Army Commanders

General George S. Patton (1885–1945)

Born in San Gabriel, California. He joined the Army in 1909 and fought in the Mexican Civil War and World War I. In 1942, he commanded Allied forces during the landing at Casablanca. In 1943, as commander of the 2nd Corps, he participated in the fighting in Tunisia. He was appointed commander of the 7th Army, which he led during the invasion of Sicily. In June 1944, as head of the Third Army, he participated in the Allied landings in Normandy and the subsequent campaign into France. In December, during the Battle of the Bulge, his troops rushed to the aid of American forces exposed to a German counterattack. In the spring of 1945, after the campaign through Germany, the Third Army liberated part of western Bohemia.

Field Marshal Ferdinand Schöner (1892–1973)

He was born in Munich, Bavaria. In World War I, he was awarded the highest German decoration Pour le Mérite. In 1939, he commanded the 98th Mountain Jaeger Regiment during the invasion of Poland. In 1941, he commanded the 6th Mountain Jaeger Division that broke the Metaxas Line in Greece.

In 1942, as commander of the XIX Mountain Corps, he participated in the unsuccessful battles of Murmansk.

In 1944, he served as commander of Army Group A, and, from May, he commanded Army Group South Ukraine. In 1945, he was appointed to the command of Army Group Center, which defended primarily positions in the Czech Lands.

Army General Ludvík Svoboda (1895–1979)

He was born in Hroznatín. In World War I, he fought in the Russian legions.

He taught at the military academy in Hranice. In September 1939, during the fighting in Poland, he retreated to Soviet territory at the head of 700 men. He commanded the Czechoslovak Independent Field Battalion and later the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in the USSR. On April 4, 1945, he became Minister of National Defence in the so-called Košice Government. In 1950, he was dismissed from the post of minister and, in 1952, he was briefly imprisoned. From 1968 to 1975, he was President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.