government, on March 18 in Bratislava, the Slovak leaders agreed to make a decision to change the border in favor of Hungary and establish a bilateral commission to clarify the border line. On March 22, the work of the commission was completed and Ribbentrop approved the agreement in the German capital.
The Hungarians, not waiting for the treaty to be ratified by the Slovak parliament, launched a major invasion of eastern Slovakia on the night of March 23, planning to push as far west as they could. The Hungarian army advanced in three main directions: Veliky Berezny - Street - Starina, Maly Berezny - Ublya - Stakchin, Uzhgorod - Tibava - Sobrance. Slovak troops did not expect the attack of the Hungarian army. In addition, after the transfer of southeastern Slovakia to the Hungarians in 1938, the only railway that led to eastern Slovakia was cut by Hungarian territory and ceased to function. Slovak troops in the east of the country could not quickly receive reinforcements. But they managed to create three centers of resistance: near Stakchin, in Michalovce and in the western part of the border. At this time, mobilization was carried out in Slovakia: 20 thousand reservists and more than 27 thousand fighters of the Glinsky Guard were called up. The arrival of reinforcements on the front line stabilized the situation.
On the morning of March 24, reinforcements with armored vehicles arrived in Mikhailovtsy. The Slovak troops launched a counterattack and were able to overturn the advanced Hungarian units, but when attacking the main enemy positions, they were stopped and retreated. On the evening of March 24, more reinforcements arrived, including 35 light tanks and 30 other armored vehicles. On March 25, the Slovaks went on a new counterattack and pressed the Hungarians a little. On March 26, Hungary and Slovakia, under pressure from Germany, signed a truce. On the same day, the Slovak units received new reinforcements, but the organization of the counteroffensive did not make sense, due to the significant superiority of the Hungarian army in numbers.
As a result of the Slovak-Hungarian war or the “Small War” (Slovak Mal vojna), the Slovak Republic actually lost the war to Hungary, losing 1697 km of territory with a population of about 70 thousand people in favor of the latter. This is a narrow strip of land along the conditional line Stachkin - Sobrance. In strategic terms, Hungary did not succeed, because it planned a more radical expansion of its territory.
Repartition of Czechoslovakia in 1938-1939. The territory ceded to Hungary as a result of the First Vienna Arbitration is highlighted in red.
Slovakia under German patronage
The Slovak-German agreement concluded on March 18, 1939 also provided for the coordination of the actions of the armed forces of both states. Therefore, on September 1, 1939, Slovak troops entered the Second World War on the side of Nazi Germany, taking part in the defeat of the Polish state. After the defeat of Poland, on November 21, 1939, according to the German-Slovak treaty, the Teszyn region, torn away by the Poles in 1938 from Czechoslovakia, was transferred to the Slovak Republic.
The financial system of Slovakia was subordinated to the interests of the Third Reich. Thus, the German Reichsbank determined the exchange rate beneficial only for Germany: 1 Reichsmark cost 11.62 Slovak crowns. As a result, the Slovak economy was a donor to the German Empire throughout World War II. In addition, as in the protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the German authorities used the workforce of the Slovaks. The corresponding agreement was already concluded on December 8, 1939.
In domestic politics, Slovakia gradually followed the course of Nazi Germany. On July 28, 1940, the German leader summoned to Salzburg the Slovak President Josef Tiso, the head of the government, Vojtech Tuka, and the commander of the Glinkovsky Guard, Alexander Mach. In so-called. The "Salzburg Conference" decided to transform the Slovak Republic into a National Socialist state. A few months later, “racial laws” were adopted in Slovakia, the persecution of Jews and the “Aryanization of their property” began. During World War II, approximately three-quarters of the Jews in Slovakia were sent to concentration camps.
On November 24, 1940, the republic joined the Tripartite Pact (an alliance of Germany, Italy and Japan). In the summer of 1941, Slovak President Josef Tiso suggested to Adolf Hitler that Slovak troops be sent to war with the Soviet Union after Germany went to war with him. The Slovak leader wanted to show his irreconcilable position towards communism and the reliability of the allied relations between Slovakia and Germany. This was to preserve the patronage of the German military-political leadership in the event of new territorial claims from Budapest. The Führer showed little interest in this offer, but ultimately agreed to accept military assistance from Slovakia. On June 23, 1941, Slovakia declared war on the USSR, and on June 26, 1941, the Slovak Expeditionary Force was sent to the Eastern Front. On December 13, 1941, Slovakia declared war on the United States and England, as its allies under the Berlin Pact went to war with these powers (December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States, on December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States).
Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka during the signing of the protocol on Slovakia's accession to the Triple Alliance. November 24, 1940
Slovak troops
The Slovak army was armed with Czechoslovak weapons, which remained in the arsenals of Slovakia. Slovak commanders were the successors of the combat traditions of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces, so the new armed forces inherited all the basic elements of the Czechoslovak army.
On January 18, 1940, a law on universal military service was adopted in the republic. By the beginning of World War II, the Slovak army had three infantry divisions, with partially motorized reconnaissance units and horse-drawn artillery formations. By the beginning of the Polish company in Slovakia, the Bernolak field army (Slovak. Slovenská Poľná Armáda skupina "Bernolák") was formed under the command of General Ferdinand Chatlosh, it was part of the German Army Group South.
The total number of the army reached 50 thousand people, it included:
1st Infantry Division, under the command of General 2nd Rank Anton Pulanic (two infantry regiments, a separate infantry battalion, an artillery regiment and a division);
2nd Infantry Division, initially commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jan Imro, then General 2nd Rank Alexander Chunderlik (infantry regiment, three infantry battalions, artillery regiment, division);
3rd Infantry Division, under the command of Colonel Augustin Malar (two infantry regiments, two infantry battalions, an artillery regiment and a division);
The mobile group "Kalinchak", since September 5, was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jan Imro (two separate infantry battalions, two artillery regiments, a communications battalion "Bernolak", a battalion "Topol", an armored train "Bernolak").
Participation of Slovakia in the Polish campaign
According to the German-Slovak agreement concluded on March 23, Germany guaranteed the independence and territorial integrity of Slovakia, and Bratislava pledged to provide free passage through its territory to German troops and coordinate its foreign policy and development of the armed forces with the Third Reich. When developing the plan "Weiss" ("White" plan for the war with Poland), the German command decided to attack Poland from three directions: an attack from the north from East Prussia; from the territory of Germany through the western border of Poland (the main blow); attack of German and allied Slovak troops from the territory of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
At 5 am on September 1, 1939, simultaneously with the offensive of the Wehrmacht, the movement of Slovak troops began under the command of the Minister of National Defense, General Ferdinand Chatlos. Thus, Slovakia, together with Germany, became an aggressor country in World War II. Slovak participation in the hostilities was minimal, which was reflected in the losses of the Bernolak field army - 75 people (18 people killed, 46 wounded and 11 missing).
Minor fighting fell to the lot of the 1st Slovak division under the command of General Anton Pulanich. She covered the flank of the advancing German 2nd Mountain Division and occupied the villages of Tatranska Yavorina and Yurgov and the city of Zakopane. On September 4-5, the division took part in clashes with Polish troops and, having advanced 30 km, took up defensive positions by September 7. From the air, the division was supported by aircraft of the Slovak air regiment. At this time, the 2nd Slovak division was in reserve, and the 3rd division of the Slovak army defended the 170-kilometer section of the border from Stara Lubovna to the border with Hungary. Only on September 11, the 3rd division crossed the border and, without resistance from the Poles, occupied part of the territory of Poland. On October 7, the demobilization of the Bernolak army was announced.
With minimal participation in real hostilities, which was largely due to the rapid defeat and collapse of the Polish armed forces, Slovakia politically won a significant victory. The lands lost during the 1920s and in 1938 were returned.
General Ferdinand Chatlosh
Slovak armed forces against the Red Army
After the completion of the Polish campaign in the Slovak armed forces, a certain reorganization took place. In particular, in the Air Force, by the beginning of 1940, the old squadrons were disbanded and new ones were created: four reconnaissance squadrons - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and three fighter squadrons - 11th, 12th, 13 -I. They were consolidated into three aviation regiments, which were distributed over three regions of the country. Colonel of the General Staff R. Pilfousek was appointed Air Force Commander. The Slovak Air Force had 139 combat and 60 auxiliary aircraft. Already in the spring, the Air Force was reorganized again: the Command of the Air Forces was established, it was headed by General Pulanih. The Air Force, anti-aircraft artillery and the surveillance and communications service were subordinate to the command. One reconnaissance squadron and one air regiment were disbanded. As a result, by May 1, 1941, the Air Force had 2 regiments: the 1st reconnaissance (1st, 2nd, 3rd squadrons) and the 2nd fighter (11th, 12th and 13th squadron).
On June 23, 1941, Slovakia declared war on the USSR, and on June 26, the Slovak Expeditionary Force (about 45,000 soldiers) was sent to the Eastern Front. Its commander was General Ferdinand Chatlosh. The corps was included in the Army Group South. It consisted of two infantry divisions (1st and 2nd). The corps was armed mainly with Czechoslovak weapons. Although during the war the German command carried out some deliveries of mortars, anti-aircraft, anti-tank and field guns. Due to the lack of vehicles, the Slovak Corps could not maintain a fast pace of the offensive, not keeping up with the German troops, so it was instructed to protect transport communications, important objects, and destroy the remaining centers of resistance of the Soviet troops.
The command decided to form a mobile unit from the motorized units of the corps. All mobile units of the corps were brought together in a mobile group, under the command of Major General Augustin Malar (according to other sources, Colonel Rudolf Pilfousek). In so-called. The “fast brigade” included a separate tank (1st and 2nd tank companies, 1st and 2nd companies of anti-tank guns), motorized infantry, reconnaissance battalions, an artillery battalion, a support company and an engineering platoon. From the air, the “fast brigade” was covered by 63 aircraft of the Slovak Air Force.
The "Fast Brigade" advanced through Lviv in the direction of Vinnitsa. On July 8, the brigade was subordinated to the 17th Army. On July 22, the Slovaks entered Vinnitsa and continued their offensive through Berdichev and Zhitomir to Kyiv with battles. The brigade suffered heavy losses.
In August 1941, on the basis of the “fast brigade”, the 1st motorized division (“Fast Division”, Slovak Rýchla divízia) was formed. It consisted of two incomplete infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a reconnaissance battalion and a tank company, about 10 thousand people in total (the composition was constantly changing, other parts of the corps were attached to the division). The remaining parts of the corps became part of the 2nd security division (about 6 thousand people). It included two infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a reconnaissance battalion and an armored car platoon (later transferred to the Fast Division). It was deployed on the territory of Western Ukraine in the rear of the German troops and was initially engaged in the liquidation of the encircled Red Army units, and then in the fight against partisans in the Zhytomyr region. In the spring of 1943, the 2nd security division was transferred to Belarus, to the Minsk region. The morale of this part left much to be desired. Punitive actions oppressed the Slovaks. In the autumn of 1943, due to the increasing cases of desertion (several formations completely went over to the side of the partisans with weapons), the division was disbanded and sent to Italy as a construction brigade.
In mid-September, the 1st motorized division was advanced to Kyiv and took part in the assault on the capital of Ukraine. After that, the division was taken to the reserve of Army Group South. The respite was short-lived and soon the Slovak soldiers took part in the battles near Kremenchug, advancing along the Dnieper. Since October, the division fought as part of the 1st Panzer Army of Kleist in the Dnieper region. The 1st motorized division fought near Mariupol and Taganrog, and in the winter of 1941-1942. was located on the border of the Mius River.
Badge of the 1st Slovak division.
In 1942, Bratislava offered the Germans to send the 3rd division to the front in order to restore a separate Slovak corps, but this offer was not accepted. The Slovak command tried to carry out a quick rotation of personnel between the troops in Slovakia and divisions on the Eastern Front. In general, the tactics of maintaining one elite formation at the forefront - the "Fast Division", up to a certain time, was successful. The German command spoke well of this unit, the Slovaks proved to be "brave soldiers with very good discipline", so the unit was constantly used on the front line. The 1st motorized division took part in the assault on Rostov, fought in the Kuban, advancing on Tuapse. In early 1943, the division was led by Lieutenant General Stefan Jurek.
