Gajda Affair

The Gajda Affair has been said to have demonstrated the ability of the Czechoslovak government to maintain civilian control over the armed forces during a period of heightened political tension in many parts of Europe.

[1] The general did not publicly dispute the swirling rumors that he was plotting against the government as military regulations prevented him from issuing statements to the media of his own accord; this contributed to the air of uncertainty.

[3] In December 1926 a military tribunal concluded Gadja had provided an agent of the USSR secret French war plans six years prior and ordered his dismissal from the army with a 25 percent cut in pension.

[1] Encapsulating the intrigue of the time, a United Press story that year reported that "Gajda has been known to Czecho-Slovakians as a national hero, a spy, and a suspicious militarist of German origin".

[3] In the aftermath of the Gajda Affair, legislation was advanced by the Czechoslovak government to disenfranchise the army officer corps and the gendarmerie as a means of neutralizing the military as a political force.