1) INFANTRY LIEUTENANT RUDOLF DRBOHLAV

Date of birth:

April 27,1914, in Löbau, Germany

Education:

Primary school, town school, business academy in Hořice

Pre-war military service:

In 1934, he voluntarily joined the 22nd Infantry Regiment and attended the school for reserve infantry officers. In 1936, he was admitted to the Military Academy.
Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a lieutenant and served in the 33rd Infantry Regiment, later transferring to the 34th and 15th Infantry Regiments.

Exile:

In May 1939, he left for Poland.

Military service:

In August 1939, he was assigned to the 1st Regiment of the French Foreign Legion.

In September 1939, he transferred to the 1st Infantry Regiment in France, where he served as a company commander and later as the regiment’s intelligence officer, taking part in frontline combat.

In Great Britain, he served as an intelligence officer at the Ministry of National Defense.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

As an intelligence officer, he participated in the interrogation of German prisoners of war. After returning to Czechoslovakia, he continued his work in military intelligence. From 1946, he studied at the War College in Prague. Following the communist coup in 1948, he went into exile in Germany and became involved in intelligence activities against the communist regime. He died in Britain in 1952.

2) SERGEANT FIRST CLASS JAN KUBIŠ

Date of birth:

June 24, 1913, in Dolní Vilémovice in the district of Třebíč

Education:

Primary school

Pre-war military service:

He served in the 31st Infantry Regiment from 1935 to 1937 and completed training at the school for non-commissioned officers. From 1937, he served as a file-and-rank of non-commissioned officer.

Exile:

In June 1939, he left for Poland.

Military service:

In August 1939, he was assigned to the 1st Regiment of the French Foreign Legion.
In September 1939, he transferred to the 1st Infantry Regiment in France, where he took  part in combat operations. For his bravery, he was awarded both the Czechoslovak War Cross and the French War Cross.
In Great Britain, he served in the 1st Infantry Battalion and completed the school for company sergeants.
In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

At the request of Josef Gabčík, he was assigned to the upcoming Operation ANTHROPOID. After his removal from the operation, he participated in Operation Canonbury in the Pilsen region. Following the successful assassination of Reinhard Heydrich on May 27, 1942, Kubiš and other paratroopers took refuge in the Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Prague. After their hiding place was discovered on June 18, 1942, he fought in the church loft against a significantly larger German force. He died from severe injuries sustained during the battle.

3) ASPIRING SERGEANT MIROSLAV ROZPRÝM

Date of birth:

February 28, DOPLNIT ROK, February in Újezd u Sokolnice

Education:

Primary school, four years of realschule, business academy

Pre-war military service:
 -

Exile:

In June 1939, he left for Poland.

Military service:

In August 1939, he was assigned to the 1st Regiment of the French Foreign Legion.

Later, in France, he transferred to the 1st Infantry Regiment, where he took part in combat operations.

In Great Britain, he attended the School for Reserve Infantry Officers, receiving the rank of aspiring sergeant.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

After completing special courses, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force. Beginning in November 1941, he served with the 138th British Special Purpose Squadron, flying as an air gunner. As a member of the crew, he took part in missions to drop paratroopers into occupied Czechoslovakia, France, the Netherlands, and Poland. He died on December 10, 1942, during a flight in the Mediterranean.

4) STAFF SERGEANT ARNOŠT MIKŠ

Date of birth:

July 27, 1913, in Janov in the district of Rakovník

Education:

Primary school, town school; bricklayer by trade

Pre-war military service:

He completed his compulsory military service in 1936 with the 38th Infantry Regiment and attended the school for non-commissioned officers.

Exile:

In November 1939, he traveled to France via Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Beirut.

Military service:

In France, he served with the 2nd Infantry Regiment as a mortar squad commander and took part in combat operations. He awarded the Czechoslovak Medal of Valor.
In Great Britain, he served with the 1st Infantry Battalion .

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

He was assigned to the ZINC parachute group. Due to a navigational error, he was dropped in Slovakia. The group split, and Mikš continued to Prague before relocating to the Křivoklát region. On April 30, 1942, while attempting to recover operational equipment to the BIOSCOP and BIVOUAC groups, he was involved in a shootout with gendarmes. He shot one and seriously wounded another. Critically wounded himself, Mikš chose to take his own life rather than fall into the hands of the Gestapo.

5) STAFF SERGEANT KAREL SVOBODA

 Date of birth:

October 18, 1912, in Slaný

Education:

Primary school, town school, two years of business school

Pre-war military service:

He completed his compulsory military service in 1932 with the 2nd Border Battalion, where he attended the school for non-commissioned officers and served as the commander of a telephone unit.

Exile:

In June 1939, he left for Poland.

Military service:

In August 1939, he was assigned to the 1st Regiment of the French Foreign Legion.
In September 1939, he transferred to the 2nd Infantry Regiment in France, where he served as a signalman and took part in combat operations.
In Great Britain, he continued to serve as a signalman with the 2nd Infantry Battalion.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

He was originally assigned to the ANTHROPOID group but was injured during a training jump and subsequently replaced by Jan Kubiš. After recovering, he was reassigned as a radio operator with the WOLFRAM group. Following the parachute drop, Svoboda was unable to regroup with the rest of his unit. On September 19, 1944, he was arrested and handed over to the Gestapo. He was later sent to the Flossenbürg concentration camp, where he survived until liberation. After the war, he left the military. Following the 1948 communist coup, he worked at the Hydrometeorological Institute.

6) SERGEANT JINDŘICH ČOUPEK

Date of birth:

February 2, 1918, in Komín

 Education:

Primary school, town school; shop assistant by trade

Pre-war military service:

Compulsory military service with the 10th Infantry Regiment in March 1939.

Exile:

In June 1939, he left for Poland.

Military service:

In August 1939, he was assigned to the 1st regiment of the French Foreign Legion.

In September 1939, he transferred to the 1st Infantry Regiment in France, where he took part in combat operations.

In Great Britain, he served as a sergeant in the 1st Infantry Battalion.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

He was assigned to the BIVOUAC parachute group. After landing in the Požáry area, the group concealed their equipment and moved to Brno, where they were sheltered by Jindřich Čoupek’s family. Following the discovery of their hiding place, he was arrested by the Gestapo on May 3, 1942. He was first imprisoned in Brno and later transported to the Mauthausen concentration camp, where he was executed on September 22, 1942.

7) STAFF SERGEANT FRANTIŠEK POSPÍŠIL

Date of birth:

November 23, 1919, in Rešice in the district of Moravský Krumlov

Education:

Primary school, town school, two years of vocational school

Pre-war military service:

In 1937, he voluntarily joined the military service in the 24th Infantry Regiment and later attended the school for non-commissioned officers.

Exile:

In June 1939, he left for Poland.

Military service:

In August 1939, he was assigned to the 1st regiment of the French Foreign Legion.

In September 1939, he transferred to the 1st Infantry Regiment in France, where took part in combat operations. For his bravery, he was awarded the Czechoslovak War Cross.

In Great Britain, he served in the 1st Infantry Battalion.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

He was appointed commander of the BIVOUAC parachute group. He was betrayed by a former classmate and, during his attempted arrest, managed to shot his way out of a Gestapo encirclement. He remained in hiding until January 1943, when he was lured out by the informer Karel Čurda. He was subsequently arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. On October 28, 1944, he was executed in the Small Fortress of Terezín.

8) SERGEANT JAN HRUBÝ

Date of birth:

March 4, 1915, in Kunovice in the district of Uherské Hradiště

Education:

Primary school, town school; waiter by trade

Pre-war military service:

He completed his compulsory military service with the 10th Border Battalion in 1935 and later attended the school for non-commissioned officers.

Exile:

In the spring of 1940, he traveled to France via Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Beirut.

Military service:

In France, he was assigned to the 1st Infantry Regiment. He took part in combat and was awarded the Czechoslovak War Cross for bravery .

In Great Britain, he served in the 1st Infantry Battalion.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

He was designated for the BIOSCOP parachute drop. After the landing, the group became separated. Jan Hrubý and Josef Bublík continued to Moravia. When their contact addresses failed, they returned to Prague and established contact with Adolf Opálka. Following the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, he sought refuge in the Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Prague. On June 18, 1942, after a prolonged fight in the crypt, he took his own life with a gunshot to the temple to avoid capture.

9) SERGEANT BOHUSLAV GRABOVSKÝ

Date of birth:

January 19, 1917, in Kylešovice

Education:

Primary school, town school

Pre-war military service:

He began his compulsory military service with the 15th Infantry Regiment in 1937.

Exile:

In June 1939, he left for Poland.

Military service:

In August 1939, he was assigned to the 1st regiment of the French Foreign Legion.

In September 1939, he was transferred to the 1st Infantry Regiment. He took part in combat and was awarded the Czechoslovak War Cross for bravery.

In Great Britain, he served with the 1st Infantry Battalion.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

He was assigned to the INTRANSIT sabotage unit. After the group’s landing on the night of April 29–30, 1942, its members split. He reconnected with the others at a contact address in Bernartice. Later, he traveled to Slovakia and eventually returned to the Protectorate. In March 1943, he was arrested by the Gestapo. Although he agreed to cooperate, he did not carry out the assigned tasks. He was imprisoned in Pankrác, later transported to Terezín, and executed without trial in October 1944.

10) PRIVATE FIRST CLASS JOSEF TESAŘ

 Date of birth:

19 April 1919 in Horní Štěpánov, dist. Boskovice

 Education:

Primary school, reformed realschule, three semesters at the Technical University

Pre-war military service:

Exile:

In January 1940, he traveled to France via Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Beirut.

 Military service:

In France, he served with the 1st Czechoslovak Division artillery but did not take part in combat operations.

In Great Britain, he served with the Artillery Regiment, studied at the School for Reserve Infantry Officers, and was granted the status of aspirant.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

After completing special training, he joined the Royal Air Force. Beginning in November 1941, he served with the 138th British Special Purpose Squadron, flying as an air gunner. He took part in missions to drop paratroopers in occupied Czechoslovakia, France, the Netherlands, and Poland. He died in December 1942 during a flight over the Mediterranean Sea.

11) PRIVATE FIRST CLASS JOSEF BUBLÍK

 Date of birth:

February 12, 1920, in Bánov in the district of Uherské Hradiště

 Education:

Primary school, realschule

Pre-war military service:

Exile:

In December 1939, he traveled to France via Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Beirut.

Military service:

In France, he joined the support weapons company of the 2nd Infantry Regiment and took part in combat operations.

In Great Britain, he was granted the status of aspirant.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

He was assigned to the BIOSCOP sabotage parachute group. After the drop, the group became separated. Josef Bublík and Jan Hrubý continued to Moravia. When their contact addresses failed, they returned to Prague and made contact with Adolf Opálka. Following the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, he went into hiding in the Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Prague. On June 18, 1942, during a battle in the church choir loft, he was seriously injured by a grenade explosion and died from his wounds while being transported to the hospital.

12) ASPIRING LANCE CORPORAL IVAN KOLAŘÍK

Date of birth:

March 22, 1920, in Valašské Meziříčí

Education:

Primary school, realschule, a semester at a medical school

Pre-war military service:

 -

Exile:

In January 1940, he traveled to France via Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Beirut.

Military service:

In France, he served with the 1st Infantry Regiment and took part in combat operations.

In Great Britain, studied at the School for Reserve Infantry Officers, and was granted the status of aspirant.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

After completing training for special operations, he was assigned to the OUT DISTANCE parachute group. The group was dropped into the Protectorate on March 28, 1942. During the landing, he lost his personal documents, including a photograph of his fiancée. The Gestapo quickly discovered his trail and issued a warrant for his capture. To protect his family, Kolařík took poison in Vizovice on April 1, 1942. Despite his sacrifice, both his family and his fiancée’s family were later executed.

