Outline of the Czechoslovak People's Army at the end of the Cold War
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The following is a hierarchical outline of the CzechoslovakPeople's Army at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations. At the end of the Cold War in 1989 the Czechoslovak People's Army structure was as follows.[1]
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The details are based on the Czech Ministerstvo narodni obrany website, which lists all units of the Czechoslovak People's Army in existence between 1950 and 1990, with their location, subordination, equipment and changes over time.
Below follow the organizations of the regiments in the Tank and Motor Rifle divisions:
By the end of the Cold War the standard main battle tank in the Czechoslovak tank regiments was the T-72M or T-72M1 of which Czechoslovakia had built 973. Some of the tank units in motor rifle divisions still fielded the locally produced T-54A.
Tank Regiment:
Command Platoon
Reconnaissance Company (3x Reconnaissance Platoons)
3x Tank Battalions (each: Command Squad, 3x Tank Companies, Maintenance Squad, Supply Platoon, Battalion First Aid Station)
Motor Rifle Company (Only in tank regiments of tank divisions)
Rocket Launcher Battery (Command Platoon, 3x Firing Platoons with two RM-51 130mm multiple rocket launchers each, Supply Platoon)
Anti-aircraft Battery (Command Squad, 2x Anti-aircraft Platoons with 6x M53/59 Praga twin 30mm self-propelled anti-aircraft guns each, Supply Squad. By 1989 only the 1st and 9th Tank divisions had replaced the 6x M53/59 Praga in their 2nd Anti-aircraft platoon with 4x 9K35 Strela-10 tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft missile systems. With the end of the Cold War further acquisitions for the other tank divisions were canceled.)
Signal Company (Signal Platoon, Radio Platoon)
Engineer Company (Engineer Platoon, Machinery Platoon)
Chemical Defence Company (Command Squad, Radiation and Chemical Reconnaissance Platoon, Special Decontamination Platoon)
Maintenance Company (Tracked Vehicles Workshop, Wheeled Vehicles Workshop, Armament Workshop, Signal Workshop, Special Workshop, Vehicle-towing Squad)
Supply Company (2x Transport Platoons, Materiel Supply Squad, Water Treatment Squad, Food Supply Squad)
Regimental First Aid Station
Motor rifle units fielded the locally produced BVP-1 tracked infantry fighting vehicle and the OT-64 wheeled armored transports vehicle.
Motor Rifle Regiment:
Command Platoon
Reconnaissance Company (3x Reconnaissance Platoons)
3x Motor Rifle Battalions (each: Command Squad, 3x Motor Rifle Companies, Mortar Battery, Anti-tank Guided Missile Platoon, Anti-aircraft Platoon, Signal Squad, Maintenance Squad, Supply Platoon, Battalion First Aid Station)
Tank Battalion (Command Squad, 3x Tank Companies, Maintenance Squad, Supply Platoon, Battalion First Aid Station)
Anti-tank Guided Missile Battery (Command Squad, 3x Firing Platoons, ATGM Training Squad; armed with Konkursanti-tank guided missiles)
Rocket Launcher Battery (Command Platoon, 3x Firing Platoons with two RM-51 130mm multiple rocket launchers each, Supply Platoon)
Anti-aircraft Battery (Command Squad, 3x Anti-aircraft Platoons with 6x M53/59 Praga twin 30mm self-propelled anti-aircraft guns each, Supply Squad. By 1989 only the 15th Motor Rifle division had replaced the 6x M53/59 Praga in its 2nd Anti-aircraft platoon with 4x 9K35 Strela-10 tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft missile systems. With the end of the Cold War further acquisitions for the other motor rifle divisions were canceled.)
Signal Company (Signal Platoon, Radio Platoon)
Engineer Company (Engineer Platoon, Machinery Platoon)
Chemical Defence Company (Command Squad, Radiation and Chemical Reconnaissance Platoon, Special Decontamination Platoon)
Maintenance Company (Tracked Vehicles Workshop, Wheeled Vehicles Workshop, Armament Workshop, Signal Workshop, Special Workshop, Vehicle-towing Squad)
Supply Company (2x Transport Platoons, Materiel Supply Squad, Water Treatment Squad, Food Supply Squad)
1st Artillery Division with 18x 122mm M1938 towed howitzers (Command Platoon, 3x Firing batteries, Signal Platoon, Supply Platoon, Maintenance Platoon, First Aid Station)
2nd Artillery Division with 18x 122mm M1938 towed howitzers (Command Platoon, 3x Firing batteries, Signal Platoon, Supply Platoon, Maintenance Platoon, First Aid Station)
3rd Artillery Division with 18x 152mm SpGH DANA self-propelled howitzers in tank divisions, respectively 18x 152mm M1937 S towed howitzers in motor rifle divisions (Command Platoon, 3x Firing batteries, Signal Platoon, Supply Platoon, Maintenance Platoon, First Aid Station)
Rocket-Launcher Division with 18x RM-70 122mm multiple rocket launchers (Command Platoon, 3x Firing batteries, Signal Platoon, Supply Platoon, Maintenance Platoon, First Aid Station)
Anti-Tank Division with 12x 100mm vz. 53 anti-tank cannons and 6x BRDM-2 in the anti-tank version armed with Konkurs anti-tank missiles (Only in Motor Rifle Divisions; Command Platoon, 3x Firing batteries, Signal Platoon, Supply Platoon, Maintenance Platoon, First Aid Station)
Fire Support Battery
Sound-ranging and Reconnaissance Battery
Supply Battery
Maintenance Battery
Divisional anti-aircraft missile regiment were organized as follows and began to introduce either 20x 2K12 Kub or 20x 9K33 Osa surface-to-air missile systems in the early 1980s. When the Cold War ended all divisions except for the 13th Tank division and the 3rd and 15th Motor Rifle divisions had received Kub or Osa systems:
Anti-aircraft Missile Regiment:
Headquarters Battery
1st Firing Battery
2nd Firing Battery
3rd Firing Battery
4th Firing Battery
5th Firing Battery
Technical Battery
Civil defence regiments supported the authorities during times of national disaster:
Civil Defence Regiment:
Engineer Battalion
Chemical Defence Battalion
Premedical Care Battalion
Divisional reconnaissance battalions were organized as follows:
Reconnaissance Battalion:
Headquarters and Staff
1st Reconnaissance Company
2nd Reconnaissance Company
Long Range Reconnaissance Company
SIGINT Company
Signal Platoon
Support Platoon
Divisional separate rocket launcher divisions were organized as follows:[6]
Separate Rocket Launcher Division:
Command Battery
1st Firing Battery with 2x ballistic missile launchers
2nd Firing Battery with 2x ballistic missile launchers
Signal Battery
Technical Support Platoon with 4x missile reloads
Divisional Chemical Defence battalions were organized as follows: