Škoda Works

The Škoda Works was the largest industrial enterprise - and specifically, arms manufecturer - in Austria-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia, one of its successor states. It was one of the largest industrial conglomerates in the whole of 20th century Europe.

Prior to World War II Škoda produced LT-35 and LT-38 tanks for the Czechoslovak Army, which were considered among the best tanks employed by any European army. However, the Czechoslovak Army never got a chance to use them.

Following the Munich Conference, Czechoslovakia was forced to surrender without fighting. The Škoda Works, with their skilled workforce, fell intact into the Germany's hands, and production of the tanks continued under their German labels Panzer 35(t) and Panzer 38(t). These tanks were used extensively by the Wehrmacht in the invasion of Poland in 1939, of France in 1940 and of the Soviet Union in 1941. The Škoda Works also contributed significnatly to Nazi Germany's war effort in many other ways, throughout the war.

After the war the Škoda Works were nationalised by the Communist Czechoslovak Goverment, and privetised again after 1989.

The Škoda Works in The War That Came Early
In the first stage of the invasion of Czechoslovakia in September 1938, the Škoda Works were heavily bombed by the German Air Force, being considered a prime military target.

When Czechoslovak defeat became clear, the Czechoslovaks themselves took care to complete the destruction and thoroughly destroyed all that was left of the Škoda Works, so as to completely deny their use to the Germans in later parts of the war. Many of the Škoda workers were killed or scattered in the fighting, and those who were left showed no enthusiasm to work for the German conquerors.

The Wehrmacht did capture some Czechoslovak tanks and press them into service. However, all technical information about their production had been destroyed. German engineers needed to go into a time-consuming process of dismantling and analying the captured tanks before they could begin producing more of them.

The Gemran invasion of France had to be carried out mainly with far less advanced tanks, having considerably less firepower and thinner armour. This was a significant factor in the French Army not collapsing in face of the German offensive and finally rallying and blocking it at the Battle of Paris.