13) SERGEANT FIRST CLASS RUDOLF TURŠNER 

Date of birth:

May 1, 1913, in Kounov in the district of Rakovník

Education:

Primary school, town school, two years of economic school

Pre-war military service:

He completed his compulsory military service with the 1st Artillery Regiment in 1935. He attended the school for non-commissioned officers and served as a file-and-rank of non-commissioned officer. Following the occupation, he was assigned as executive sergeant to the 2nd battalion of the government troops.

Exile:

In January 1940, he traveled to France via Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece, Libya, and Algeria.

Military service:

In France, he served as executive sergeant in the 1st Artillery Regiment but did not take part frontline combat operations.

He continued in the same position after transferring to Great Britain.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

Operation IRON was planned with the objective of eliminating Emanuel Moravec, the Minister of Education and National Enlightenment. However, the formation of the IRON group faced numerous challenges. Due to repeated postponements of their deployment into occupied territory, the group had to wait for many months, during which time their mission parameters continued to change. Tensions escalated within the group, eventually leading to internal conflict. The group was dissolved, and Turšner was reassigned to the brigade’s reserve unit In Great Britain. After the war, he briefly remained in military service before turning to farming. He died in 1989.

14) PRIVATE FIRST CLASS FRANTIŠEK ZÁLEŠÁK

 Date of birth:

January 10, 1920, in Zarazice in the district of Veselí nad Moravou

Education:

Primary school, town school, realschule; enrolled at the Technical University in 1939

Pre-war military service:

 -

 Exile:

In January 1940, he traveled to France via Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, and Syria.

Military service:

In France, he was assigned to the artillery regiment of the 1st Czechoslovak Division.

In Great Britain, he attended the School for Reserve Artillery Officers, receiving the rank of aspirant.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

After completing his training, he returned to his unit and, in 1944, was appointed second lieutenant of the artillery in the reserves. He took part in the fighting at Dunkirk. After leaving the army, he completed his university studies and pursued a career in aircraft design at the Military Academy in Brno. In 1964, he was appointed associate professor.

15) CORPORAL VLADIMÍR ŠKACHA

 Date of birth:

May 17, 1920, in Polička

Education:

Primary school, town school; bricklayer by trade

Pre-war military service:

 -

 Exile:

In May 1939, he left for Poland.

Military service:

In August 1939, he was assigned to the 1st regiment of the French Foreign Legion.

In September 1939, he transferred to the 1st Infantry Regiment in France, where he took part in frontline combat operations.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

He was assigned to the SILVER B parachute group. After the drop, the paratroopers attempted to contact several interception addresses, but without success. In December 1944, he managed to shoot his way out of a first Gestapo encirclement. However, in January 1945, he was arrested by the Gestapo in Ostrava and deported to the Flossenbürg concentration camp, where he survived until liberation. After the war, he left the military and completed his education. In 1968, he emigrated with his family to Canada, where he died in 1987.

16) PRIVATE OLDŘICH DVOŘÁK

 Date of birth:

November 13, 1923, in Trenčín, now Slovakia

Education:

Primary school, seven years of realschule

Pre-war military service:

 -

Exile:

In January 1940, he traveled to France via Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Beirut.

 Military service:

In France, he served in the telegraph company and, from June 1940, in the First Mixed Reconnaissance Battalion. He did not take part in frontline combat operations.

In Great Britain, 1941 Course in Offensive Combat, Parachute Course

Later life:

Following further specialized training, he was assigned to Operation STEEL as a promising radio operator. He parachuted into the Křivoklát region, where he hid the equipment before traveling to Lázně Bělohrad and Pardubice. There, he met Alfred Bartoš, to whom he delivered a supply of crystals and poison. Later, he was assigned as a radio operator to the resistance group ÚVOD. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, he planned to move to Slovakia for safety. During his journey, he delivered a greeting from a son in England to a notary in Radošovice. The notary betrayed him, and while attempting to escape, Dvořák was shot and killed during the night of July 9–10, 1942.