Bad days for the Slovak division came when the war came to a turning point. The Slovaks covered the retreat of German troops from the North Caucasus and suffered heavy losses. The "Fast Division" was surrounded near the village of Saratovskaya near Krasnodar, but part of it managed to break through, abandoning all equipment and heavy weapons. The remnants of the division were taken by air to the Crimea, where the Slovaks guarded the coast of the Sivash. Part of the division ended up near Melitopol, where it was defeated. More than 2 thousand people were captured and became the backbone of the 2nd Czechoslovak airborne brigade, which began to fight on the side of the Red Army.
The 1st Motorized Division, or rather its remnants, was reorganized into the 1st Infantry Division. She was sent to guard the Black Sea coast. The Slovaks, together with the German and Romanian units, retreated through Kakhovka, Nikolaev and Odessa. The morale of the unit fell sharply, deserters appeared. The Slovak command offered the Germans to transfer part to the Balkans or Western Europe. However, the Germans refused. Then the Slovaks asked to withdraw the division to their homeland, but this proposal was also rejected. Only in 1944, part was transferred to the reserve, disarmed and sent to Romania and Hungary as a construction team.
When the front approached Slovakia in 1944, the East Slovak Army was formed in the country: the 1st and 2nd infantry divisions under the command of General Gustav Malar. In addition, the 3rd division was formed in Central Slovakia. The army was supposed to support the German troops in the Western Carpathians and stop the advance of the Soviet troops. However, this army was unable to provide significant assistance to the Wehrmacht. Because of the uprising, the Germans had to disarm most of the formations, and some of the soldiers joined the rebels.
A large role in organizing the uprising was played by Soviet groups landed in Slovakia. So, before the end of the war, 53 organizational groups numbering more than 1 thousand people were sent to Slovakia. By the middle of 1944, two large partisan detachments were formed in the Slovak mountains - "Chapaev" and "Pugachev". On the night of July 25, 1944, a group led by Soviet officer Pyotr Velichko was dropped in the Kantor Valley near Ruzomberk. It became the basis for the 1st Slovak Partisan Brigade.
At the beginning of August 1944, the Slovak army received an order to conduct an anti-partisan operation in the mountains, but the partisans were warned in advance, having soldiers and officers in the armed forces sympathetic to their cause. In addition, Slovak soldiers did not want to fight against their compatriots. On August 12, Tiso introduced martial law in the country. In the 20th of August, the partisans intensified their activities. Police formations and military garrisons began to cross over to their side. The German command, in order not to lose Slovakia, on August 28-29 began the occupation of the country and the disarmament of the Slovak troops (of which two more construction brigades were created). Up to 40 thousand soldiers participated in the suppression of the uprising (then the number of the group was doubled). At the same time, Jan Goliang gave the order to start the uprising. At the beginning of the uprising, there were about 18 thousand people in the ranks of the rebels, by the end of September the rebel army already numbered about 60 thousand fighters.
The uprising was premature, because the Soviet troops could not yet provide significant assistance to the rebels. German troops were able to disarm two Slovak divisions and blocked the Dukel Pass. The Soviet units reached him only on September 7th. On October 6-9, the 2nd Czechoslovak Airborne Brigade was parachuted to help the rebels. By October 17, German troops had driven the rebels out of the most important areas into the mountains. On October 24, the Wehrmacht occupied the centers of concentration of insurgent forces - Brezno and Zvolen. On October 27, 1944, the Wehrmacht occupied the "capital" of the rebels - the city of Banska Bystrica and the Slovak uprising was crushed. In early November, the leaders of the uprising were captured - divisional general Rudolf Viest and the former chief of staff of the Fast Division, head of the Slovak ground forces, Jan Golián. The Germans executed them in the Flossenbürg concentration camp in early 1945. The remnants of the rebel forces continued to resist in partisan detachments and, as the Soviet troops advanced, they helped the advancing Red Army.
In the conditions of the general retreat of the Wehrmacht and its allies, on April 3, the government of the Republic of Slovakia ceased to exist. On April 4, 1945, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front liberated Bratislava, Slovakia was again proclaimed a part of Czechoslovakia.
Rudolf Viest.
How the Slovaks went to war with the PolesIn 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 twenty years between the two world wars, relations along the Warsaw-Prague line were, to put it mildly, strained. By the beginning of World War II, 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 of Polish intelligence on Czechoslovak territory under the code name "Scrap" and the appearance on the European map of a new power - the Slovak Republic.
The proclamation 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 had to not prevent the passage of German troops through their territory. By signing the pact with Berlin, the Slovaks, in fact, assumed allied obligations in relations with Nazi Germany. At the same time, the Third Reich understood quite well that in a future war with the Commonwealth, the southern, Slovak flank could play a significant role.
This was also understood in Warsaw, so immediately after the organization of the Polish embassy in Bratislava, its employees began to work on establishing a dialogue with the Slovak authorities and even hoped for possible military cooperation with them. On March 21, Polish Ambassador Mieczysław Chalupczynski informed his leadership that General Ferdinand Chatlasz spoke positively about the development of Polish-Slovak relations and stated that "cooperation with Germany is a bitter necessity for his country." On June 15, 1939, the Polish embassy informed Warsaw that "Chatlash refused to participate in the development of an operational plan for the 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, an attack from the territory of Slovakia was of very great strategic importance and was supposed to lead to the encirclement of units of the Polish Army east of the Vistula. In addition, the offensive from the south eliminated the possibility of organizing logistic 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 the information from the Slovak diplomats in Warsaw that the politicians of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were seriously considering the possibility of dividing Slovakia between Poland and Hungary.
At the request of Germany, Slovakia formed three divisions at an accelerated pace: the 1st Infantry Division "Janošik" (commander - General of the Second Rank Anton Pulanich); 2nd Infantry Division "Shkultets" (Second Rank General Alexander Chunderlik); 3rd Infantry Division "Razus" (Registered Colonel Augustin Malar). All of them were united in the army "Bernalak". In addition to the divisions, the army included the Kalinchak mobile group under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Jan Imr.
At the disposal of the Slovak army were 50 light tanks LT vz.35; 27 light tanks LT vz. 34; 30 tankettes 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 general command of the Slovak army was taken over by the Minister of Defense, General Ferdinand Chatlas. The task of the Slovak troops during the hostilities 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 ready 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 headquarters of the Luftwaffe was formed, which coordinated the German air raids on Warsaw and Krakow.
And at 5 am on September 1, 1939, the Slovak army crossed the Polish border. This ally of Hitler acted on the directions of Zakopane-Bukovina-Yurgau; Pivnichna-Novy Sonch-Gribov-Tylich; Kamancha-Sanok-Lesna-Cisna. The first blow of the Slovaks was taken by the outposts of the Polish border guards. Under enemy attacks, units of the Border Guard Corps were forced to retreat in most sectors. But in the Pivnichnaya area, the Slovak units were driven back by the Polish border guards, and the soldiers of the 1st company of the Zhatyn KPO even went on the counteroffensive and were able to take control of the Slovak villages of Mnishak over Paprad, Kache and Pilhavchek for some time. 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, as a result of which its commander, lieutenant Raymond Sventakhovsky, was killed. In response, the Poles crossed the border and destroyed the building of one of the Slovak frontier posts along with its garrison.
The 1st Slovak infantry division under General Anton Pulanic occupied Jaworzyn and Zakopane, and then began to advance towards Novy Targ. These actions forced the 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 hostilities. The 3rd division advanced in the direction of Jasly-Krosny-Sanok and deepened into the territory of Poland for 90 km.
On September 17, 1939, Slovak aviation attacked the Polish military train, which was transporting ... parts of the Czechoslovak Legion as part of the Polish Army. As a result of the bombardment, several legionnaires were wounded and one died. Even earlier, on September 6, 1939, a Slovak fighter piloted by Sergeant Khanovets shot down a Polish reconnaissance aircraft in the Astravana region.
Soon the "Polish campaign" of the Slovak troops was completed. The losses of the Slovak military amounted to 18 dead, 46 wounded and 11 more people missing. During the fighting, the Poles managed to shoot down two Slovak aircraft and destroy one armored car. But the Slovaks captured 1350 fighters 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 Lesz.
