Břetislav Chrastina was born on 25 May 1901 in Hodonin. His father was a printer, he had 4 siblings. When Břetislav was young, the family moved to Valašské Meziříčí, where he attended the municipal school and then the gymnasium.
In 1918 he volunteered to take part in the defence of southern Slovakia during the Hungarian invasion. In 1920 he entered the Military Academy in Hranice, from which he graduated after two years with the rank of infantry lieutenant. After graduating from the military academy, he was transferred to Košice, to Infantry Regiment 32 "Gardský".
In 1924 he enrolled at the Cheb aviation apprenticeship and thus began his career in aviation. He served with TG Masaryk's Aviation Regiment 1 in Prague, where he held the position of squadron commander. He served in Prague until the beginning of 1930, when he left the army at his own request on 1 January. In civilian life he was engaged in business and law, for a time working in a law office. During the mobilization he was drafted into the army and served with Squadron 85 in Hradec Králové. Soon he again asked for his discharge from the army and until 17.6.1939, when he crossed to Poland, he practiced law and managed the family farm.
On 17 June 1939 he crossed the border with Poland with a group of airmen. At the end of June he embarked on the Castelholm for France, arriving there the first week of September. He applied for service in the air force, but was not accepted due to not meeting the physical requirements (medical condition). He was therefore assigned to the ground troops, to the 5th Company 1st Czechoslovak Infantry Regiment, with which he was deployed in combat, for which he received the French decoration Croix de Guerre and the Czechoslovak War Cross 1939.
In July 1940 he was transported to Britain on the Rod el Farag. In Britain he was attached to the 2nd Company (later transferred to the 3rd Company) of the 1st Infantry Regiment and was promoted to Captain in 1941. From mid-1942 onwards he underwent several specialised courses and sabotage training. A year later, on 12 July 1943, he was appointed commander of SPELTER Airborne. The objective of the operation was intelligence and organizational and coordination tasks with the local resistance. In April 1944, members of Operation SPELTER were sent to Italy, where they underwent further courses. On the night of 4 May 1944, the group was dropped in Trebic district, near the village of Kramolin. During the movement of the group, Chrastina became separated from the group (allegedly due to the loss of his equipment).
Chrastina subsequently made his way to Slovakia, where, with the help of local resistance groups, he contacted officers of the Slovak Army who were sympathetic to the resistance. After the outbreak of the SNP, he joined the partisans. He took part in fighting in the ranks of the 2nd Czechoslovak Independent Paratroop Brigade. After the suppression of the uprising, he continued to fight alongside the partisans. From February 1945 he fought in the ranks of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in the USSR.
On 15 July 1945, he left the army at his own request and devoted himself to legal work until retirement age. In 1950 he was imprisoned for two years.
He died on 11 June 1971 in Vitkov, buried in a civilian ceremony without military honors.
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Chrastina-Bretislav-t56005#204370
Version : 0
Join us
We believe that there are people with different interests and experiences who could contribute their knowledge and ideas. If you love military history and have experience in historical research, writing articles, editing text, moderating, creating images, graphics or videos, or simply have a desire to contribute to our unique system, you can join us and help us create content that will be interesting and beneficial to other readers.
