FoW: Slovak Cavalry Reconnaissance Troops

...snd so ladies and gentlemen we move onto the next instalment of our journey through the military might of Slovakia in World War 2.

Today I would like to introduce you to the Slovakian Cavalry Patrols a much scaled down version of their Czech forebears and sadly (I believe) under represented on the modern wargames table but they were present and they were important for the tasks that they fulfilled.

So, let me convince you why I like these guys so much...

OK, so as with most things Slovakian, if we are going to scrutinise them we need to start way back with the Czechoslovakian Army and in this case the Czechoslovakian Dragoon Regiments that served the State.

The cavalry of the Czechoslovakian Republic was primarily geared towards conducting reconnaissance duties and raiding enemy territory, however when appropriate they were also tasked with pursuing broken and fleeing foes or else conducting staunch rearguard activity if the Czechs were forced into retreat. Generally they were asked to complete any task where a speed faster than that of the infantry became important.

It was a part of the Czech military doctrine not to use the cavalry to conduct activities that could just as easily be completed by other parts of the military due to the fact that the replacement of men and horses was a long and drawn out process and the quality of the cavalry regiments was likely to decline sharply.

"Because of its special qualities - the mobility that is based on the speed of its horse and its ability to move in almost every terrain and equipping the cavalry with weapons to destroy all sorts of field targets - the cavalry has the task of searching for messages, fighting and maintaining contact with other formations. The most important battle for the cavalry is the fight on foot - small horse mounted attack units are to attack the enemy whenever the opportunity arises!"

Equestrian training was much longer than, for example, infantry training with the training itself placing much higher demands on the rider (By the end of the Czechoslovakian Republic all riders were termed 'Dragoons'. Dragoons originated in the 16th Century and as an arm of service expanded greatly during the 30 Years War. They were horse mobile troops which dismounted to fight like light infantry, termed Hippomobile infantry).

"The way of combat cavalry will more often force the rider to fight alone, without precise orders, under very vague, supremely unfavourable and great odds. These circumstances will place special demands on his high spirit. He would have to be accustomed not to fall into fear of loneliness, to fall prey to panicked helplessness in the absence of orders, but to act proactively, not to lose reason and heart in unclear, sudden, unfavourable and outnumbered situations, but to dig deep!"

Even the training of a cavalry horse was very much dependant on the right choice of horse and long, intensive preparations. That is why it would not be easy to replace heavy losses in the cavalry arm.

The training of cavalry troopers began in October when the new conscription year started. Gradually during the year the depth of training intensified. The troopers started training individually, then in teams [the UK equivalent of a team would be the section], then platoons, squadrons and then in early summer they began practising regimental manoeuvres. The training year ended in early autumn with the annual military manoeuvres. After this the oldest year were returned to civilian life to coincide with the influx of the new annual conscripts with each conscripted year being retained for a total of two years active service.

In 1933 and 1936 there were extensive reorganisations of the Horse Mounted and Dragoon regiments. All cavalry regiments from this point forward were designated as Dragoon Regiments which was more consistent with the military function that they fulfilled. 

Horse Mounted and, post 1933, the Dragoon Regiments consisted of the Regimental Headquarters under which were two Field Battalions and a Replacement Battalion, all supplemented after 1933 with a Heavy Machine Gun Squadron subordinated directly to the Regimental Command.

I Battalion included the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Squadrons whilst the II Battalion included the 4th and 5th Cavalry Squadrons. The independent HMG Squadron was designated as the 3rd Squadron.

Each Cavalry Squadron comprised of two Troops each of two Platoons on mobilisation. Each Platoon consisted of two Teams each with a total of 16 riders. The 16 riders were once more divided into two Groups of 8 riders each.

The Replacement Battalion consisted of a Replacement Squadron, a Remount Squadron, between 2-4 horse pulled wagons along with the Administrative and Ordnance Units.

The Cavalry Brigade was the next step up the organisational ladder. Each Brigade consisted of between 2-4 Dragoon Regiments and bicycle mounted squadrons. Around October 1932 the Brigade structure was complemented with an Artillery Section and from the autumn of 1933 a Squadron of Armoured Cars although this only remained the case until 1935 when the wartime organisation of the cavalry brigades changed again.

The brigade had, within its overall structure, a telegraph company with three telephone squads, one radio and one auxiliary platoon, eight exchange boards, 160km of telephone cable, one morse telegraph station, four medium radio stations, three signalling stations, one set of marking and signalling targets and two messenger pigeons! In addition to all of this the brigade was also accompanied with a field ambulance, a payroll department and an attached automobile supply column.

Up to the reorganisation of 1938 the Czechoslovakian army had four Cavalry Brigades with an extant total of around 10,000 men.

From 1 January 1938 the Rapid Division replaced the Cavalry Brigade. The Rapid Division was created in 1937 with the Cavalry Brigade Command fulfilling the basis of the Rapid Division Headquarters.

In the event of war the Rapid Division had further assets subordinated to it to reach its full complement. The full Rapid Division consisted of a headquarters, a bicycle battalion, a motorised brigade of two armoured battalions and two motorised infantry battalions and a cavalry brigade of two dragoon regiment and two artillery units.

Of interest to us here is the composition of the 3rd Rapid Division stationed in Bratislava on Slovak territory which was dramatically under strength with only one under strength tank company in addition to lacking its motorised infantry.

