The light tank (Lt.) model 38 is undoubtedly the symbol of the insurgent tankers. Coincidentally, two such tanks have been preserved in the collections of the Slovak National Uprising Museum in Banská Bystrica – one is a complete tank and one consists only of a torso. Both collection items are among the most valuable ones, not only in terms of European history but also in terms of Slovak, insurgent history. In both cases, these are tanks of the 1st Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia.
The Praga Czechoslovak light tanks are still considered the best tanks of their category from the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to being exported to countries such as Peru, Switzerland, or Persia, they were to be brought into the Czechoslovak Army as model 38 tanks. The development of events in Europe caused the manufactured tanks to be eventually acquired by the German army after March 1939. Due to the quality of the vehicle, the production continued under the name Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) (Pz.38(t)) until 1942, not only for the Wehrmacht but also for the allies of Nazi Germany. The Pz.38(t) tanks were also given to Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Slovakia was not an exception, as in 1940-1943 it received 37 of the Lt. model 38 tanks and 21 of the slightly smaller Lt. model 40 tanks, which were originally Praga LLT tanks manufactured for Lithuania. From 1943 on, Slovakia was to receive another 58 used Lt. model 38 tanks from Wehrmacht. By the time the Uprising broke out, 37 of them had been delivered.
At the moment of the outbreak of the Uprising, the Slovak Army had most of its combat-ready tanks concentrated in a field unit of the PÚV (Armoured Car Regiment) in eastern Slovakia. Only a smaller part was located in the regiment’s home garrison in Martin. Insurgent tanks from Martin were deployed in the battles for Strečno from the very first days of the Uprising. Thanks to the resistance, the 2nd Tank Company from eastern Slovakia also reached the insurgent territory. In total, the insurgents used 28 of the Lt. model 38 tanks. Naturally, in addition to these, other available tanks were also used, both the older Lt. model 34, model 35, and the newer Lt. model 40, as well as the German light Pz.II Ausf. C and medium Pz.III Ausf. N. A pair of Marder III self-propelled guns on the chassis of the model 38 tank played a crucial role in the insurgent battles. The combat and morale support of the insurgent tanks to infantry units was vital. Despite the relatively small amount of armoured equipment deployed in the Uprising, there were a few tank battles. Tank Lt. model 38 of Lieutenant Alexander Oppl destroyed a German armoured vehicle, and the self-propelled gun Marder III of Corporal Aspirant Matej Buc hit three German tanks and two anti-tank guns. Some of the insurgent tanks were lost in the battles. The insurgent tankers literally fought for life. Lieutenant A. Oppl was wounded, and Corporal Aspirant M. Buc was killed. And they were not the only ones. During the engagement of tank units in 1944, five officers of the regiment and approx. 40 of its non-commissioned officers and enlisted men were killed. Another hundred or so members of the PÚV were wounded or remained missing. Material losses were much more extensive. During the disarmament of the PUV field unit in eastern Slovakia, the German army captured or destroyed 69 Slovak armoured vehicles, and the same fate happened to another 104 armoured vehicles and three armoured trains during the Uprising. The losses they inflicted on the enemy can only be estimated. In direct engagements, Slovak tanks and anti-tank guns of the PUV hit at least 16 armoured vehicles, probably 6 of which were destroyed and the rest were more or less damaged. Naturally, other units of the 1st Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia also took out several armoured vehicles of the enemy.
The Museum of the Slovak National Uprising has two of the insurgent tanks Lt model 38 in its collections. Tank No. V-3002 was used by the insurgent army in Orava and after the fighting it was decommissioned near Zázrivá. Thanks to the difficult terrain, it has been preserved at least as a torso. The second, a complete tank No. V-3023, belonged to the 2nd Tank Company of the PÚV. The tank was engaged in fighting at Telgárt, Žiar nad Hronom, and Dobrá Niva. At the end of October 1944, it was seized by the German army. In 1945 it was stationed in Prague, and thus, it was assigned to the Czechoslovak Army after the war. Since 1964, the tank has been exhibited in the Museum of the SNU and is currently undergoing a demanding restoration to its original insurgent form.
PhDr. Marian Uhrin, PhD.