On the territory of Spis, local residents joyfully greeted the Slovak troops. For example, in Yavazhina Spisska, local residents built "triumphal gates" similar to those built in some places in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus to welcome the Red Army units who 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 help in the Polish campaign. Soon, new ones appeared in the Slovak system of awards - the "Military Cross" and the medal "Yavazhina-Arava". In the town of Zakopane, the Slovaks held a "victory parade", which was hosted by General Ferdinand Chatlash. Finally, on November 21, 1939, the main event for Slovakia took place - part of the territories conquered from Poland was transferred to it (the northern part of Spis and the Arava - about 770 sq. Km with 34.5 thousand inhabitants). During the Second World War, the new authorities pursued a brutal policy of "Slovakization" on these lands, destroying everything that reminded them that these territories were part of Poland.
An interesting fact is that the Slovak ambassador to 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, he admitted that he would very much not want "Fate to grant Slovakia participation in the war on the side of Nazi Germany" .
Sources: Melnik I. Miazha la Zaslavya 1921-1941. - Minsk: Galiyafy, 2015. - 328 p.
Translation from Belarusian - our own. :)
The Munich agreement, which marked the beginning of World War II, also brought a side effect. When all "civilized humanity" in the person of England and France gave the Germans and Poles to be torn apart by Czechoslovakia, a small but proud state of Slovakia arose. Of course, under the most severe control of Hitler, who disciplined herself against the USSR in the Great Patriotic War.
During the signing of the Munich Agreement. From left to right: Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini and Ciano
In September 1938, the leaders of the Western powers signed an agreement with Hitler in Munich: the Sudetenland areas were transferred to Germany, Poland captured most of the Teszyn region, the southern regions of Slovakia and Transcarpathian Ukraine were transferred to Hungary by Vienna arbitration.
Slovakia received autonomy, and on March 14, 1939, a protectorate regime was established in the country, and it formally gained independence. The moderate leader of the Slovak Glinka Party that came to power, priest Josef Tiso, became president of Slovakia, and in opposition to him and on the “strong recommendation” of the Nazis, the leaders of the radical wing of the party, Vojtech Tuka and Alexander Mach, took the posts of prime minister and minister of the interior. According to a 25-year agreement, Germany received the right to deploy its troops in a special security zone in western Slovakia. The secret protocol on economic and financial cooperation provided for the complete subordination of the country to the economic interests of Germany, first of all, an increase in the supply of food and raw materials, as well as workers to Germany.
The army of Slovakia consisted of 4 infantry divisions, in the armored forces there were 69 LT-35 tanks and a dozen armored vehicles, aviation consisted of Avia B-534 fighters and close reconnaissance aircraft - S-328 light bombers, Czechoslovak vehicles of the class of our I-153 and R-5 , about 200 in number.
fighter Avia B-534
Slovakia did not formally declare war on the Soviet Union, but sent its troops to the Eastern Front - Hitler considered it possible to use them as occupying troops in Ukraine and Belarus.
In total, two infantry divisions, three separate artillery regiments (howitzer, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns), a tank battalion (30 LT-35), an aviation regiment consisting of 25 B-534 fighters, 16 Bf.109E-3 fighters, 30 S-328 light bombers.
It cannot be said that the Slovaks somehow unthinkably distinguished themselves on the Eastern Front - however, the Germans did not give them such an opportunity, prudently believing that the Slavs would not fight very fiercely with the Slavs. And so it happened - from the personnel of the Slovak units, who, together with the Wehrmacht, poked their head into the Caucasus (one infantry division, a separate howitzer artillery regiment and several separate companies and batteries), most of the soldiers and officers by February 1943 were on the opposite side; several military units (infantry battalion, howitzer artillery battery, aviation maintenance division) went over to the side of the Red Army, along with their weapons and standard military equipment.
Having been burned by such non-allied actions of the Slovaks, the Germans no longer put them on the front line, sending both Slovak divisions replenished in the spring of 1943 in Ukraine to Belarus to protect the strategic lines of communication of Army Group Center.
