Clash between Czechoslovak citizens and soldiers of the Soviet Army during the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
Seventeen unarmed Prague civilians died defending Czechoslovak Radio against Soviet troops, making the clash a symbol of popular resistance to the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion.
Key Facts
- Civilian deaths
- 17 unarmed Czechoslovak citizens killed
- Date of clash
- 21 August 1968
- Location
- Vinohradská Street, Prague
- Defender tactics
- Stones and pickaxes used to breach tank fuel tanks
- Soviet losses
- Several tanks destroyed by fire
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia on 21 August 1968 brought Soviet Army troops into Prague to suppress the reform movement known as the Prague Spring. As occupation forces moved through the city, they advanced on the Czechoslovak Radio building on Vinohradská Street, a key broadcast outlet still transmitting news of the invasion to the population.
Unarmed Czechoslovak civilians gathered to defend the radio building against Soviet soldiers attempting to seize it. Defenders hurled stones and used pickaxes to pierce the external diesel fuel tanks of Soviet tanks, setting them ablaze and destroying several vehicles. In the fighting, 17 unarmed Czech civilians were killed by the occupation troops.
The battle became a widely recognised symbol of Czech civilian resistance to the Soviet-led occupation. The image of unarmed citizens confronting tanks reinforced international awareness of the brutal nature of the invasion and galvanised domestic opposition to the subsequent normalisation regime imposed by the occupying forces.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent