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Operation B
Date 13 August 1945 – 17 November 1947 Location Czechoslovakia Result Czechoslovak victory
Belligerents
Czechoslovakia	Ukrainian Insurgent Army
Commanders and leaders
Jan Heřman Július Nosko	Volodymyr Szczygielski
Strength
13,500 men	400–500 men in 1947
Casualties and losses
49 killed	61 killed 289 captured

Operation B was a name for Czechoslovak military operation aimed against members of Ukrainian Insurgent Army who entered Czechoslovak territory.

Operation

First members of Ukrainian Insurgent Army entered Czechoslovakia on 13 August 1945 near villages Spišská Stará Ves and Medzilaborce. There were reports of other groups attacking robbing villages near border with Poland. Czechoslovakia sent more units to the area that pushed Ukrainian insurgents back to Poland. Czechoslovak units were commanded by Colonel Jan Heřman.

Polish army launched offensive against Ukrainian Insurgent Army in January 1946. Czechoslovakia reacted by sending more units near borders expecting more insurgents trying to enter Czechoslovakia. Ukrainian Insurgent Army became more active near Polish border with Slovakia and more units entered Czechoslovak territory there. In April 1946 units led by Colonel Heřman launched offensive against insurgents pushing them back to Poland. During late 1946 situation in Slovakia became calmer.

During early 1947 insurgents led some raids to Czechoslovak territory and during summer 1947 launched their largest attack to Czechoslovakia trying to reach western Europe through its territory. Some groups even entered Moravia and South Bohemia. The bloodiest clash occurred on 5 August 1947 at Partizánská Ľupča which resulted in death of 6 members of Czechoslovak security forces. Czechoslovak units were gradually destroying Ukrainian insurgents, and fights concluded on 17 November 1947 when the last forces of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army were destroyed.

Members of OUN captured 33 villages in Czechoslovakia.

Popular culture

1951 Czechoslovak film Operation B focuses on Czechoslovaks participating in military operations against Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

1975 episode of Thirty Cases of Major Zeman called Ruby Crosses was inspired by Ukrainian Insurgent Army activities in Czechoslovakia.

The 1978 film Shadows of a Hot Summer focuses on a family taken hostage by Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

The 1984 film Pasáček z doliny depicts members of Ukrainian Insurgent Army who entered Czechoslovakia.

See also

• Operation Vistula

References

1. ^ "Banderovci jako téma Historického magazínu" (in Czech). ČT24. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
2. "Banderovci na Slovensku I." detektorweb.info (in Slovak). Retrieved 10 July 2022.
3. ^ Čapka, František (2010). Dějiny zemí Koruny české v datech. Libri. p. 731.
4. ^ Zemanová, Tereza (2007). "Pronikání banderovců do Československa v letech 1945 – 1948. Obyvatelstvo, skutečnost a propaganda v kontextu boje o pol" (PDF). Masaryk University. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
5. Řepa, Tomáš (2008). "Banderovci, jejich vznik, vývoj a následná činnost v Československu v letech 1945 – 1947 (bakalářská diplomová práce)" (PDF). Masaryk University. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
6. ^ "Vpád banderovců na území Československa v letech 1945–1947". Military History Institute Prague. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
7. ^ "Před 70 lety se Slovensko zbavilo banderovců. Toužili na západ, šla po nich NKVD". Dotyk (in Czech). Retrieved 10 July 2022.
8. "Akce B (1951)" (in Czech). ČSFD. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
9. "Stíny horkého léta (1977)" (in Czech). ČSFD. Retrieved 10 July 2022.

• Conflicts in 1945
• Military history of Czechoslovakia
• 1945 in Czechoslovakia
• Ukrainian Insurgent Army