Alfréd Bartoš (23 September 1916 – 22 June 1942) was a member of the Czechoslovak anti-Nazi resistance during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

On 23 September 1916 Bartoš was born in Vienna to Adolf Bartoš and Antonia Bartoš. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

ended, they moved to Sezemice ''(6km from the city of Pardubice)''. In 1930 Bartoš graduated from middle school and continued his studies at a local high school, where he was one of the best students. He graduated in 1935, with honors.

Military career

Bartoš joined the Czech military in Pardubice on 1 October 1935. He was promoted to

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

on 23 December and to

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

on 25 July 1936. On 5 September 1936 he enrolled at a Military Academy in Hranice. On 29 August 1937 he graduated from the Military Academy with the rank of lieutenant cavalry. He worked at the cavalry regiment until the German occupation on 15 March 1939.

After occupation

Following the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Bartoš traveled to France, where he assisted at the Czechoslovak consulate in Paris. On June 8 Bartoš joined the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. He was serving in Tunisia, until the beginning of World War II when he returned to France. On 16 November he joined the second Czechoslovak Regiment as the Second Assistant Commander and took part in fighting on the French front. After the defeat of France he traveled to Rod el Farag, England arriving on 13 July 1940. There he became the commander of the 1st Infantry 1st Company of the 2nd Infantry Battalion. In 1941 Bartoš was nominated to be the commander of the Silver A.

Operation Silver A

Operation Silver A was a military operation organized by the intelligence division of the

Czechoslovak government-in-exile The Czechoslovak government-in-exile, sometimes styled officially as the Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia (; ), was an informal title conferred upon the Czechoslovak National Liberation Committee (; ), initially by Government of the Unit ...

with the assistance of the British SOE and RAF. The main objective of ''Operation Silver A'' was to maintain contact with England and to transmit important news about what was happening in the

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

through a radio station. After failed attempts on 29 October, 7 November and 30 November 1941, the three-man team (Alfréd Bartoš, Josef Valčík, Jiří Potůček) successfully landed in Czechoslovakia on 29 December. Bartoš was able to make contact with the resistance and by 15 January 1942 Potůček had established a radio link with London. In fear of the German authorities, the radio station was relocated a couple of times. In the middle of June there began a series of arrests in the Pardubice region. The

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

had obtained the address of the safe house used by Bartoš. On 21 June, as Bartoš was returning to the safe house, he found out that he was being watched and attempted to leave the scene. He committed suicide by shooting himself as a result of the situation. He did not die immediately, he was taken to a hospital where he died the following day.

After his death

On 17 July 1948 Bartoš was promoted in memoriam to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. In 2002 Bartoš was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. A monument to him was unveiled in Sezemice in 2007. In Pardubice, on the corner of Smilova and Sladkovského streets, is a memorial plaque on the spot where Bartoš turned his weapon against himself.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartoš, Alfréd Czechoslovak Army officers Czechoslovak military personnel of World War II 1916 births 1942 deaths 1942 suicides Suicides by firearm in the Czech Republic Suicides in Czechoslovakia Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion