Invasion of Czechoslovakia (Fall Grün)
From Alternative History
| Invasion of Czechoslovakia | |||||||||||||||||
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| Date | October 1, 1938 - March 15, 1939 | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | Czechoslovakia | ||||||||||||||||
| Result | Axis phyrric victory | ||||||||||||||||
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The Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1938-1939 (in Czechoslovakia also "Obranná Válka roku 1938-1939"; in Germany, "Feldzug in die Tschechoslowakei," codenamed "Fall Grün," by the German General Staff) was carried out by Nazi Germany and its ally Hungary.
The invasion of Czechoslovakia began October 1, 1938, one day after the signing of the Munich Agreement, and ended March 15, 1939, with Germany and Hungary occupying the entirety of Czechoslovakia. Seeing that Czechoslovakia had failed to comply with the demands of the Munich Agreement, the United Kingdom and France did not declare war on Germany and Hungary, and is seen today as one of the main examples of the definition "Western betrayal".
Following the refusal by the Czechoslovak government on September 30 and a German-staged "Czechoslovak attack" in the morning of October 1, 1938, on October 1, German forces invaded Czechoslovakia. Initially, the Czechoslovak maintained their tactical and strategic advantage, preventing the Germans to break through the main defensive fortification lines along the border, and as a result the Czechoslovak reserves could be mobilized in time for the main breakthrough of the German forces.
On October 20, suffering from low ammunition stockpiles and other supplies, the Hungarians began their invasion of Czechoslovakia, meeting mostly reservists with more obsolete weapons, but the defenders maintained their tactical and organisational superiority over the Hungarians, sometimes with the help of the Slovak nationalistic organisation the Hlinka Guard.
Unknowingly for the Axis, the Soviet Union had supplied Czechoslovakia with Soviet military personnel, combat aircrafts and later, armoured vehicles, preventing the Axis further to use offensive strategies.
On October 23, 1938, the Germans broke through the Czechoslovak border defences in the north, in the west and in the south, and the Czechoslovak government and high command decided to retreat and establish defensive positions around Plzeň, Prague and Brno. The Germans managed to advance far into Czechoslovak territory, but was repulsed by a large armoured counterattack northwest of Plzeň, west and south of Brno and north of Prague. On November 12, the Germans captured the Slovak capital Bratislava, and the Hungarians captured Spiská Nová Ves. On November 20, the Germans managed to capture Brno, but the eventually successfull attack was stopped by a counterattack outside the village of eletava, and the Germans were forced to retreat temporarily. A similar counterattack near Plzeň assured the Czechoslovak control of the town.
On December 1, Brno fell to the Germans, and the war turned now into a stalemate, and the fronts were mostly quiet for months, except for artillery duels, aerial battles and a couple of attempted breakthroughs by both sides. On March 1, the Germans began their spring offensive with the objectives to capture Plzeň, Olomouc and Prague. On March 2, Plzeň surrendered to the Germans. Seeing that the Germans would soon reach Prague, the Czechoslovak government ordered the evacuation of 80% of all troops to neutral Poland, the remaining should defend Prague, Olomouc and ilina. On March 8, Olomouc fell to the Germans while ilina fell to the Hungarians. On March 12, the German reached the Prague suburbs, During the night between the 14 and 15 of March, 1939 the commanding officer of the 1st Army and the defence of Prague, Army General Sergěj Vojcechovský, was given an ultimatum: Either capitulate to the German armed forces, or the Luftwaffe would initiate an aerial bombardment of Prague which would turn the capital into a pile of ruins. Having no real chance to defend the capital for a longer period of time, and to avoid further damage on the capital, Gen. Vojcechovský capitulated to the Germans, and the Germans entered the capital the following day.
Although that the Germans and the Hungarians by March 15 had completely overrun Czechoslovakia, the Czechoslovak government never surrendered. In addition, Czechoslovakia's remaining land and air forces were evacuated to neighbouring Poland and Yugoslavia.