In the second half of the 1930's Czechoslovakia possessed 11 Dragoon regiments and a further 19 horse drawn logistic squadrons although on Slovakian soil at the time of the declaration of independence were only the 3rd and 11th Dragoon Regiments which were a part of the depleted Czechoslovakian 3rd Rapid Division, although each of the six Infantry Divisions stationed on Slovak soil would also have had a cavalry squadron included within the composition of the divisional reconnaissance battalion, usually also including platoons of light tanks, tankettes and armoured cars along with bicycle mounted troops. The composition of these Reconnaissance Battalions varied enormously throughout the Czech army so it is difficult to pin down exactly what was where although with the exodus of the Czech officers and men after independence we can be sure that they were exceptionally understaffed.

Upon independence the Slovaks were forced to reorder their armed forces and as such the six Infantry Divisions were reduced to three in number, with one each being assigned to a Higher Headquarters (VV - Vyssi Velitelstvo) of which there was one for each of the three territorial divisions of Slovakia; Trencin, Banska Bystrica and Presov.

As a part of these reorganisations the Slovak cavalry was collected together and they were able to organise a total of only three cavalry squadrons, of two troops each. These were stationed in Bratislava, Nitra and Michalovce. In addition to the squadrons there were also three horse drawn transport squadrons each stationed in Bratislava, Zvolen and Presov and of course the military stud farm.

Now if you think about it that is a total of two entire regiments and six independent squadrons which would amount to a total of 14 squadrons that were stationed on Slovak soil effectively being reduced to the strength of three. This gives you some indication of the difference in numbers between Czechs and Slovaks in the specialist service arms. 

Soon after Germany marched over the Polish border (including from Slovakia), the Slovak government immediately marched two of its Infantry Divisions across the border; the 1st 'Janosik' and the 2nd 'Skultety' Infantry Divisions. On the 5 September 1939 however the Slovak authorities decided on sending a more mobile field asset over the border as well; this was the Fast Group 'Kalinciak'.

Rychla Skupina 'Kalinciak' was formed of three groups. Group I comprised the 1st and 2nd cavalry squadrons with the 4th and 5th cavalry support squadrons. Group II comprised the 1st and 2nd cyclist companies, the 4th cyclist HMG company and 3rd cyclist support company. Group III was the motorised group and comprised a tank company, an armoured car company and an anti-tank company. 

'Kalinciak' returned to Slovakia on 1 October 1939 to immediately become embroiled in more reorganisations that continued until early 1940 by which time the army's cavalry had been reordered into Cavalry Reconnaissance Groups I, II and III. Groups I and II were assigned to the newly created 1st Infantry Division and garrisoned in Bratislava and Sered respectively, whilst Group III was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division and garrisoned in Michalovce.

Later on in October of 1940 the army was yet again reorganised with the 2nd Infantry Division being abolished and the 3rd becoming the new 2nd. Along with this reduction in size Cavalry Reconnaissance Group II was also abolished with Group III becoming the new Group II.

In this format of late 1940, Cavalry Reconnaissance Group I had the following structure:

Headquarters

HMG Company

1st Squadron

2nd Squadron

Bicycle Company

1st Transport Squadron

2nd Transport Squadron

Cavalry Reconnaissance Group II had the following structure:

Headquarters

HMG Company

1st Squadron

2nd Squadron

Bicycle Company

1st Transport Squadron

The Slovakian government had long been aware that the Germans were planning on invading the Soviet Union and for months had been planning their own contribution to the axis efforts. Perhaps a little later in the day than the rest of the preparations the Mobile Group [aka Group Pilfousek after its commander Rudolf Pilfousek] was organised on 22 June 1941 and within its composition included Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron II which is to say that the 2nd Squadron of Cavalry Reconnaissance Group I had been assigned to the Mobile Group.

As a part of the Slovak Field Army that marched over the Soviet border the two Infantry Divisions were each supplied with a Cavalry Troop. 1st Division received Troop I whilst the 2nd received Troop II. Essentially each of these divisions had two platoons of cavalry available to it.

Whilst the composition of the Field Army's Divisions remained consistent for a little longer, soon after going over the border, on 8 July 1941 the Mobile Group was reformed into a Mobile Brigade with the stripping of the cavalry which were struggling to keep up and the addition of further motorised units.

On 1 September 1941 2nd Infantry Division was re-purposed into the Security Division within which the cavalry of the Mobile Group was assigned alongside the two Troops of 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions becoming the 'Combined Reconnaissance Group'. They stayed with the Security Division until it was recalled and reassigned as construction formations serving the Reich.

...and that I believe may be the most detailed account of Slovak cavalry that you will find anywhere in the English language...

but what about the painting and modelling? What did I use to convert them into Slovakians? How did I paint them? So many questions!!!!

Modelling the Troops

So there was quite a bit of jiggery-pokery to come up with appropriate miniatures for the Slovak Cavalry. 

I had to use True North (carried in the UK by Old Glory) Polish cavalry figures for the mounted troops with a bit of nip and tuck and I went to the tried and trusted Battlefront Romanians for the dismounted cavalry. Both types of troops required some minor adjustments.

