Military Intelligence
Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic
Home resistance: Under the patronage of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the informal conspirators’ organisation Maffie – or the Secret Committee – was established as the significant centre of resistance against the Hapsburg monarchy during the World War I. It was operating on the basis of patriotic espionage. One hundred and four persons were participating in the intelligence activities of Maffie. It had confidents at the Imperial Court in Vienna, too.
In the beginning of 1918, "the Mafiosi" established a wiretapping station near Prague and monitored the conversations on the telephone lines between the Austrian Ministry of War and German General Staff.
In July 1918, Lieutenant Vojtěch Vladimír Klecanda (later a division general) began to build military intelligence structures of the Czechoslovak legions in Russia. Intelligence departments were established. They carried out intelligence and defense intelligence activities. The headquarters of the Czechoslovak army in Russia (“Office of the General Quartermaster”) also had radio interception facilities and a decoding element. V. V. Klecanda prepared the first document related to intelligence activities – “Instructions on the Intelligence Service”.
During the spring of 1918, the first Czechoslovak military intelligence units were formed in Italy, which were incorporated into the newly formed Czechoslovak Division in April.
During the autumn of 1918, the Supreme Military Headquarters were established in Prague. Organized military intelligence activities were also associated with it. The first head of the military intelligence unit was Major of the GS Čeněk Haužvic.
In November 1918, the Intelligence Department of the Military Department of the Ministry of National Defense (MNO) was established.
In the spring of 1919, the General Staff of the Czechoslovak Army of the MNO was created (from September 1920, the Main Staff - HŠ). Its basic elements already operated within the framework of the French Military Mission (FVM). The 2nd Intelligence Department of the FVM became the basis of the Czechoslovak military intelligence of the HŠ. It also adopted the principles of French military intelligence. The head of the newly created department was Major Ihler. It integrated external and internal intelligence. It had a relatively independent position.
Regional Military Command (ZVV) for Slovakia was established and based in Bratislava. On that day, the 2nd Intelligence Department started its activities in the organisational structure of the Headquarters of the Regional Military Command.
The competences of the 2nd Intelligence Department were defined in more details in the "Competencies of the Ministry of National Defence from 1926", which was the basic statute expressing its operative focus and specifying its activity from the legal perspective: the 2nd Department of the General Staff was authorised to build up intelligence vital for gathering information on foreign states and important for the Czechoslovak Military Direction.
Search group – B consisted of two sections: offensive P-1 and defensive P-2. The search group of the 2nd department of the HŠ was supplemented by other groups: A - study, C - foreign.
The first Frontward Agency Centre (PAÚ) was established and based in Liberec.
The operational work was centralized in the Frontward Agency Centres (PAUs), which took over the agent networks of the divisions and smaller units. Bratislava Intelligence Centre directed the PAÚ in Bratislava, which focused its intelligence activity overwhelmingly against Hungary.
Establishment of the separate Offensive Section (P-1) and Defensive Section (P-2) within the framework of the Detective Group. P-1 developed separate intelligence extensions at some Czechoslovak diplomatic missions and in strategically neutral countries, Foreign Agency Centres (ZAÚ) were established. P-2 was uncovering agent networks especially of German and Hungarian intelligence services on the Czechoslovak territory. P-2 carried out eavesdropping and directed the 2nd intelligence departments at the headquarters of corps, intelligence officers of divisions as well as intelligence officers of infantry, artillery and cavalry regiments.
The joint agency centre Poste Mixe with French intelligence service, which funded ½ of the service, ended. The British Secret Intelligence Service became the most important partner.
The Czechoslovak-Soviet operational centre VONAPO in Prague started to function as a result of the interstate treaty of alliance in May 1935, which contained also the secret provision of mutual intelligence cooperation. The centre was aimed against the Nazi Germany.
In the course of reorganisation of the Czechoslovak intelligence service, Intelligence Centres I. – IV. (APS) were renamed to Agency Detective Centres I. – IV. (APS) and likewise as Regional Military Headquarters (ZVV), they were located in Prague, Brno, Bratislava and Košice. Agency Detective Centres (APS) directed the Frontward Agency Centres (PAÚ). PAÚ were dislocated in the border areas and carried out intelligence activities against Germany, Hungary, Austria and Poland.
Agency Detective Centre IV in Košice was closed. Agency Detective Centre III was relocated from Bratislava to Banská Bystrica. Reason – agency network APS IV was almost completely compromised by Hungarian counter-intelligence.
Resulting from the Munich dictate, intelligence activity against Germany was prohibited. Czechoslovak intelligence officers continued in the activity despite the prohibition. In the Czech regions, the APS and PAÚ were closed, consequently, instead of them, the Operational Detective Centre Against Germany (APÚN) was established with its HQ in Prague.
The day before the Nazi occupation of Bohemia and Moravia, Col. of the GŠ František Moravec and ten Czechoslovak intelligence officers (the twelfth member was in Slovak territory at the time and joined the group later) flew to London with intelligence documents, where they continued during World War II within the framework of the exile government as the II. Department of the MNO. In June 1940, members of the PAÚ in Paris also moved to England. In the autumn of 1940, the Ministry of National Defense was established in London. In its structures, the II. (Intelligence) Department operated under the leadership of Col. G.S. F. Moravec, which was divided into two departments: the 1st Department (intelligence) and the 2nd Department (defense intelligence). The Intelligence Department of the exile MNO also managed the intelligence activities of foreign support points, the PAÚ and the rest of the Czechoslovak military missions.
The Second (Intelligence) Department of the exiled MNO and its Special Group D participated with British and American intelligence officers (SOE and OSS) in organizing intelligence and special operations. For example, the successful Operation „Anthropoid“ resulted in the assassination of the acting Reich Protector, SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich.
By the order of General L. Svoboda – without the decision of the MNO, the government or the president of the republic, the Defense Intelligence Department (correctly OBS – Czech expression Oddelení obranného právadajství) was established within the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in the USSR. The head was Lieutenant Bedřich Reicin (from April 1945 he was the head of the Main Directorate of the OBS, later he held the position of Deputy Minister of National Defense, he was executed on December 2, 1952) and his deputy was Lieutenant Karel Vaš. The intention was to weaken the influence of the II. Department of the MNO in London. In April 1945, the Main Directorate of the OBS was incorporated into the structure of the MNO. After the end of World War II, OBS departments were also established within the four military areas. OBS departments were established within the corps, divisions and individual headquarters.
Military intelligence was again restored on the basis of the 2nd Department of the HŠ. In April, Maj. Anton Rašla became its head. His conflict with B. Reicin resulted in the replacement of A. Rašla, who was replaced by Col. gšt. Karel Hanus. The search group was divided into two parts: B/v managed agency activities from Czechoslovak territory, B/z managed agency activities abroad. Later, a defensive part of B/o was also established.
On May 1, 1946, the Chief of the HŠ, General Bohumil Boček, incorporated the Main Directorate of the OBS as the 5th Department of the HŠ OBS. He incorporated all subordinate departments of the OBS as the 5th Departments into the staffs of the command levels. The name OBS ceased to be used and was replaced by a new one – “Organs of Military Intelligence”.
Minister of National Defense Alexej Čepička reorganized the 5th Department and on its basis the Main Information Administration (HIS) was established. The head of the 5th Department, General Josef Musil, was arrested and executed in 1954. As part of the reorganization, the 2nd Department was renamed as the Intelligence Departments of the General Staff (GŠ) in September 1950. Its head, General Ludvík Klen, was arrested in 1951 and was replaced in office in February 1951 by Major General Antonín Racek. In October 1951, the Intelligence Administration of the General Staff was established. In March 1951, the HIS became part of the Ministry of National Security (MNB). The III. independent sector was established and later transformed into Department C of the MNB. In June 1952, the department was renamed as the Main Administration of Military Counterintelligence. Capt. František Chalupa became its chief.
In the autumn of 1953, the MNB was abolished and the Ministry of the Interior was created. In October 1953, the military counterintelligence was also incorporated into the new ministry, with the new name of the Military Counterintelligence Administration.
The defection of Maj. František Tišler also caused the dismissal of General Antonín Racek from his position. The new Chief of the General Staff Intelligence Directorate was Lt. Col. Oldřich Burda. A concept of military intelligence had to be developed and a new agency element, the “Agency Reconnaissance Group”, began to be built.
Illegal residences began to be built. In 1961, the Information Service of the GŠ was merged with the Intelligence Service of the GŠ. Military intelligence began to strengthen the process of acquiring knowledge and information for the benefit of the army. In the event of war, the army was to fulfill (from the end of the 1950s) the role of an independent front.
After the military intervention in August 1968 and during the so-called normalization, all sections of the Intelligence Directorate of the GŠ were affected by personnel purges. For example, the number of legal agents fell to a critical level of 20%.
In December 1968, General Jozef Turošík became the new chief. After a year, he was replaced in office by General Josef Brož, who held the position of Chief of the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff until September 1988.
Intensive legal, illegal and mixed residency were built.
The Agency Department was mainly strengthened in terms of personnel, and in particular its operational agency investigation (1st department) and strategic agency investigation (2nd, 23rd, and 25th departments).
The Intelligence Directorate of the Western Military District was established. Its structure included an operational agency intelligence department focused on the Federal Republic of Germany.
The main areas of interest and objects of intelligence interest were located in “Central Europe.” In this area, a military conflict between the Warsaw Pact and NATO was expected.
After the fall of the government regime in November 1989, the Chief of the GŠ Intelligence Service, General Anton Slimák, issued an order to terminate the activities of some residency offices and agency networks and to stop recruitment activities.
The new Chief of the Intelligence Service of the GŠ, General Jan Kozojed, terminated the cooperation agreement with the Soviet GRU.
From mid-1990, the new Military Defense Intelligence Service began to be built, which once again became part of the Ministry of Defense.
The process of building a new military intelligence community began.
The Federal Assembly passed the Military Defence Intelligence (VOS) Act, military intelligence continued to operate in a legal vacuum.
Until December 1992, the Intelligence Department of the Military Command East operated in Slovakia. The function of the chief was held by Col. of zhe GŠ Dominik Slezák.
At the end of December 1992, the Intelligence Service of the Slovak Army Headquarters was established. Col. František Stavný was appointed as the Chief (later Director).
The Act no 198 on Military Intelligence came into force.
The Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Army of the Slovak Republic changed its name to Military Intelligence Service of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic and the service fell from the subordination of the General Staff of the Army of the Slovak Republic to the subordination of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic based in Bratislava.
Military Defence Intelligence (VOS) and Military Intelligence Service (VSS) merged into one service called Military Intelligence (VS).
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