ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on three major periods in the development of the Czechoslovak People's Army: the developmental and gestation period under coalition rule from 1945-1948, the immediate postrevolution era from 1948-1956, and the remarkable developments of the 1968 crisis. Ludvik Svoboda joined the Communist party and retained his position as minister of defense. His first military experience was as an infantry soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army where he deserted to the Russian side and joined the Czechoslovak Legion in First World War. Returning home in 1920, Svoboda played no important role in the armed forces of the republic, but upon fleeing to the Soviet Union in 1939, was named to head the First Czechoslovak Army Brigade. The death of Marshal Stalin and the rise of Nikita Khrushchev brought profound changes in the Czechoslovak armed forces. Khrushchev began to pursue policies that would change the status of the East European states from totally dependent satellites to semisovereign allies.