Before we go any further I should point out that I nipped off the heads of every single miniature and replaced them with Peter Pig Slovak heads to turn them into Slovaks. Either the ones with the Slovak Helmets or else the ones with the Soviet Pilotka Caps which fulfil a good proxy for the Slovak field caps will do. I used both, although predominantly the helmeted heads as I much prefer the look.

The second adjustment that needs to be done is with the dismounted cavalry. As they are actually normal Romanian infantry with their leg wrap puttees something needs to be done about this as the cavalry all wore knee high black boots. An easy fix is to paint on liquid Green Stuff around the puttees so that they all look like boots. Let it cure properly and 'bobs yer uncle'... Boots! 

Painting the Troops...

So, where painting all of the cavalry men is concerned its a relatively simple affair. The first step is to prime, and as with most of my other historical stuff, I prime with a black etch primer. You can buy these from any hardware store but the 'etch' in the primer ensures an exceptionally strong substrate to the acrylic layers that will go over the top, the etch actually referring to the minute acidic content that eats microscopically into the surface of the model creating an uneven surface for the paint to clutch to whilst providing a nice and smooth top layer as the paint levels out and dries.

The lions share of the work done on WW2 miniatures is the main uniform and where the Slovaks are concerned after a somewhat lengthy research period I decided to ditch the (re)coloured photos from the past and go with the uniform colours that all of the re-enactors in Czechoslovakia are using at the moment. In my experience all of these re-enactment guys are anal about accuracy so I would trust their opinions a lot more than raggedy old photos with amateur enthusiast recolour treatments.

My base coat was done with Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet for the deepest layers of the uniform. The first highlight, which presents the largest overall surface area that will be seen at the end was done with MIG's 113 Khaki Green No3 (Brit 1939-1942) with the final highlights along all of the raised edges being completed with MIG's 058 Light Green Khaki. This covers all of the cloth uniforms and field caps. The collar flashes are painted with Vallejo's 915 Deep Yellow.

The helmet has a single coat of 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 897 Bronze Green and Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet with the blue helmet band having a basecoat of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue, highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue and Vallejo's 943 Blue Grey. The little Slovak crosses are all hand painted with thinned down Vallejo's 820 Offwhite.

Everything else is all gravy after painting the uniform.

All of the Canvas bags and straps have a basecoat of Vallejo's 921 English Uniform applied with block highlights of AK Interactives 3072 M-44 Uniform Green Ochre Khaki whilst the leather belts and ammo pouches are basecoated in Vallejo's 045 Charred Brown and highlighted with Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth.

The boots are any matt black whilst the Gas Mask Tins are basecoated with Vallejo's 980 Black Green and highlighted with Lifecolor's UA224 Olive Drab Faded Type 2.

The rifle bodies are basecoated with Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown with the highlighted grain lines painted with Vallejo's 981 Orange Brown. All metal work is painted black firstly and highlighted with Molten Metals Steel although the sabre blades can be highlighted further if you like the idea. I used Vallejo's Metal Medium added to the Steel paint. The rifle straps are basecoated with Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and Vallejo's 819 Iraqi Sand.

Where the skin is concerned you can paint it how you please but personally I use one of AK Interactive's paint sets for 'Flesh and Skin Colours' and I've never looked back!

Painting the Horses...

Painting the horses themselves is a relatively simple affair I think. After they are primed the horses receive an overall coat of Vallejo's Panzer Aces 302 Dark Rust. This is then block highlighted with Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth.

The manes of the horses are painted with Vallejo's 822 German Camo Black Brown, followed by a light drybrush of Vallejo's 872 Chocolate Brown.

If you want any white flashes or socks on your horses then I start with a rough stippling of Vallejo's 819 Iraqi Sand followed by a stipple of Vallejo's 820 Offwhite over the top of it ensuring that almost all of the Iraqi Sand is obscured leaving only a trace of it.

The noses of the horse are stippled with some GW Elf Flesh... and there we have it... done!

The horse furniture is a little more complex. All of the reins and tackle are painted Vallejo's 822 German Camo Black Brown with an edge highlight of 50/50 German Camo Black Brown and Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth. All of the metal parts of the tackle and harness are painted with Molten Metal Steel.

The horse blanket under the saddle and the strapped rolls in front of and behind the rider are painted with a basecoat of Vallejo's 830 German Field Grey which is then highlighted with Vallejo's 886 Grey Green. The straps are repainted with Vallejo's 950 Black with a simple basecoat of Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth put over the top.

The saddle bags are painted with a basecoat of Vallejo's 045 Charred Brown and highlighted with Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth.

Basing them all...

All of the bases are actually really simple. I buy all of my bases from Tony at East Riding Miniatures. Hes a bit of a legend and REALLY helpful. They are all laser cut MDF which allows for easy scoring of the base surface.

I then glue the miniatures to the scored surface and apply a thin layer of tile grout over the top. Once this is dry I glue a layer of one of my sand mixes over the top. Generally speaking I create my own mixes for base coverings as I REALLY don't like a lot of the crap you buy from the shops. Its generally speaking far too gaudy in colour or uniform in texture for my tastes.

I like the generally fine sand BUT I like to have lots of the little stones in there so I can create some colour contrasts with the dirt on the bases.

Once dry the whole base is given a basecoat of Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown and given a heavy drybrush of Vallejo's 814 Green Ochre.

