Czech Armed Forces

The Czech Armed Forces (Czech: Armáda České republiky, lit. 'the Army of the Czech Republic'; abbreviated AČR), also known as the Czech Army, are the military responsible for the defence of the Czech Republic. The Czech Armed Forces led by the General Staff consist of the Land Forces, the Air Force, the Special Forces, the Information and Cyber Forces, the Territorial Forces, and other components.

Modern Czech military history started with formal establishment of the Czechoslovak Legion fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I, thus preceding the 1918 Czechoslovak declaration of independence. Following the Munich Agreement, the country was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Army was reconstituted in exile, fighting on the side of Allies of World War II in the European as well as Mediterranean and Middle East theatre. After the 1948 Communist Coup, the Czechoslovak People's Army with over 200,000 active personnel and some 4,500 tanks formed one of the pillars of the Warsaw Pact military alliance.

Following the Velvet Revolution and dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999. The conscription was abolished in 2004, leading to transformation into a modern professional army inspired mostly by the British Armed Forces and USMC example.^{[citation needed]} Today, the Czech Army has around 30.000 professional personnel and 4.900 members of active reserves. Additionally, any citizen can voluntarily join a five-week basic training without becoming a soldier or join advanced shooting training with their privately owned firearms and become a member of militia-style Designated Reserves.

A law adopted in June 2023 stipulates that the military expenditures shall not be lower than 2% of country's GDP, starting from 2024. In March 2025, Petr Fiala Government adopted a decision to raise the military expenditures annually by 0,2% of GDP, in order to reach at least 3% of GDP in 2030.

The military history of the Czech people dates back to the Middle Ages and the creation of the Duchy of Bohemia and the Kingdom of Bohemia. During the Hussite Wars, Jan Žižka became a military leader of such skill and eminence that the Hussite legacy became an important and lasting part of the Czech military traditions. The contemporary Czech Army derives its legacy from the proto-Protestant Hussite Army, with many of today's units bearing names in honour of Hussite Army personalities or formations.^{[citation needed]}

When the World War I broke out, the Czech Crown lands were part of the Austria-Hungary and the colonised Czech population had to serve in its army. From 1914, on the background of attempts to attain independence, various units composed of Czech nationals (with up to 10% of Slovak nationals), mainly POWs, were established, fighting as part of the French, Italian and Russian forces against the Entente powers. Beginning in 1916, these Czechoslovak Legions gained increasingly independent status. Following the 1918 Czechoslovak declaration of independence, the newly established Czechoslovak Army derived its legacy primarily from these legions rather than from the Austrian Habsburg Imperial Army.

Official military names since 1918:

The Czechoslovak Armed Forces were originally formed on 30 June 1918 when 6,000 members of the Czechoslovak Legion in France, which had been established in 1914, took oath and received a battle banner in Darney, France, thus preceding the official declaration of Czechoslovak independence by four months. There were also 50 000 legion soldiers in Russia at that time. The military achievements of the Czechoslovak legions on the French, Italian and especially Russian front became one of the main arguments that the Czechoslovak pro-independence leaders, especially for T. G. Masaryk in America, could use to gain the support for the country's independence by the Allies of World War I.