Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Today in History: August 20, Soviets invade Czechoslovakia
Ap News ^ | 12:00 AM EDT, August 20, 2025 | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted on 08/20/2025 6:39:48 AM PDT by JSM_Liberty

Today in history:

On Aug. 20, 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring” liberalization movement.

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: czechoslovakia; godsgravesglyphs; praguespring; russiantrollfarm
More detail

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/soviet-invasion-czechoslavkia

On August 20, 1968, the Soviet Union led Warsaw Pact troops in an invasion of Czechoslovakia to crack down on reformist trends in Prague. Although the Soviet Union’s action successfully halted the pace of reform in Czechoslovakia, it had unintended consequences for the unity of the communist bloc. ... The Warsaw Pact invasion of August 20–21 caught Czechoslovakia and much of the Western world by surprise. In anticipation of the invasion, the Soviet Union had moved troops from the Soviet Union, along with limited numbers of troops from Hungary, Poland, East Germany and Bulgaria into place by announcing Warsaw Pact military exercises. When these forces did invade, they swiftly took control of Prague, other major cities, and communication and transportation links. Given the escalating U.S. involvement in the conflict in Vietnam as well as past U.S. pronouncements on non-intervention in the East Bloc, the Soviets guessed correctly that the United States would condemn the invasion but refrain from intervening. Although the Soviet crackdown on Czechoslovakia was swift and successful, small-scale resistance continued throughout early 1969 while the Soviets struggled to install a stable government. Finally, in April of 1969, the Soviets forced Dubcek from power in favor of a more conservative administrator. In the years that followed, the new leadership reestablished government censorship and controls preventing freedom of movement, but it also improved economic conditions, eliminating one of the sources for revolutionary fervor. Czechoslovakia once again became a cooperative member of the Warsaw Pact.

1 posted on 08/20/2025 6:39:48 AM PDT by JSM_Liberty
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: JSM_Liberty

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/soviet-invasion-czechoslavkia


2 posted on 08/20/2025 6:40:10 AM PDT by JSM_Liberty
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: JSM_Liberty

And what did we do?


3 posted on 08/20/2025 6:40:10 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: JSM_Liberty

Let’s hear support from all our comrades for this glorious event!


4 posted on 08/20/2025 6:48:09 AM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: JSM_Liberty

Filming of the 1968 move “The Bridge at Remagen” was interrupted by the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Cast and crew were taken to safety in a convoy of 28 taxis, except for Robert Logan, who stayed behind with film gear in order to capture the invasion on film and photo.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064110/trivia/?ref_=tt_ov_ql_3


5 posted on 08/20/2025 6:56:15 AM PDT by DFG
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

What did we do?

We kept world peace over those bastards until we could assist in the liberation of all Eastern Europe.

Love the morons here who say the Russians never lose territory - if you don’t count half of Europe.

Russia was a villain then and it sucks now. May they go to hell or find Freedom.


6 posted on 08/20/2025 7:00:15 AM PDT by Williams (Thank God for the election of President Trump!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: JSM_Liberty

Russians have had to pull out of storage those same tanks, the T62 for use in attacking Ukraine.


7 posted on 08/20/2025 7:07:31 AM PDT by tlozo (“We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tlozo

Tito and Ceauscscu were against it big-time I do believe. Look at what happened when Yugoslavia left the pact and how Ceauscscu ended up.


8 posted on 08/20/2025 7:15:08 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator
My weapons crew, a pilot and crew chief spent those days on an alert pad with F-100’s cocked and ready to go at moments notice at torrejon AB Spain.
9 posted on 08/20/2025 7:28:49 AM PDT by Wilum (Never loaded a nuke I didn't like)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: JSM_Liberty

Three days. Czechoslovakia was free for three days thanks to the rebellion . That was enough for the parents of Sebastian Gorka to escape to the West.


10 posted on 08/20/2025 8:01:31 AM PDT by Nateman (Democrats did not strive for fraud friendly voting merely to continue honest elections.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

“””””In anticipation of the invasion, the Soviet Union had moved troops from the Soviet Union, along with limited numbers of troops from Hungary, Poland, East Germany and Bulgaria into place by announcing Warsaw Pact military exercises. When these forces did invade, they swiftly took control of Prague, other major cities, and communication and transportation links.”””””
Initial invasion:
250,000 (20 divisions)
2,000 tanks
800 aircraft
Peak strength:
350,000–400,000 Soviet troops, 70,000–80,000 from Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary
6,300 tanks


What would you have done?


11 posted on 08/20/2025 9:31:12 AM PDT by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

12 posted on 08/20/2025 9:48:12 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger And The Trinity-Czechoslovakia (1969) HD | 6:23
d22 | 1.66K subscribers | 922 views | January 1, 2015
Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger And The Trinity-Czechoslovakia (1969) HD | 6:23 | d22 | 1.66K subscribers | 922 views | January 1, 2015

13 posted on 08/20/2025 9:50:49 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Williams

Love the morons here who say the Russians never lose territory


Brest-Litovsk?


14 posted on 08/20/2025 9:51:50 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Williams

Just as with Ukraine, while we couldn’t do anything to get the Russians out of Czechoslovakia, we can make damn sure the Western Frontier is beefed up, as is the case with Poland.


15 posted on 08/20/2025 9:53:10 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: JSM_Liberty

It also temporarily froze the Communist movement in the US. They were heavily involved in the “Peace” movement and but had to support the Soviet invasion which made them look like the KGB-paid puppets that they were.


16 posted on 08/20/2025 9:55:04 AM PDT by AppyPappy (If Hitler were alive today and criticized Trump, would he still be Hitler?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AppyPappy

What’s interesting to note, is that in 1968, there were student riots all throughout Western Europe, especially in France.

The French students actually supported the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.


17 posted on 08/20/2025 9:56:51 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

That’s because it was never about peace. It was being Anti-American. When China invaded Vietnam, there were no anti-war demonstrations.


18 posted on 08/20/2025 10:03:57 AM PDT by AppyPappy (If Hitler were alive today and criticized Trump, would he still be Hitler?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: JSM_Liberty

Invading neighbors is a bad Russian habit.


19 posted on 08/20/2025 11:21:54 AM PDT by Midwesterner53
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson