Gusarek, Karel

World War I

Born on January 31, 1893 in Czechowice ( Prostejov district , Olomouc Region , Czech Republic ). He graduated from a real school Prosteev , studied at the Brno University of Technology at the Faculty of Construction. During World War I, as a volunteer, he joined the Austro-Hungarian army and graduated from an artillery school. In the summer of 1915 he was sent to the Russian front as part of an engineer battalion in the Krakow garrison. He was captured by Russian ^[1] . After the revolutionary events of 1917, he entered the Czechoslovak Corps in August, first served in the 5th Rifle Regiment, and then was a senior officer in the 2nd Engineering Company of the Separate Czechoslovak Corps. A participant in a series of battles against the Reds in Siberia, in August 1918 he was promoted to majors ^[1] .

Gusarek served at the headquarters of the so-called Eastern Group, including as a diplomat. In September 1918, he was appointed chief of staff of the 2nd Czechoslovak Division ^[1] . In early 1919, officially with General Radola Gaida, he transferred to the Russian service, held the post of general for commissions under the commander of the Siberian Army ^[2] . By order of the Siberian Army dated January 26, 1919, "For the capture of Barnaul and for the differences in battles on the Eastern Front," Major Karel Gusarek was awarded the Order of St. Anna of the II degree with swords. By order of March 8, 1919, "until approval by the Supreme Authority," he was promoted to colonel with seniority from December 25, 1918 . In November 1919 he was appointed chief of staff of General Gaida , who raised a riot and proclaimed himself commander in chief of all the armed forces of Siberia, but after the suppression of the riot fled to Czechoslovakia ^[1] .

Interwar years

Since November 1920, Gusarek was the commander of the 4th engineering regiment, in December 1923 he headed the 5th engineering regiment. In September 1924 he entered the Paris Military Academy and the School of Political Sciences in Paris, graduating both in 1926. In the rank of lieutenant colonel, he was appointed chief of staff of the Command of the Ground Forces in Bratislava (1927-1931). He was later the commander of the sapper troops in Bratislava (1931-1932). He also commanded the 10th and 16th infantry brigades (the latter was adopted in 1933). Since February 1933, Brigadier General. Division General (Major General) since 1935 ^[1] .

On December 31, 1933, Gusarek was appointed deputy chief of staff of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Czechoslovakia, having worked in this position until 1938. Since March 1935 - Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Military Development. Since 1938, he was exclusively engaged in the organization of fortification works on the border of Czechoslovakia, the author of the fortification plan " Gusarek Program ". In connection with the tense political situation, he tried to force the construction of fortifications on the Austrian border. After the announcement of the mobilization, he was transferred to General Ludwig Kreichi, announcing his readiness to engage in battle against Germany and Austria in the event of an armed attack.

Gusarek later participated in negotiations between Czechoslovakia and Germany on the revision of borders between countries after the signing of the Munich Agreement . He tried to soften the terms of the agreement in order to provide Czechoslovakia with any acceptable conditions for the future border. After returning to the country, he secured the resignation of Edward Benes. From October 4 to December 1, 1938 he was Minister of Public Works of Czechoslovakia ^[1] . In January 1939, resigned.

World War II

From 1939 to 1941, Gusarek was the director of the Škoda-Werke branch in Dubnica nad Wah: he secretly tried to disrupt the supply of arms for Germany and transfer any part of the USSR to it, but did not achieve much success. From 1941 to 1945 he worked as an expert on weapons at the Skoda plant ^[1] . In 1943, he began to collect all the information about the activities of Czechoslovak troops abroad, in May 1945 he joined the leaders of the Prague uprising. After the war, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic court charged the general with collaborating with the Nazi occupiers, under which his cooperation with Skoda fell. The investigation dragged on, and in December 1948 Gusarek was nevertheless acquitted. However, in October 1950, at the request of the Minister of Defense Alexei Chepichki, he was demoted and deprived of his pension ^[1] . In the 1950s, he began working at a state publishing house as a translator of technical literature, and translated many works from Russian. In the 1960s, he withdrew from activities due to a serious illness.

He died on July 26, 1972 in Prague ^[1] . The remains were reburied in Paris in 1974. In 1991, he was posthumously restored to the rank of division general.

• Josef Tomeš i kol. Český biografický slovník XX. století 1. - Praha, 1999 .-- ISBN 80-7185-245-7 .
• Simonov D. G. Appendix 1. Brief biographical information on the leadership of the anti-Bolshevik armed forces (1918) // White Siberian Army in 1918: monograph / Novosib. state un-t Novosibirsk - Novosibirsk, 2010 .-- 612 p. - ISBN 978-5-94356-904-3 .

• Divizní generál Karel Husárek (Czech) . armada.vojenstvi.cz. Date of treatment February 16, 2012.
• Karel Husárek (Czech) . vlada.cz. Date of treatment February 16, 2012.