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Czechoslovak military units in the USSR (1942 - 1945)

1st Czechoslovak Army Corps

General facts

From - to:	10.04.1944 - 15.05.1945 1
Subordinate to:	07/44 - 4th Ukrainian Front, Soviet 1st Guards Army 04.09.44 - 1st Ukrainian Front 2, Soviet 38th Army 3 29.11.44 - 4th Ukrainian Front 4, Soviet 38th Army 01.01.45 - 4th Ukrainian Front, Soviet 1st Guards Army 5 19.01.45 - 4th Ukrainian Front, Soviet 18th Army 6
Commander:	Brigadier General Jan Kratochvíl 7 11.09.1944 - Brigadier General Ludvík Svoboda 8 03.04.1945 - Brigadier General Karel Klapálek
Number:	16 171 persons 9
National composition:	Czechs (53%), Slovaks (19%), Rusyns (22%), Jews (3,5%), others (2,5%)
Units:	The 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps consisted of independent infantry, tank, artillery, air and special-purpose units. All were operationally subordinate to the Czechoslovak Army Corps. Some were occasionally transferred to other areas of operations where they became directly subordinate to Soviet headquarters. Infantry units: 1st Czechoslovak Independent Brigade 2nd Czechoslovak Independent Parachute Brigade 3rd Czechoslovak Independent Brigade 4th Czechoslovak Independent Brigade Tank units: 1st Czechoslovak Independent Tank Brigade Artillery units: 5th Czechoslovak Artillery Regiment Air units: 1st Czechoslovak Independent Fighter Air Regiment 1st Czechoslovak Composite Air Division Special units: 1st Czechoslovak Independent Engineer Battalion 1st Czechoslovak Independent Communications Battalion
Main combat operations:	Soldiers of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps took part in Slovak National Uprising, liberation of southern Poland and Czechoslovak territory (Slovakia, Silesia and Moravia).

Structure of unit (09/1944)

Notes:

The 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps was redesignated the 1st Czechoslovak Army.
Commander – Marshal I. S. Konev.
Commander – Colonel General K. S. Moskalenko.
Commander – Army General I. E. Petrov.
Commander – Colonel General A. A. Grechko.
Commander – General A. I. Gastilovich.
The Soviets had attributed the high Czechoslovak losses in the first days of the Carpatho-Dukla operation to Brigadier General Kratochvíl’s perceived poor performance. They named Brigadier General Svoboda the new corps commander even though such assignments were the sole prerogative of the Czechoslovak President.
General Klapálek (formerly commander of the 3rd Cs. Independent Brigade) relieved Brigadier General Svoboda, who became the Minister of National Defense.
As of 09/1944. This number included the reserve regiment and rear echelon units. Beginning in 08.09.1944, about 13 000 personnel were combat personnel.

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