I'm here in Pilsen, Czech Republic, and this here is a monument that is dedicated to the
American liberators that liberated this city and now you may wonder: but wait a
second, I thought the Soviets drove out the Nazis from Czechia! Well for the large part,
but a part of the country was liberated by the Americans led by General Patton. This
here is a story about the forgotten American liberation of a part of Czechia, keep watching!
Good to have you back on the channel. If you're new: my name is Stefan and I'm a Dutch history teacher
and I'd like to cover history on location. I'm now in the Czech city of Pilsen. If you find these on
location videos interesting, consider subscribing and also hit that notification bell. With the
occupation of the Czech lands by the Germans in March 1939 the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia
was completed. Earlier the Czechs had to cede the Sudeten area to the Germans after the
Munich conference; here in Czechia known as the 'Munich Betrayal'. Slovakia became an axis puppet
state and also Hungary and Poland took parts of the country. Czechia under German rule was known as the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The Nazis introduced a wartime focused economic system
regarding social development the forced labor regime played a crucial role in Germany and a
Protectorate. The Czech lands were very vital for the German war economy since there were many war
factories located in the Czech lands. In November 1941 a Jewish ghetto was established in Terezín
(also known as Theresienstadt) which was a transfer station to the death camps. From January 1942 to
October 1944 mass deportations took place and a majority of the 118 300 Czech Jews perished in
the gas chambers; thousands of Roma and Sinti were also deported of which most were murdered as well.
Slovakia had become an Axis puppet state. Towards 1944 many Slovaks realized that their puppet
state was not going to last as the Soviets were ready to push into the country... but then the Slovaks
launched an uprising against the Nazis which became known as the Slovak National Uprising.
The Slovak Army fought against the Germans; eventually this uprising was crushed and the
Germans took over the country. Nevertheless the Soviets advanced into the country and pushed the
Germans out and reached Bratislava in April 1945 and from there they were planning to advance on
Prague, the Czech Capital. The Slovak National Uprising resulted in an intensification of Czech
resistance activities that were also helped by USSR parachutists that were dropped in the area,
but they were not able to set up an effective resistance against the occupier mainly due to
the fact that there were so many German troops stationed in the Protectorate. Towards the end of
April 1945 the front line moved between the areas of Brno-Vyškov-Žilina and Ostrava in the east. Within the ranks
of the Red Army fought men of the Czechoslovak First Army Corps and in the west the Americans were
ready to push into Bohemia from Germany. Inside Prague German General Rudolf Toussaint prepared his
garrison to defend the capital, but it didn't come to a large battle between Soviet and German forces
and that was because of the Prague Uprising. Let's take a look at the Americans first. US troops that
would liberate the western part of Czechoslovakia where part of the American V Corps and had
experienced heavy battles: starting on the 6th of June with Operation Overlord on Omaha
Beach, the subsequent breakthrough from Normandy and the enclosing from the Falaise Pocket. They helped
liberating Paris and moved via Sedan to the borders of the Third Reich. After the year then offensive
they marched further into Germany and advanced on Leipzig. On the 18th of April the first American
troops of the 19th Infantry Division entered the Czech territory close to the town of Hranice. The
army of General George S. Patton proceeded further along the border through Bavaria and headed south to
Austria. American General Omar Bradley issued orders to his troops to treat Czechoslovakia as
an Allied country which included the territories of the Sudeten Area that were ceded to Germany
after the Munich agreement, known here as the 'Munich Betrayal'. The Americans had around 15 000
soldiers to advance into the country; at that time the Soviets were advancing from the
east and their 'Prague Operation' was to involve over 2 million men. Bear in mind that the Germans
had around 1 million soldiers in the area: these were part of Army Group Center and and commanded
by hardliner Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner. Schörner was notorious for his iron discipline and
oversaw the execution of countless of stragglers and deserters from his side. The German troops
managed to seize the border region with the mountains and from there they could fire on the
incoming Americans who basically had to fight their way up! The Americans were assisted by
US air fighters who reduced many buildings in the area to rubble. Although the Germans put up
resistance the disintegration of the Wehrmacht became visible: for example the capitulation
of the 11th Tank Division of Lieutenant General Wendel von Wietersheim. Here over
9 000 perfectly tidy and equipped German soldiers surrendered as soon as the Americans arrived. The
surrendering tank division still had considerable combat power, giving up, for example, 700 trucks, 300 cars, 85 personnel carriers, almost 40 tanks and 59 artillery guns during the capitulation.
Tank General Edward von Kleist surrendered in the Všeruby Pass. The heaviest losses the Americans
endured during their advance in the Czech lands was in the village of of Zhůří in the Šumava
Mountains. There were ambushed by the Germans and lost 10 men killed in action and around the same
number wounded in action. As the Americans threw in all their might they overcame the defenders. On the
same day Domažlice and Klatovy were liberated as well. In the early morning of May 6th the American
vanguard of the American 16th Armored Division entered the city (Pilsen / Plzen). They were fired at by German
snipers who hid in the higher buildings. But the Americans quickly took them out; they were assisted
by Czech resistance fighterswho had launched an uprising against the Germans simultaneously.
The citizens of Pilsen welcomed their liberators with food, drinks and flowers. I read that the
famous local beer Pilsner was not among the drinks because earlier the American warplanes had
accidentally bombed the Pilsner Brewery which they mistook for a weapon factory. The German commander
of the city General George von Majewski submitted capitulation and then shot himself in front of
his staff and even his own wife. Together with the Soviets the Americans had set out
the Carlsbad – Pilsen – Budweis demarcation line which US forces were forbidden to cross; between
the Soviet and American zone there was a several kilometers wide interzone without any soldiers;
yet some Americans did cross the line. On the 5th of May the Prague Uprising started: the Czech resistance
had seized the radio station and broadcasted to citizens to rise up against the German
occupier. Even some twenty thousand men of the pro-Axis Russian Liberation Army led by Andrei
Vlasov joined them. While many Wehrmacht soldiers surrendered or tried to escape SS men fought
back fanatical. While the uprising was going on an American jeep arrived on the main square of
Prague (Wenceslaus Square). The checks believe that this was the vanguard of Patton's Army.
That evening a meeting took place between the American soldiers and the leaders of the Czech resistance. The Americans
said they could easily take the city. One of the Czech officers wanted to come with the Americans
to meet Patton in person; he was taken to the US headquarters here in Pilsen. Patton
was so impressed by the account of the Czech officer that he asked his superior Omar Bradley
to advance on Prague. “Bradley said it wasn’t his decision to make. It was up to Eisenhower.
Bradley phoned Eisenhower, who told him that the halt line through Pilsen was mandatory. Patton was, under no circumstances, to march on Prague.”
US president Harry Truman and Commander Eisenhower
did not want a confrontation with Stalin as they viewed Eastern Europe as the war spoils after
to losing millions of Soviet lives and defeating the Nazis. General Patton had thus received orders
to stop his westward advance before reaching Prague. This was his last action of World War
II. He would die in a car crash in December 1945 in Germany. By that time the Americans had
retreated from Czechia. They had stayed there till the autumn of 1945 and they enjoyed good
relations with the local population who were sad to see them leave. Also they processed many
German soldiers who wanted to surrender to the Americans rather than to fall in the hands of
the Red Army. Even after the armistice German soldiers that had hid themselves tried to make
their way to the west. Also SS soldiers wanted to reach Germany and live the rest of their lives
in obscurity but once these were captured by the Czechs they were often killed on the spot.