Open Access1 Batalion Szturmowy podczas przygotowań i interwencji w Czechosłowacji w 1968 r
Author(s) -
Radosław Szewczyk
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
przegląd historyczno-wojskowy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1640-6281
DOI - 10.32089/wbh.phw.2019.3(269).0006
Subject(s) - political science , unit (ring theory) , politics , intervention (counseling) , documentation , economic history , law , history , medicine , psychology , mathematics education , psychiatry , computer science , programming language
The intervention of the troops of five Warsaw Pact member states in Czechoslovakia in August 1968 suppressed the “Prague Spring” – a period of political liberalization. The 1st Assault Battalion was among the Polish 2nd Army units participating in operation “Danube”. The unit dealing with distant reconnaissance and diversion was split up for the duration of its activities in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, and it was given new tasks, too. One form of resistance of the inhabitants of Czechoslovakia were independent programs broadcast by radio stations, often belonging to the local army. This kind of propaganda was a surprise and a serious problem for the occupying forces. Attempts were made to locate and neutralize the transmitters. The soldiers of the 1st Assault Battalion joined these activities. In the Military Archive in Oleśnica, documentation has been preserved that was put together in this unit during its operation in Czechoslovakia in 1968. It constitutes a valuable source of information about the unit’s activities during the intervention of Warsaw Pact troops in that country.