On the left bank of the Vltava River, south-west of Prague, lies the small town of Milín. It was here, in the area of Slivice, that one of the last battles of World War II in Europe was fought from May 11-12. Historian Dr Josef Velfl, director of the nearby Příbram Miners Museum, has prepared an exhibition to document the clash.
The battle saw a wide range of combatants, including Czech partisans, Soviet paratroopers, units from three different Ukrainian fronts of the Red Army, a US tank division, and units of General Vlasov’s Russian Liberation Army. Thousands of Wehrmacht and SS troops were using the road going from Prague to Western Bohemia in order to reach the American held lines around the city of Plzeň and surrender.
The German general in charge, Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghaus, ordered his men to set up defensive positions and tried to negotiate a settlement with the Americans. On May 12, the Nazi forces agreed to capitulate at a meeting attended by both American and Soviet representatives. Czech and Soviet casualties numbered at least in the dozens, with German losses in the hundreds. War crimes were also reported to have been committed by the Germans on the Czech partisans.
The exhibition is being held at the Vojna memorial, which lies between Milín and Příbram. It is open until the end of the year and a detailed retelling of the battle can be found on the website of the Příbram Miners Museum.