All of the little stones on the bases are then given a basecoat of Vallejo's 995 German Grey and roughly highlighted (to create a jagged uneven texture) with any lighter grey of your choice but personally I go with Vallejo's 992 Neutral Grey.

The sides of the bases are now painted Matt Black. I never used to bother with this BUT I've really gotten into the clean precise look this lends to the bases. I love it now.

Now we come to the final stage of the bases which is the covering. The static flock that I use is my own mix. I go for something that approximates the dead and dry grass you find on the Steppes with perhaps a little more green in it than usual. This allows an overall base aesthetic that can be used the length of Europe in my opinion.

To provide the final textural boost to the bases though I use a variety of clumps. I had a LOT of problems finding ones that I felt were suitable but after a couple of years I came across a company called Tajima Miniatures whose self adhesive tufts are without a doubt the best I have ever found. I use their stuff by the bucket load now, in great variety. 

These all add to the final colour and texture of the bases of this army.

... and that as they say gentlemen is that! If I am not mistaken this is, at this point in time, the only place in the world where you will find this information all compiled in one place in the English language... I hope some of you out there are able to make some use of this.

... and I would be remiss of course if I didn't sign off by saying "FIX BAYONETS!!!!"

FoW: Slovak Infantry

Well over the last three months my life has been literally turned upside down. I'm coming to the end of a VERY drawn our purchase of a house which has seen move halfway across the country to end up crashing at my best mates whilst I take up a new position at work. This, I can with a certain degree of certainty state, has played havoc with my will, much less desire, to carry on writing blog posts for a while!

However, if I don't get these done then I don't get anything else done either so.... here we go!

So now that all of you fine fellows have had a cursory introduction to the Slovakian army of 1939-1942 and seen a couple of Slovak thingys, I thought it was best if we were to finally jump in with the infantry!

You can't get much more basic than this when looking at a new army so I thought that it was the best place to start where the footsloggers are concerned.

Let me begin by setting the stage; you will notice when I go into the history of the Slovak infantry that their section sizes are considerably different to the section sizes that I have modelled my Slovak army on, based on Alex Kaczynski's fine piece of work for Flames of War V3; Poland in Flames. In actuality the infantry sections should only have three bases... but I decided not to let this minor point stop me! More bodies for the bayonets right? 

So the infantry of the Slovak army were the backbone of the state BUT when Slovakia  managed to shuffle loose the mortal coil of Czech oppression (* cough cough *) the potential survival of the State itself was very much a question mark...

All through the war the Slovak army used the prewar Czechoslovak Army training methods and manuals which by the time of the uprising in 1944 was hopelessly outdated and inadequate for use on the then modern battlefields BUT in 1939...

Any discussion of Slovak army, and more especially where this blog post is concerned the infantry, must begin with the modern history of the Czech army as the Slovak army was really the last surviving son of this military system with which it entered into the cauldron of the Second World War.

In 1958 an anonymous investigator of the CIA wrote:

"The ability of the Czech to soldier has been proven in both world wars, and twice during the short history of the Czechoslovak Republic the Armed Forces have reached a very high degree of military proficiency only to disintegrate in the wake of political events. Fully mobilised and judged one of Europe's finest forces, the Czechoslovak Army of 1938 was rendered impotent by the Munich agreement. After World War II a reborn Army had reached a marked degree of military proficiency by 1948. It was one of the few European Armies capable of conducting corps level maneuvers. But with the Communist coup d'etat in February of that year again the Army was reduced to a state of military ineffectiveness.

In spite of these things however the Czech is basically not a martial individual. The Czechoslovak Army, as such, has never been tested and consequently lacks any real military tradition. With the exception of Ziska, the men who have made Czech history have not been men of letters [this may be a mistake as the majority of Czech history makers in fact were men of letters]. "The Czechs are frugal, industrious, extraordinarily competent, home loving, possessed of inordinate personal integrity, above all reasonable in their dealings with one another and with the outer world... they care little for the soldier, but enormously for the prophet and the man of letters"

Reading this analysis it would be easy to assume that this central European nation were all unwilling soldiers but that would be to ignore the exploits of the expat Czech Legions, of the Slovaks in the Second World War as well as the heroics of a by gone age of Czech history.

In reading the histories of individual Czech units one will note the frequent appearance of the names of Jan Hus and Jan Ziska. They also appear frequently as names of military installations, and it might be said that Czech military tradition has its roots in the lives of these two men. The blind Ziska, an ardent follower if the religious reformer Hus, is one of history's most brilliant generals, As the leader of the Taborites (after the city of Tabor, stronghold of the radical Hussites), Ziska time and again routed the far superior forces of Emperor Sigismund. He never lost a single military engagement, and today his name and the city of Tabor are symbols of the bravest war of liberation in Czech history.

With the defeat of the Hussites at the Battle of White Mountain near Prague in 1620, Czechoslovakia became a part of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Czech army as such ceased to exist.

It obviously doesnt need to be pointed out that Czechs and Slovaks fought for their new Imperial masters for the next two hundred years but perhaps the most important of these Imperial campaigns must be that of the First World War where Czechoslovakian units were involved in the fighting on all sides with very large numbers engaged against the Central Powers, thus earning for themselves the recognition of independence they so badly craved from the Western Powers.