17) STAFF SERGEANT FRANTIŠEK TRPÍK 

Date of birth:

October 11, 1914, in Silesian Ostrava

Education:

Primary school, town school, Baťa School of Work

Pre-war military service:

He completed his compulsory military service with the 4th Infantry Regiment in 1936–1939 and later attended the school for non-commissioned officers.

 Exile:

In April 1940, he traveled to France via Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, and Syria.

Military service:

In May 1940, he was assigned to the 1st Infantry Regiment in France, where he took part in frontline combat operations.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

He was assigned to the GLUCINIUM parachute group as a radio operator. After the landing, the group gradually disbanded, and he continued operating alone. On July 27, 1944, he was arrested by gendarmes and handed over to the Gestapo. He was imprisoned in Brno and later in Prague, where he was liberated in May 1945. After the war, he was suspected of military treason and spent several months in custody. In 1946, he left the army at his own request. He briefly worked at the Ministry of the Interior and later in the rubber industry. He died in 2000.

18) SERGEANT BOHUMIL KOUBA

 Date of birth:

July 7, 1911, in Újezd pod Kladnem

Education:

Primary school, town school, two years of a state technical school; turner by trade

Pre-war military service:

He completed his compulsory military service in the machine gun company of the 1st battalion of the 5th infantry regiment in 1932 and later attended the school for non-commissioned officers.

In 1934, he returned for civilian life but was recalled in September 1938 during general mobilization.

 Exile:

In the spring of 1940, he traveled to France via Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Beirut.

 Military service:

In France, he served in the 2nd Infantry Regiment and took part in combat operations. For his bravery, was awarded the Czechoslovak War Cross.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training in Great Britain.

 Later life:

He was appointed commander of the BIOSCOP parachute group. During the landing, he injured his leg and moved to Prague, where he made contact with other paratroopers. After an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve hidden operating materials, he traveled to Kutná Hora to approach the local gendarmerie station. Upon learning that he was being sought by the Gestapo, he took poison. He died in the hospital on May 3, 1942.

19) SERGEANT JAN ZEMEK

Date of birth:

May 3, 1915, in Vlčnov in the district of Uherské Hradiště

Education:

Five years of primary school, four years of town school

Pre-war military service:

He voluntarily joined the 15th Infantry Regiment, attended the school for non-commissioned officers, and served as a file-and-rank non-commissioned officer.

After the occupation, he was assigned as a sergeant to the 11th battalion of the Government Army.

Exile:

In January 1940, he traveled to France via Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, and Syria.

Military service:

In France, he served in the 2nd Infantry Regiment as the commander of a telephone squad and took part in combat operations.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training in Great Britain.

Later life:

After completing his training for special operations, he was appointed commander of the SILVER B parachute group. He hid in the Brno region until March 1945, when he joined the partisans in the Buchlov region. After the war, he remained in the army and gradually rose to the rank of first lieutenant in the signal troops. In 1950, he was demoted, discharged from the military, and shortly afterwards arrested and sentenced to two years of forced labor in the Mírov prison. He was released in July 1951 and rehabilitated only after 1990. He died in Brno in 1994.

20) ASPIRING SERGEANT JAROMÍR SEDLÁK

 Date of birth:

January 18, 1916, in Tišnov

 Education:

Primary school, reformed realschule, three semesters at the Faculty of Law of Masaryk University

 Pre-war military service:

He completed his compulsory military service in the 37th Infantry Regiment and attended the school for reserve infantry officers, receiving the rank of aspirant.

Exile:

In March 1940, he traveled to France via Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, and Syria.

Military service:

In France, he served as a platoon commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment and took part in combat operations.

In 1941, he completed a course in offensive combat and parachute training.

Later life:

In 1941, he married in England and was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in the infantry. He served as deputy commander and then commander of the communications platoon of the motorized battalion. He took part in the fighting at Dunkirk. After the war, he briefly worked for the Defense Intelligence Service and then held various positions within the Ministry of Construction. He died in Prague in 1995.