The Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia

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In this week in military history, we explore the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia that occurred on August 20-21, 1968.

The Warsaw Treaty Organization, or Warsaw Pact, was created in 1955 as a protective measure against the perceived power of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Pact countries - Poland, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and the Soviet Union - agreed to defend each other should one or more of them come under attack. In principle, these countries would also collaborate on political decisions while leaving each country to their respective internal affairs; however, the Soviet Union quickly emerged as the dominant party and controlled much of the Pact’s direction.

A change of regime occurred in Czechoslovakia in early 1968 when Alexander Dubček took the helm of the Communist Party and implemented reforms ending censorship and relaxing freedom of speech rules. He sought to ease other Communist political and economic dictates and found favor with the country’s liberals. The movement, known as “Prague Spring,” gave rise to demonstrations to reduce the influence of Communism across the country and enact greater freedoms. These actions threatened the Communist hold of other Pact countries. The resulting efforts to quash both reforms and unrest culminated in the overnight invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 20, 1968. This surprise attack was spearheaded by the Soviet Union and included troops from Poland, East Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria, and was swift and decisive. The Brezhnev Doctrine followed soon after stating that any threat to socialist rule was a threat to all republics in the Warsaw Pact.

Romania and Albania condemned the invasion and Albania withdrew from the Pact soon thereafter. While the United States condemned the invasion, they did not provide military might. Already heavily involved in Vietnam at the time, there was little appetite for engagement in another foreign conflict. Furthermore, the delicate balance between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was to be maintained if arms reduction talks were to proceed.

The 1968 invasion put a stop to reforms continuing communist rule in Czechoslovakia until the Velvet Revolution in November of 1989.

Join us next time for another segment of This Week in Military History with the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.