As a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empires commitment to the Central Powers war aims, Czechs were being called upon to fight and die for Germanic Imperialism which they associated with oppression in its most visceral sense. When mobilisation was ordered on 26 July 1914 some Czechs refused to obey - others departed from Prague stations with anti-German cries and singing Slav songs. "Maria Theresa lost Silesia, Francis Joseph is going to lose everything" was often heard. On the other hand however the Sudeten Germans formed some of Austria's most crack infantry regiments.

In the early days the average Czech soldier expected that the Russians would be bulldozing over the Germans any day. When the reality of the situation began to reach down to the Czech ratings, with German military dominance becoming clear the desertions started to reach almost epidemic proportions as men went over to the other side in their thousands... in some cases whole units were known to change sides. The most notorious of these was the 28th Prague Regiment which went over to the Russians on 23 April 1915.

30 minutes after entering combat the 35th Pilsen Regiment also deserted en masse. A total of 130,000 Czech and Slovak soldiers deserted and alongside these Masaryk estimated a total of 182,000 ultimately fought alongside the Russians and Western Armies. Approximately 25,000 deserted on the Southwest Front to the Serbians. Of these about 11,000 survived a death march to Albania and 4,000 of them were taken to France as a nucleus of a Czech army in that country.

The First World War was something of an Odyssey for the Czech soldiery as one event led to another and they found themselves migrating here and their across Europe in order to fight the Central Powers. Ultimately about 22,000 were formed in Italy in early 1918 under the command of General Graziani. Officered by Italians, Czechs and Slovaks it was nonetheless under the direction of the Czechoslovakian National Council in Paris. The Czech Army in Italy were cited for conspicuous bravery by General Diaz on 22 September 1918 with their last major engagement on the Piave River in late October.

On 9 August 1918 the British Foreign Office stated:

"Since the beginning of the war the Czecho-Slovak nation has resisted the common enemy by every means in its power. The Czecho-Slovaks constituted a considerable Army, fighting on three different battlefields and attempting, in Russia and Siberia, to arrest the German invasion.

In consideration of their efforts to achieve independence, Great Britain regards the Czecho-Slovaks as an Allied Nation and recognise the unity of the three Czecho-Slovak Armies as an allied and belligerent Army waging a regular warfare against Austro-Hungary and Germany!

Great Britain also recognises the right of the Czecho-Slovak National Council as the supreme organ of the Czecho-Slovak national interests, and as the present trustee of the future Czecho-Slovak Government to exercise supreme authority over this allied and belligerent army."

The sentiments of this statement were almost cloned by Woodrow Wilson's presidency... and thus the state of Czechoslovakia was reborn after more than 200 years.

Compulsory service was introduced to the Czechoslovakian military in 1920 which was a universal requirement for all male citizens. Service liability began at the age of 17, although military inductions usually began at the age of 20 for a two year period of active service. All male citizens remained active members of the reserve pool until the age of 60. In 1919 a French military mission was established for a period of ten years during which time they were primarily responsible for the high state of efficiency ultimately achieved by the Czechoslovakian army.

Under the provisions of the new constitution of the Republic, the President was the supreme head of the Army. The country was divided into four military districts and comprised 12 Divisions and a number of independent Brigades.

The Army of 1920-1938 was considered very effective and efficient, well disciplined and true to the principles of the Republic. No man could enter Officers School until he had finished his service in the ranks, and there was no class favouritism within the schools. Drill was strenuous and obedience to the command hierarchy imperative. Sudeten Germans also served and were in no way discriminated against [although evidence is now available indicating a somewhat different situation socially]. Later on, Hitler's Sudeten German followers were surprised by the large numbers of Sudeten Germans who flocked to the Czech colours in the critical days before the Munich crisis.

With the election of Benes in 1935 rearmament was pushed forwards and for the first time in Czech history, the Czechoslovakian Army became popular. By 1937 the strength of the Czech Army totalled 10,059 officers and 153,356 enlisted men. It was by this time regarded as one of the finest armed forces in Europe, both with regards to equipment and training. A total reserve pool of over 2,000,000 existed by 1938 and mobilisation was ordered on 21 May 1938. The mobilisation orders were carried out so quietly and efficiently that it even took Hitlers Nazi State by surprise. In late September all men up to the age of 40 had been called to the colours!

At this time the Army placed its faith in General Sirovy whom they had likened to Ziska with his patch over one eye. On 22 September Sirovy told the people of Prague:

"I guarantee that the Army is standing and will continue to do so on our frontiers, and will defend our liberties to the very end! Do not allow any internal enemies sway you to the belief that the Army could possibly change its attitude!"

But the attitude did indeed change, Benes accepted the Munich Decision, and the Czech fortifications were handed over to the Germans. Not only the German army stood poised to attack, but so too did the Polish and Hungarian armies along the Northern and South Eastern borders. The Czechoslovakian Army's spirit had been contingent on Western support, but now their strength was sapped and General Sirovy was forced to announce:

"I have lived through the most painful moment of my life because I have had to fulfil the most painful duty that could ever have befallen me, a duty which is worse than death. And because I have fought in war and know the conditions under which a war may be won, I must tell you frankly, even as the conscience of a responsible Army demands, that the force which in this hour would rise against us compels us to recognise superiority and act accordingly... we are a fortress that is surrounded by forces stronger than ours... we shall fulfil the conditions which have been imposed  on us by force..."

