You Wait Where From They Shoot at You

In October 1941 the 11th Czechoslovak Infantry Regiment, numbering 643 soldiers, arrived in Tobruk. Stanislav Hnělička explains why the Czechoslovak soldiers were in a worse position than the others: “The Germans did not perceive us other soldiers, but as the betrayers of the protectorate. We swore to each other that under no circumstances were we to be taken prisoner.” Stanislav Hnělička describes the process of one of many reconnaissance patrols: “At dawn we crawled through the mine field, silently cut the barbed wire and jumped over the rest of the barriers. Then we just waited where from the Germans or Italians start the shooting. That day we were lucky because our attack was so unexpected that they ran away.” The soldiers in Tobruk were threatened not only by the enemy but also by day heats sometimes reaching even fifty degrees, night frosts and often lack of water. Stanislav Hnělička was awarded the Medal of Bravery for participating in the fights in Tobruk. As it is written in the order of the Czechoslovak military mission in Jerusalem: “Lance corporal Stanislav Hnělička was the first one of the reconnaissance patrol who bravely got into the fortified military position of the enemy in December 10, 1941 and participated in the biggest number of risky reconnaissance patrols of his regiment; in the fights he has always shown bravery and valor.”