| |||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Bratislava | ||||
| Language official |
Slovak | ||||
| others | Czech | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||
| President | Jozef Tiso | ||||
| Currency | Koruna | ||||
Slovakia, officially called the Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika) or Slovak State (Slovenský štát), was a country in central Europe formed in 1939 following the German annexation of part of Czechoslovakia.
History[]
May 1939[]
The dominant political party in newly-independent Slovakia was the Slovak People's Party, led by President Jozef Tiso. After the short war between Slovakia and Hungary, the Slovak Army underwent major reforms. The Commander-in-chief of the Army became General Augustín Malár, a former Czechoslovak military officer.
Josef Tiso signed into law that all Slovak males need to undergo a minimum of two years of military service. He also asked Germany for several Bf-109 fighters for the Slovak Air Force.
June 1939[]
In June 1939, the army had 40,000 personnel. It began producing more Skoda Lt vz-35 tanks. The government-controlled media gradually began to cease anti-Hungarian messages around that time.
When Italy and Bulgaria invaded Yugoslavia in the middle of that month, Tiso and the government announced that Slovakia would remain neutral. The army was deployed to the borders to maintain additional security.
Later in the month, the Slovak Army had 50,000 personnel. The Slovak government requested to formally join the Axis powers.
July 1939[]
Slovakia spent much of early July 1939 requesting to join the Axis fully.
When its request was accepted in the middle of the month, Slovakia attempted to urge Bulgaria and Yugoslavia to come to an agreement and to not go to war. By that point, the army had reached a total of 60,000 personnel.
August 1939[]
When Poland demanded that Slovakia be annexed to it, the Slovak Army was mobilized to the northern regions (around 60,700 men total). Men between 16-60 were called up for service, forming a 25,000-man Bratislava Defense Army. Slovak diplomats asked Germany to intervene on their side.