Many countries have memorials to fallen heros, and stories of bravery from wartime. Czechia is unusual in that it has a war warrior from both sides of World War II.
RAF flying ace
Josef František was 25 when World War II started. As a Czechoslovak he had seen his country torn apart by the political forces in Europe.
Germany had annexed large swathes of Czechoslovakia, known as the Sudetenland.
He’d joined the Czechoslovak air force in 1934 and showed great promise as a fighter pilot1. On 13 June 1939, Josef smuggled himself into Poland, after Germany eliminated his country from the map1.
By July he was on Poland’s Baltic coast and considering heading to France1. He changed his mind and joined the Polish air force instead1. He flew many missions against the invading Germans but had to keep retreating1. In September he caught a cargo ship to Lebanon, and joined the French Foreign Legion1.
Recognised as a skilled pilot, the French let this warrior join the Free Polish Air Force at Le Bourget Air Force base1. France soon surrendered, so Josef ended up in England1. On 2 August 1940 the British Royal Air Force assigned him to Polish #303 squadron. He flew Hawker Hurricane planes out of RAF Northolt2.
Between 2 and 30 September, he shot down 17 German aircraft2. He became one of the top Allied pilots of the Battle of Britain, and #303 became the highest scoring RAF squadron in the Battle of Britain. He died on 28 October when he crashed in Surrey2. His memory lives on as one of the most outstanding Czechoslovak pilots, and warrior, in the RAF2.
Panzer Ace
18-year old Kurt Knispel came from Jesenik in what is now Moraian-Silesia3. At the time it was part of the German-occupied part of Czechoslovakia3. He came from a German family, and trained as a car mechanic in his tiny village. On 6 September 1940, he was in the newly-formed Panzer Regiment 29, which was the core of the 12th Panzer Division3.
Kurt was not only a great mechanic, he also was a small individual which made him ideal for the claustrophic conditions inside a tank3. He trained on almost all types of German tanks, specialising in the role of cannon gunner3. His training finished in time for this Czech warrior to join Operation Barbarossa, the attack on the Soviet Union3.
Kurt was in Panzergruppe 3 which was part of the northern jaw of a huge pincer movement3. In Minsk on 27 June 1941, he destroyed the Soviet anti-tank cannon, then headed north for Leningrad3.
Kurt ended up back home before taking a week’s rest3. Knispel’s battalion conducted operation Edelweiss, i.e., attack the oil fields around Baku, in Azerbaijan3. This was not successful and the battalion retreated in December 1942, but not before Knispel destroyed a further 12 Soviet tanks in the Caucauses3.
Back in Germany, Knispel trained on the new Tiger tanks3. These new tanks had 100mm of frontal armour, making them almost indistructable3. They had an 88mm cannon accurate enough to be dangerous at unimaginable distances3. Knispel’s tactics had to change from close-fire to long-distance attacks3.
In the Ukraine, Knispel registered 2 kills at a distance of 2km3!
This skilled Czech warrior died before the war ended3. He has 168 confirmed tank kills, 143 on the Eastern front3.
High performers
Josef František is the highest-scoring non-British flying ace in the Battle of Britain.
Kurt Knispel the most successful tanker of World War II3.
The whims of destiny put these two Moravians on either side of one of the most brutal conflicts in history. I find it fascinating that one country, not even one of the main protagonists, produced such warriors.
- Josef Frantisek – One of the Few; Free Czechoslovak Air Force; 2010-04-20[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Czech Battle of Britain ace Josef František honoured in UK; Ian Willoughby; Radio.CZ; 2020-08-17[↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Kurt Knispel; Panzer Net; (Retrieved 2020-12-31) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]