20 August
‘In the first day of the Soviet Army’s arrival, I and the other comrades were isolated and then found ourselves here, not knowing anything ... I can only conjecture what could have happened’
Alexander Dubcek
During the night of 20 August 1968, led by the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact countries of Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany, and Poland invaded Czechoslovakia. Between 5,000 to 7,000 tanks rolled through the streets of Prague; the arrest of Alexander Dubcek swiftly followed and so ended the Prague Spring.
‘In the capital of Prague today, crowds of people gathered in the streets chanting support for Mr Dubcek and imploring the foreign troops to go home.
Much of the resistance was centred around the Prague radio station. As the day progressed, Czechoslovak youths threw home-made missiles and even tried to take on Russian tanks.
Reports say some tanks and ammunition trucks were destroyed, but Soviet troops responded with machine gun and artillery fire and at least four people were shot dead.’
BBC, Russia brings winter to ’Prague Spring’
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