Karel Klapálek,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, DSO (25 May 1893 – 18 November 1984) was a

Czechoslovak Army The Czechoslovak Army (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá armáda'') was the name of the armed forces of Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1918 following Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence from Austria-Hungary. History In t ...

general and a veteran of the

Czechoslovak Legion The Czechoslovak Legion ( Czech: ''Československé legie''; Slovak: ''Československé légie'') were volunteer armed forces consisting predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I and the ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He fought in both World Wars and was decorated with numerous national honours.

Early life

Klapálek was born in

Nové Město nad Metují Nové Město nad Metují (; ) is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,200 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#M ...

in north-eastern

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, then part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. His father, a railwayman, died when Karel was eight. His mother was widowed with five children and the family was very poor. Karel went to primary school in the town of

Kralupy nad Vltavou Kralupy nad Vltavou (; ) is a town in Mělník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It is known as a traffic hub and industrial agglomeration. Administrative division Kralupy nad Vltavou c ...

and high school in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, graduating in 1911 and taking a job as an accountant in a small factory that made automatic pumps.

First World War

In 1915 Klapálek joined the 8th Regiment of the

Imperial-Royal Landwehr The Imperial-Royal Landwehr ( or ''k.k. Landwehr''), also called the Austrian Landwehr, was the territorial army of the Cisleithanian or Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1869 to 1918. Its counterpart was the Royal Hungarian Land ...

and was posted to

Halicz Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Halychyna), and the Kingdom of Galicia–V ...

in Galicia. He fought on the Russian front and was captured by Russian forces on 23 September 1915. Klapálek enlisted in the Czechoslovak Legion in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

in 1916, and on 6 August 1916 he joined the 1st Artillery Regiment as a soldier. After the successful Battle of Zborov he was promoted to

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

. He served in the 3rd Czechoslovak Infantry Regiment, fighting in most of the battles of the Czechoslovak Legion in Russia before contracting

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Klapálek returned to Czechoslovakia with the Legion in 1920.

1920–39

After World War I, Klapálek became a commissioned officer and helped to establish the army of the newly-founded

First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic, often colloquially referred to as the First Republic, was the first Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1938, a union of ethnic Czechs and Slovaks. The country was commonly called Czechosl ...

. He served in

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

Michalovce Michalovce (; , , Romani language, Romani: ''Mihalya'', Yiddish language, Yiddish: מיכאלאָווצע ''Mikhaylovets'' or ''Mykhaylovyts''; ) is a town on the Laborec river in eastern Slovakia. Originally named after the Archangel St Michael ...

, and Uzgorod, where he met his future wife Olga Košutová (born 8 March 1901). He then served in

Milovice Milovice (; ) is a town in Nymburk District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. In the 20th century, the history of the town was influenced by the presence of a military base. In the 21st century ...

and at the Military Academy in Hranice. In the interwar period, Klapálek married Olga, and their daughter Olga was born on 24 March 1926. Olga Klapálková kept a diary, which later provided the basis for a book in which she described life in a

Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

in Svatobořice near

Kyjov Kyjov (; or ''Geyen'') is a town in Hodonín District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monum ...

, where she was held in the Second World War. Later in life Olga also published her husband's memoirs, ''Voják vypravuje''.

Second World War

After

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

imposed the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

in March 1939, Klapálek joined a Czech military anti-Nazi resistance organization ''

Obrana národa Obrana národa (ON; English: ''Defence of the Nation'') was a Czech resistance organization that fought against the German occupation from 1939 to 1945. It opposed Nazi rule in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The group was founded by Gene ...

'' (Protection of the Nation) in

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

. After the organization was destroyed in 1940 he fled the country and reached

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, where he joined the 4th Czechoslovak Infantry Regiment, later reorganized as the

Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion The Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion – East () was a Czechoslovak infantry battalion in the Second World War. It served under the British Middle East Command in the Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre. History Several thousand Czech ...

(East), with Klapálek as its commander. The battalion fought in the Allied invasion of Syria and Lebanon in June and July 1941, and was then stationed on the Turkish border in August. From October to December 1941 the battalion fought in the defence of Tobruk under the command of the

Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade (Polish ''Samodzielna Brygada Strzelców Karpackich'', SBSK) was a Polish military unit formed in 1940 in French Syria composed of Polish soldiers exiled after the invasion of Poland in 1939 as part of t ...

