Důstojníci a rotmistři slovenské armády pod drobnohledem (1939 – 1940)

Officers and Warrant Officers of the Slovak Army under the Microscope (1939 – 1940

Autor: PEJS Oldřich

PEJS, Oldřich: Důstojníci a rotmistři slovenské armády pod drobnohledem (1939 – 1940)

PEJS, Oldřich: Officers and Warrant Officers of the Slovak Army under the Microscope (1939 – 1940).

Vojenská história, 26, 3, 2022, pp. 31-58.

After its formation, the Slovak Army went through turbulent changes and suffered from a critical shortage of officers and warrant officers, i.e. educators of Slovak soldiers. The officer and warrant officer ranks were supplemented from the civilian environment, which was not always sympathetic to the idea of an independent Slovak state. Officers and sergeants, not to mention the general duty men themselves, were thus prone to listen to propaganda that was not favourable to the ruling political regime. The army elite dealt with it by bans, appeals to national feeling and military (state) honour. Officers and warrant officers were the bearers of military duties, i.e. the duties of military service and status, such as obedience, loyalty, vigilance, bravery, discipline, and the preservation of military honour. Failure to perform military duties took various forms, including undignified behaviour affecting the military (state) honour itself. Disciplinary proceedings with the participation of disciplinary committees at the level of higher headquarters (divisions), or the main military headquarters and the Ministry of National Defence were used to deal with disciplinary offences of officers and warrant officers. Officers and sergeants needed the approval of the military administration to marry under strictly fixed conditions. It was typical for the Slovak Army that it was forbidden to marry foreign citizens (especially those from Czech lands). The author documents how the conditions were circumvented under the influence of various intercessions, interventions and service and family ties.

Key words: Military history, Slovakia, Slovak Army 1939/40, Officers and Warrant Officers – Military honour, Discipline, Marriages

DOI: https://doi.org/10.69809/vojhist.2022.26.3.2

Ročník: 26 | Číslo: 3/2022 | Stránky: 31-58