But here, too, the Slovaks showed a frank unwillingness to fight for the interests of the Reich. Most of the servicemen of the two Slovak divisions by July 1944 went over to the partisans and were sent to Moscow, where they all went to recruit the Czechoslovak Army Corps, created by the Soviet Union in agreement with the Benes government in exile.
In total, out of 36,000 Slovak soldiers who fought on the Eastern Front from July 1941 to September 1944, less than 3,000 died, but more than 27,000 soldiers, officers and generals surrendered. The Czechoslovak Army Corps under the command of Brigadier General Kratochvil (and from September 10, 1944 - Brigadier General Svoboda), thanks to the Slovak army, at the time of its arrival at positions near the city of Krosno (southern Poland) on September 8, 1944, consisted of 3 rifle brigades (according to 3.450-3.700 military personnel), 2 artillery regiments, a tank brigade (40 T-70 and 20 T-34) and more than 12 separate units. In addition, on the night of September 18, the 2nd Czechoslovak Airborne Brigade (1,850 paratroopers) and the 1st Czechoslovak Fighter Aviation Regiment (27 Yak-3 fighters) were transferred to the command of the Slovak National Uprising.
The final collapse of the Slovak army occurred at the start of the Slovak National Uprising on August 29, 1944. The East Slovak Corps (2 divisions) was disarmed by the Germans, the Slovak military aviation (consisting of 27 serviceable aircraft, of which 9 reconnaissance Foke-Wulf-189, 9 Bf-109B fighters, 9 transport), together with the commander of the aviation regiment, Major Trinka, flew to Lviv airfield. This was the end of Slovakia's participation in the war against the USSR. In general, if all the allies of Germany were the same as Slovakia, our armies would have replenished pretty much ...
In Slovakia itself, the Germans also could not feel as they did in France or even in the Czech Republic. Yes, and behave accordingly.
Sending Slovak Jews to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Date of shooting: March 1942 Location: Poprad station, Slovakia
In March 1942, Josef Tiso agreed to the expulsion of Jews from Slovakia, after which the Nazis staged a massive raid in Bratislava. About 35 thousand people were deported to Auschwitz, Treblinka and Majdanek. In May-June, another 15,000 people were expelled, mostly members of the families of the expelled. In total, during the Second World War, more than 70 thousand Slovak Jews died in Nazi concentration camps.
An important role in Slovakia began to be played by Glinkova Garda (Glinka's Guard), a paramilitary organization of the Slovak People's Party in 1938-1945, named after Andrei Glinka, the first leader of the SNP. Although the “military training of the youth” was indicated as the reason for the foundation, very soon Glinkova Garda began to bear police duties and carry out military actions against Jews, Czechs, gypsies and communists. In 1939, the Slovak fascist Alexander Makh became the commander of the Glinka Guard. Since 1941, members of the Glinkow Guard were trained in SS camps in Germany. In 1942, Glinkova Garda carried out the “Aryanization of property” with the expulsion of Jews to Auschwitz. In August 1944, during the Slovak People's Uprising, German troops used the Glinka Garda in battles against the Slovak partisans.
In 1942, the first groups of anti-fascist partisans began to appear in the Slovak mountains. In December 1943, the Slovak National Council was created, which became the head of the underground resistance movement, in which communist and non-communist forces participated. The Council opposed the Tiso regime, recognized the need to restore Czechoslovakia on the basis of an equal partnership between Czechs and Slovaks, and began preparing an armed uprising.
On the night of July 25, 1944, a partisan group under the command of the Soviet officer Pyotr Velichko was parachuted near Ruzomberk, which had the task of organizing regular partisan detachments (in total, 1200 people were parachuted before the end of the war). On August 9, 1944, the Slovak army received an order to conduct counter-partisan operations in the Low Tatras, but the partisans were warned, and the Slovak soldiers, having met part of the partisans, ignored the order to open fire. On August 21, 1944, the Velichko partisan detachment captured Sklabinya and began to blow up the railways.
On August 25, 1944, the partisans openly handed out weapons on the square in Martin and signed up volunteers. At the same time, underground activities were developing in the Slovak army itself, its center was Lieutenant Colonel Jan Golián. On August 27, the communist partisans took Ružomberok, the next day the Wehrmacht began the occupation of Slovakia. On August 29, Defense Minister Ferdinand Chatlos announced this on the radio. In response, Lieutenant Colonel Golian ordered the start of the uprising, which began on 30 August.