. After its success at Tobruk the battalion was withdrawn to the rear. In May 1942 it was reorganized as the 200th Czechoslovak Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, with Klapálek remaining as its commander. The regiment returned to the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

, where it defended

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, and

Az-Zeeb Achziv ( ''ʾAḵzīḇ'') or Az-Zeeb () is an ancient site on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, between the border with Lebanon and the city of Acre. It is located north of Acre on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, within the mun ...

. Early in 1943 it returned to Tobruk, which it defended until June. In July 1943 the regiment was transferred by sea to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, where it became part of the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade. Klapálek reached Britain in August and was made second-in-command of the brigade. From March 1944 Klapálek was stationed in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

as head of Department I of the Ministry of Defence 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 ...

. In August 1944 he volunteered to the Eastern Front. In September he was promoted to brigade general and commanded the 3rd Czechoslovak Independent Brigade, including in the

Battle of the Dukla Pass The Battle of the Dukla Pass, also known as the Dukla, Carpatho–Dukla, Rzeszów–Dukla, or Dukla–Prešov offensive, was the battle for control over the Dukla Pass on the border between Poland and Slovakia on the Eastern Front of World Wa ...

.pp. 189-195. During the Battle of

Liptovský Mikuláš Liptovský Mikuláš (; until 1952 ''Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš'', ; ) is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River, about from Bratislava. It lies in the Liptov region, in Podtatranská kotlina, Liptov Basin near the Low Tatra and Tat ...

, on 3 February 1945, Klapálek was badly injured by an enemy artillery shell. While in hospital, he was promoted to commander of the whole Czechoslovak Army Corps. In his absence, the acting commander was general Bohumil Boček.pp. 229, 236. Klapálek then successfully led the army in the Battle of Malá Fatra, crossing of Váh and the liberation of Moravia. On 17 May 1945, Klapálek led the Victory Parade in Prague while riding a white horse.pp. 258.

1945–56

Between 1945 and 1950 Klapálek served as an army officer in Prague. Along with Svoboda he supported the Communist coup d'état of February 1948, by establishing the Central Office of the National Front (). He joined the Communist Party in June 1948. In the political trials of Czechoslovak soldiers who had served with Western forces, Klapálek tried to protect his former colleagues. In 1949 he received a threatening letter encouraging him to leave the country. Klapálek did not take it seriously, but in 1951 he was sent into retirement. After the high-profile political trial of

Rudolf Slánský Rudolf Slánský (31 July 1901 – 3 December 1952) was a leading Czech Communist politician. Holding the post of the party's General Secretary after World War II, he was one of the leading creators and organizers of Communist rule in Czechoslova ...

in 1952, the Communists confiscated all of Klapálek's property and imprisoned him in Valdice Prison. He was disgraced, expelled from the Communist Party, and deprived of his civil rights. In 1954 he was convicted of sabotage. Klapálek was released from prison in 1956 after the Soviet marshals

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( 189618 June 1974) was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-ch ...

and

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf, links=no; 28 December 1897 – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forc ...

spoke in his defence, but he was not rehabilitated until 1968.

Memoirs and national honours

Klapálek published his memoirs in a book called ''Ozvěny bojů'' in 1968. Ludvik Svoboda, the president of Czechoslovakia, awarded him with the title Hero of the ČSR after having already received the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

and the Order of the 25th February ( cs). Klapálek was designated an "honourable citizen" of his hometown,

. In 1984 he was awarded his last National Honour, the Order of the Red Flag. General Klapálek died 18 November 1984 at the age of 91. He is buried in

Olšany Cemetery Olšany Cemeteries (, ) is the largest graveyard in Prague, Czech Republic, once laid out for as many as two million burials. The graveyard is particularly noted for its many remarkable Art Nouveau monuments. History The Olšany Cemeteries w ...

in Prague. In 2009 Klapálek was nominated for the

Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion () is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia having no civilian decoration for its citizens in the 192 ...

in memoriam. A public debate followed over whether he deserved the Order or not, given his actions in 1948. Czech President

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

eventually declined to give him the Honour.

National honours

* Order of the 25th February * Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic * Order of the Red Flag

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klapalek, Karel 1893 births 1984 deaths People from Nové Město nad Metují People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Communist Party of Czechoslovakia members Czech communists Czechoslovak generals Czech generals Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in World War I Czechoslovak Legion personnel Czechoslovak military personnel of World War II Heroes of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic Recipients of the Military Order of the White Lion Recipients of the Order of Klement Gottwald Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945 Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Commanders of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Knights of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 2nd class Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Burials at Olšany Cemetery