As was the case in World War 1, Czech and Slovak soldiers began defecting to Poland, Russia, Yugoslavia and other Eastern European countries and eventually to France. On 2 October 1939 an agreement was signed between the French government and the Czech Minister in France to reconstitute the Czech army in that country. A French Military Mission was assigned to it and General Ingr became CinC. Thousands of these Czechs later escaped to England during and after Dunkirk. Czech flyers participated in the Battle of Britain, and the Czechs continued to serve with British forces as a welcome addition to the Allied military effort.

Meanwhile in Slovakia a different picture was evolving. Slovakia had declared its independence of the Czech lands and became a Nazi puppet state. The Hlinka Guards and their affiliated Hlinka Youth were formed. They were created according ot the pattern of the Italian Black Shirts and the German SS and SA Corps, including black uniforms and the Fascist salute. They were armed with light weapons and were organised along military lines. The Hlinka Guard was the organisation responsible for the removal of Czechs from Slovakia and the deportation of thousands of Jews. In addition, a Slovak Army participated in the German attack on Poland. Its operations were confined to the Polish territory along the Slovak border and it occupied communities that had been ceded to Poland in early 1939. 

In June 1941, a Slovak Army of over 50,000 men participated in the attack on the Soviet Union. The size of this force soon dwindled to just over 16,000 because of the defection of Slovaks to the Russian forces. In 1943, this Slovak 'Security Division' under the command of Jan Vesely was moved from the Soviet Union back to Italy. There it was tasked with building bridges and fortifications as a part of the Axis war machine.

Those who deserted to the Russians joined the Czech Corps which fought with the Soviet Forces against the Germans. In the summer of 1943 the Slovak Government offered to send a further 10,500 Slovak troops to Germany in order to form labour units. The troops in Trnava and Senica revolted and refused to move. On 29 August 1944 over the Banska Bystrica radio, the insurgent Slovak National Council called on Slovakia to rise up and throw out the Germans that had been invited in by Tiso. Lieutenant-Colonel Jan Golian ordered the Slovak armed forces to begin combat operations. From the outset however they were at a very definite material disadvantage. The Germans entered the combat zones from numerous different direction with vastly superior forces supported by the Hlinka Guard. The Slovaks lacked heavy arms and artillery, air support and adequate stocks of small arms ammunition. The Western Allies attempted to assist the Slovak insurgents with some arms and armaments as well as British and American Advisory Groups. The Soviet contribution was half hearted at best. Although in the best position to actually render practical assistance, they time and again failed to fulfil promises of material help such as flying in the Czech Brigade from Russia and to launch an attack under Marshall Koniev through the Carpathians. Instead of troops they flew in Soviet partisan officers, political commissars along with Czech and Slovak Communist agitators and politicians. The Czech Brigade under Colonel Vladimir Prikryl was flown in but much later than promised. The Soviets also launched a half hearted attack towards the Carpathians across the Dukla Pass, but when the Germans presented surprisingly tenacious resistance they abandoned the project and things for the insurgency deteriorated dramatically afterwards. 

On 28 October 1944 General R Viest, who had succeeded Golian as the Commander of the 1st Czechoslovakian Army in Slovakia, issued an order to continue the fight "...until the victorious end!" As a result of this partisan asymmetric fighting continued right up until the liberation of Slovakia in April 1945. 

An interesting side note is US President Roosevelts reference to the Slovak insurgents on 28 October 1944: "The people and armed forces inside Czechoslovakia have joined actively and gloriously with their countrymen abroad in the ranks of the nations against tyranny... We Americans salute our Czechoslovakian comrades-in-arms who are today so bravely contributing to the liberation of their homeland and the rest of Europe."

Before the Munich Crisis occurred in 1938 the Czech army itself was a highly drilled state organ with some seriously in depth tactical and operational training carried out from top to bottom of the system with almost everybody starting at the bottom. The Czech army could with some justification be said to have been one of Europe's true military meritocracies. 

By the end of the war these tactical doctrines, combined with the firepower available to the Slovak inheritors of the Czech military system were shown up to be outdated and in need of serious reconsideration BUT the important point to bear in mind here is that between 1939-1941 the Slovak military had the reputation of being a highly efficient and worthwhile ally.

Sadly, as it turned out, the command functions in the Slovak military were not up to scratch causing their German allies no end of headaches on the front line although these hiccups were overcome it did damage the perception of the reliability of this ally.

As with most powers the training that a soldier had to go through was divided into Individual Skills, being sub-divided into Technical Skills and Tactical Skills and Co-operative Skills again divided into Technical Skills and Tactical Skills which, once learned to an appreciable degree were expanded to the Technical and Tactical Skills of fighting as a part of a platoon. All of which were bolstered by a whole raft of specialist skills such as Fighting in Woodland Environments, Fighting in Urban Environments, Defence Against Armour, Anti-Aircraft Defence, Night Fighting, Defence Against Cavalry, Fighting in Gas Environments, Artillery Protection, Night Marches and such like.

The Czechoslovakian system was extremely thorough and prepared their troops for anything to a degree that was easily the equal of any other military in Europe in the '30's.

