[2] Initial optimism about the plans to rebuild the army was replaced by disillusionment, stemming from a broken post-war economy and the lack of human and material resources.

The Czechoslovak Army after the war was commissioned to expel Germans and Hungarians, and was also involved in helping the national economy.

The army came fully under the power of the Communist Party and in 1950 there was a major reorganization of the Soviet model, and the military areas were disbanded.

The final Report of the Commission of Inquiry of the Federal Assembly for clarification of events of 17 November 1989 characterized the Czechoslovak People's Army as follows: "... the Czechoslovak Army, next to the SNB (the people's police force) and LM (the paramilitary workers militia), was understood as one of the direct power tools designed for control over society and for the immediate management of internal political problems; the Communist Party by means of a vast staff of the Main Political Administration (HPS) of ČSLA penetrated as far as into the lowest units and in this way virtually ensured its absolute influence on the Army.

"[3] During the Velvet Revolution, Communist Minister of National Defence Milán Václavík proposed to use the army against demonstrators, but his suggestion was not heeded.

Of the approximately 201,000 personnel on active duty in the ČSLA in 1987, about 145,000, or about 72 percent, served in the ground forces (commonly referred to as the army).

In the Eastern Military District, there were two tank divisions, the 13th and 14th, with a supervisory headquarters at Trenčín in the Slovak part of the country.

While the armoured columns secured objectives, the infantry would provide close support with mortars, snipers, anti-tank guns and medium artillery.

Yet it was only six years after the war, in 1951, when Czechoslovak units began receiving aircraft - jet fighters - to create a combat capability.