The rebels fought for two months; they managed to capture two defense ministers, F. Chatlosh and J. Turants (Chatlosh surrendered voluntarily and after the war served as an official in the city of Martin). However, the Soviet command did not launch the large-scale offensive necessary to help the Slovaks. More than 4,100 rebels died, 15 thousand were taken prisoner and sent to concentration camps and prisoner of war camps. Nevertheless, the uprising significantly disrupted the communication system of the German troops in the rear. All this did not allow the Nazis to turn Slovakia into an advanced outpost of their defense in the Carpathians.
Slovak pilots after awarding ZhK2 on September 8, 1941:
From left to right:
1 - Jozef Drlicka
2 - A. Kubovic
3- Martin Daniel 
AT Vladimir Krishko - shot down 9 aircraft of the Air Force KA for the Luftwaffe, but! In the Slovak uprising, he fought against the Germans and shot down 3 Luftwaffe planes!
Parachute School Commander Juraj Mesko
Slovak paratroopers on training in Germany. From left to right: Jozef Lachky, Jozef Pisarcik, Ladislav Lenart. Pay attention to the national yarns. 
Briefing before the jump. Tri duby airfield. 
On October 27, 1944, the Germans took Banska Bystrica, so from October 28, the rebels switched to partisan operations. On November 3, in Pogronski Bukovec near Banska Bystrica, Jan Golian, together with General Rudolf Wiest, was taken prisoner by the Germans and was executed in the Flossenburg concentration camp, along with other Slovak officers, in early 1945. However, the Nazis failed to completely destroy the partisans, who had been intensifying their sabotage operations since December. In mid-January 1945, as a result of the offensive operations of the Soviet army, a significant part of the country was liberated, on April 4 - Bratislava, and by the end of April - almost all of Slovakia. Partisan detachments, together with the Red Army, stormed the cities of Brezno, Liptovsky Gradok and others. 
The liberation of Slovakia lasted almost eight months. 144,000 Soviet soldiers died, about two thirds of them in Slovakia.
Josef Tiso fled to Bavaria in April 1945, where on June 6, 1945 he was detained by the American army and extradited to Czechoslovakia. He was sentenced to hang "for treason". On April 18, 1947, the sentence was carried out. Vojtech Tuka was also shot in 1946.
Alexander Mach fled to Austria on April 4, 1945, where he lived in the village of Mondsee and was captured by the Americans there. He was extradited to Czechoslovakia and imprisoned in the Prague prison Pankrac, later transferred to Bratislava. In 1947, Mach was convicted - contrary to expectations, he received a surprisingly mild sentence - 30 years in prison, on May 9, 1968, he was amnestied by President Ludwik Svoboda for health reasons. He served his sentence in Leopoldov, along with other politicians of fascist Slovakia - propaganda chief Tid Gaspar, General Josef Turanets, Senate Chairman Pavel Oplushtil, Economy Minister Geza Medritsky and Finance Minister Mikulas Pruzhinki. After his release, he lived at his son's dacha near Bratislava and wrote memoirs, which were later confiscated by the state security authorities and issued to the family only in 2003.
However, since 1945, hostilities on the territory of Slovakia did not end. In September 1947, Bandera groups made their way to the West through the forests of Slovakia: the Polish army drove them from their territory, and the Red Army did not give them the opportunity to return back to Ukraine. Bandera tried to get into the US occupation zones in Germany and Austria as soon as possible. The military operation to block and detain them was codenamed "Operation B". More than 13 thousand military personnel of the Czechoslovak army, as well as units of border guards and groups of veterans of the partisan movement, took part in the operation. The commander of "Operation B" was Brigadier General Julius Nosko, a participant in the Slovak National Uprising. The armed forces neutralized 350 Bandera, 61 of them were killed in an attempt to resist. The Czechoslovak military suffered fewer losses: 32 killed and 26 wounded. At a time when there was already a peaceful life in Czechoslovakia, the war continued in the Tatra Mountains, although two years had passed since its end.