The training that all Czechoslovak soldiers had to go through was highly codified into a number of different service manuals that went to somewhat ridiculous lengths in their efforts to perfect and streamline the soldiers skills. One could quite rightly say that it was micromanagement of the highest order. Even how to stand up and lay down were examined and rigorously documented as this excerpt from the NCO's Field Manual 1935 demonstrates:

"20. If a soldier changes his body position, he must do so quickly to achieve the goal in as short a time as possible and so as not to damage his weapons.

21. On the command:

"To the ground!"

the soldier kneels on his right knee, leans with his left hand onto the ground and at the same time lays his rifle, which he holds in his right hand over the site, slanting left over his left forearm so that the barrel does not touch the ground. His head is slightly raised in the original direction.

If a soldier has a machine gun, he opens his left leg with his left hand, kneels on his right knee, leaning his left hand on the ground, placing the machine gun to the right on the ground and lying down to his left.

22. On the command:

                                                                            "Rise!"

pulling the rifle to the right side of his body, leaning both hands on the ground (not on the rifle), placing his left bent leg as far up between his arms and body as possible. He moves his right foot forwards, putting his rifle on his leg and stands in the original direction."

... and this carried forward onto every dimension of the soldiers art. Where their platoon attacks are concerned the Czech forces were progressive enough to establish a system that modern armies such as the British army still use today.

Further on within the same manual we look at how platoon attacks develop:

134, a squad attack develops almost automatically when it touches, if the squad leader directs the team's fire and movement to overcome the enemy resistance or the attack is ready in advance.

135. A team is always attacking an established resistance, after a shorter or longer stop from the starting point of the attack, which is either the place where it was placed or when it is touched, it is the place where it must continue to advance with its own fire.

 To attack, the squad receives an order under Article 194 from the platoon commander at the starting point

136. A team is always attacking an established point of resistance, after a shorter or longer stop from the starting point of the attack, which is either the place where it was established or when it contacts the enemy, it is the place where it continues to advance under its own fire.

The squad gets its command from the platoon commander under Article 194 whilst at the starting point.

The Team leader:

- will show the soldiers where the enemy is,

- notify them of the task (the goal to be captured)

- place and task of supporting troops

- determine the formation of the platoon,

- will allocate the task of the light machine gun, assault unit and grenadiers and give the command to knock out enemy assets.

This command is given by the team leader as far as possible at the starting point of the attack or, if he does not know all the circumstances, completes it during the attack.

For example:

a) Commands of the team leader for an attack, to which he is assigned for example in contact (Fig. 20).

"Machine gun with loaders here. Shoot the enemy between two bushes. We do a bypass from the left. Deputy with the first strike unit to go down behind the bushes. Others in cover behind me!"

After reaching a suitable position to the side of the enemy position the team commander gives the orders to execute the attack.

b) The squad takes its starting point for the attack (against a deep trench) about 700 m away.

“Enemy on the slope where a small break in the terrain begins (indicates). One point of resistance in front of the yellow field, next resistance point situated in a group of bushes, left 4 fingers to the right of the single tree.

First team to seize the left half of the yellow field. On the right in the field is the 2nd team of our platoon, its target; right half of the yellow field. 4th team of our Platoon to target points of resistance going right from the single tree.

Places!

Forward!"

Surrounding - command to start firing machine guns, assault unit and grenadiers - given during the procedure.

c) An order to attack a fortified position from the starting point of the attack on the safety clearance.

"Just before us there is a ridge and behind it is a connecting trench. On the left, as you see the larger area of ​​yellow clay, there is another ridge; behind it is a short connecting trench to the shelter or to the machine-gun station. About 150 m to the rear is another trench parallel to this trench ahead.

Our team will take over the intersection of the second parallel trench with the connecting trench. To the right of us 1st and 3rd teams of the platoon have similar tasks.

We'll go out in the skirmish order near to the obstacles we are trying to eliminate. After passing the obstacles the assault troops immediately deploy and throw grenades.

Grenadiers fire from here to the trench until the team crosses the obstacles, then quickly follow on behind us. We're going after the artillery fire on my command. "

136. The units rotation of formations are: knots and skirmishers.

As a rule, knots are only fit for use so long as it is light machine gun shooting, i.e. usually from a distance of 1200 m from the enemy, and until the enemy infantry fire becomes effective. They usually sequence one after the other.

Flexibility is necessary when, in addition to the firing of light machine gun, we can use rifle firing, that is, usually from a distance of about 600 m, or when even the smallest cover needs to be used due to increasing enemy fire efficiency.

The width and depth of the team's attacking formations should not exceed 50 m.

137. 'The team takes the offensive shape at the starting point of the attack, facing the target, so that it too can fire. At the starting point of the attack, the team is always together, usually in skirmish order; if they are to strike behind as well, they will go out of the way at the same time, and the distance between the clusters will be reordered after the attack. If a team is to cross through its own troops, it will approach itself in the formation (knot, crowd or in skirmish order) corresponding to the possibilities of enemy fire, the shape and coverage of the terrain, and cross in skirmish order with one jump in order to not mix with them."

Relatively thorough... now just imagine countless handbooks for each branch of service covering any and all eventualities on the field of combat.

So... the troops were exceptionally well trained and as a result of this were very well regarded across Europe. The main problem for the Slovaks came after the declaration of independence because with the exodus of the Czech officers all that was left were the small minority of Slovak officers with an overall lack of experience in large combined arms operations... which is what led directly to the German frustrations with the Slovak command organs!

