The plot begins in the Soviet Union showing first efforts to establish the Czechoslovak legion in 1942. The film also shows the assassination of Heydrich and the subsequent annihilation of Lidice. The main topis of the film is battles with German troops for Sokolovo.
Production
Massive battle recreations with actual Soviet military cooperation.
Costume
Painstakingly accurate Czechoslovak Legion uniforms and gear.
Director
Otakar Vávra
Ladislav Chudík
Gen. Ludvík Svoboda
Vladimir Samoylov
Yuriy Solomin
Generál Safarenko
Bohumil Pastorek
Dr. Edvard Beneš
Martin Štěpánek
Npor. Otokar Jaroš
Lev Ivanov
Náměstek lidového komisaře
Jiří Pleskot
Dr. Edvard Beneš
Hannjo Hasse
Reynhard Heydrich
Vladimír Ráž
Ingr
Josef Langmiler
Fierlinger
Ivan Ryzhov
Pplk. Biljutin
Yuriy Nazarov
Semyon Morozov
Lyudmila Gladunko
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during the Normalization period, the film served as communist-approved nationalist mythmaking — Czech heroism, but safely within Soviet narrative control.
The real Battle of Sokolovo was militarily insignificant; the film inflates it to epic proportions while the actual Czechoslovak 1st Brigade saw minimal combat there.
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