Czechoslovak Legion in the USSR (WFAC)

The Czechoslovak Legion in the USSR (Czech: Československá legie v SSR, Slovak: Československá legia v SSSR) refers to the Czechoslovak military formations formed to fight on the Eastern Front alongside the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Other Czechoslovak forces were raised in France and later the United Kingdom, known as the Czechoslovak Legion in the West.

The formations, loyal to the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, were formed in the Soviet Union following the defeat and occupation of Czechoslovakia by Germany and Hungary in October 1938. The legion comprised of interned soldiers of the Czechoslovak Army that either escaped and made it to Soviet lines or were freed when the Polish internment camps liberated by Soviet forces in the winter of 1938–1939. Later, the legions were joined by thousands of Volhynian Czechs who volunteered to enter the Czechoslovak army.

The Czechoslovaks soon became shock troops in Soviet service, participating in various battles including Battle of Sokolovo, Third Battle of Kharkov, Second Battle of Kiev, Battle of the Dukla Pass and the Bratislava–Brno Offensive. The Czechoslovak Legion in the West were finally disbanded, after the war, in 1945, with many former servicemen joining the Czechoslovak Armed Forces.