Now, despite the fact that there is a bottomless well of resources to tap when investigating the Slovak armies training methodologies, the fact is that we will never reach the end of it and as such it is probably time to move onto the painting and modelling part of the post:

Before we go any further I should point out that every single miniature in this company was a Battlefront 15mm Romanian until I nipped off their heads and replaced them with Peter Pig heads to turn them into Slovaks. Either the ones with the Slovak Helmets that Martin sculpted for me or else the ones with the Soviet Pilotka Caps which fulfil a good proxy for the Slovak field caps.

So, where painting all of the infantry is concerned its a relatively simple affair. They are done the way that I do them to look good from about 5ft away. Scrutinise them from up close and all of the flaws in the painting will probably slap you in the face but from arms length away they look splendid!.

The first step is to prime, and as with most of my other historical stuff, I prime with a black etch primer. You can buy these from any hardware store but the 'etch' in the primer ensures an exceptionally strong substrate to the acrylic layers that will go over the top, the etch actually referring to a micro dilute acidic content that eats microscopically into the surface of the model creating an uneven surface for the paint to clutch to whilst providing a nice and smooth top layer as the paint levels out and dries.

The lions share of the work done on WW2 miniatures is the main uniform and where the Slovaks are concerned after a somewhat lengthy research period I decided to ditch the (re)coloured photos from the past and go with the uniform colours that all of the re-enactors in Czechoslovakia are using at the moment. In my experience all of these re-enactment guys are anal about accuracy so I would trust their opinions a lot more than raggedy old photos with amateur enthusiast recolour treatments.

My base coat was done with Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet for the deepest layers of the uniform. The first highlight, which presents the largest overall surface area that will be seen at the end was done with MIG's 113 Khaki Green No3 (Brit 1939-1942) with the final highlights along all of the raised edges being completed with MIG's 058 Light Green Khaki. This covers all of the cloth uniform and the puttees.

The helmet has a single coat of 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 897 Bronze Green and Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet with the blue helmet band having a basecoat of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue, highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue and Vallejo's 943 Blue Grey. The little Slovak crosses are all hand painted with thinned down Vallejo's 820 Offwhite.

Everything else is all gravy after painting the uniform.

All of the Canvas bags and straps have a basecoat of Vallejo's 921 English Uniform applied with block highlights of AK Interactives 3072 M-44 Uniform Green Ochre Khaki whilst the leather belts and ammo pouches are basecoated in Vallejo's 045 Charred Brown and highlighted with Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth.

The boots are any matt black whilst the Gas Mask Tins are basecoated with Vallejo's 980 Black Green and highlighted with Lifecolor's UA224 Olive Drab Faded Type 2.

The rifle bodies are basecoated with Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown with the highlighted grain lines painted with Vallejo's 981 Orange Brown. All metal work is painted black firstly and highlighted with Molten Metals Steel. The rifle straps are basecoated with Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and Vallejo's 819 Iraqi Sand.

Where the skin is concerned you can paint it how you please but personally I use one of AK Interactive's paint sets for 'Flesh and Skin Colours' and I've never looked back!

All of the bases are actually really simple. I buy all of my bases from Tony at East Riding Miniatures. Hes a bit of a legend and REALLY helpful. They are all laser cut MDF which allows for easy scoring of the base surface.

I then glue the miniatures to the scored surface and apply a thin layer of tile grout over the top. Once this is dry I glue a layer of one of my sand mixes over the top. Generally speaking I create my own mixes for base coverings as I REALLY don't like a lot of the crap you buy from the shops. Its generally speaking far too gaudy in colour or uniform in texture for my tastes.

I like the generally fine sand BUT I like to have lots of the little stones in there so I can create some colour contrasts with the dirt on the bases.

Once dry the whole base is given a basecoat of Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown and given a heavy drybrush of Vallejo's 814 Green Ochre.

All of the little stones on the bases are then given a basecoat of Vallejo's 995 German Grey and roughly highlighted (to create a jagged uneven texture) with any lighter grey of your choice but personally I go with Vallejo's 992 Neutral Grey.

The sides of the bases are now painted Matt Black. I never used to bother with this BUT I've really gotten into the clean precise look this lends to the bases. I love it now.

Now we come to the final stage of the bases which is the covering. The static flock that I use is my own mix. I go for something that approximates the dead and dry grass you find on the Steppes with perhaps a little more green in it than usual. This allows an overall base aesthetic that can be used the length of Europe in my opinion.

To provide the final textural boost to the bases though I use a variety of clumps. I had a LOT of problems finding ones that I felt were suitable but after a couple of years I came across a company called Tajima Miniatures whose self adhesive tufts are without a doubt the best I have ever found. I use their stuff by the bucket load now, in great variety. 

These all add to the final colour and texture of the bases of this army.

...and there we have it. Once more we reach the end of a voluminous post about guys in uniforms with guns... and BAYONETS!!!! 

N.B: There are photos of re-enactors within this blog post. I have not the slightest idea of who they are BUT really admire their attention to detail and as such I have chosen to include them within this blog post without prejudice so that others around the world can see some exceptional examples of what the Czech and Slovak uniforms of 1935-44 looked like for their own projects.