Ferdinand Čatloš (October 7, 1895 – December 16, 1972), born Csatlós Nándor, was a Slovak military officer and politician. Throughout his short career in the administration of the

Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

he held the post of

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

. He was also the commanding officer of the

Field Army Bernolák The Field Army Bernolák ( sk, Slovenská Poľná Armádna skupina "Bernolák") was a field army of the Axis Slovak Republic during World War II. It was named after Anton Bernolák, the first codifier of the literary Slovak language. The Slovak ...

during the 15 day Slovak

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

and

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

. On 2 August 1944 he abandoned his post and joined the partisan fighters. At the conclusion of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was imprisoned for five years by the National Court of

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

and released in 1948. He spent the remainder of his life working as an ordinary clerk in

Martin, Czechoslovakia Martin (; sk, Turčiansky Svätý Martin until 1950, hu, Turócszentmárton, German: ''Turz-Sankt Martin'', Latin: ''Sanctus Martinus / Martinopolis'') is a city in northern Slovakia, situated on the Turiec river, between the Malá Fatra and Ve ...

. He then died in 1972. On 1 September 1939, the Slovak Republic with three Infantry divisions under his general command attacked Poland and only met some resistance and quickly over-ran the Poles and took some land in Poland for Slovakia. While only losing 37 killed, 114 wounded, 11 missing and 2 aircraft shot down. After serving in Poland, his army moved towards the east of Slovakia to join the German invasion of Russia,

References

1895 births 1972 deaths People from Liptovský Mikuláš District People from the Kingdom of Hungary Slovak Lutherans Defence Ministers of Slovakia Slovak military personnel Slovak people of World War II 20th-century Lutherans Burials at National Cemetery in Martin {{Europe-mil-bio-stub