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Marie Ljalková
Place of birth	Horodenka, Ukraine
Allegiance	Soviet Union  Czech Republic
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	Colonel
Unit	1st Czechoslovak Independent Field Battalion
Battles/wars	Battle of Sokolovo
Awards	Order of the Red Star Czechoslovakian War Cross

Marie Ljalková (born December 3, 1920) was a Czech sniper in the Soviet Army during World War II. Ljalková (née Petrušáková) was born in Horodenka, Ukraine to a family of Volhynian Czechs. She lost her parents at the age 12; afterwards she lived with her aunt in Stanisławow (today Ivano-Frankivs'k, Ukraine). She met her first husband, Michal Ljalko, here.

After the Nazi attack on the USSR, Ljalková joined the 1st Czechoslovak Independent Field Battalion as a volunteer in March 1942, aged 21, and graduated from a three-month sniper school in Buzuluk.

Her first combat experience came during the three-day Battle of Sokolovo (March 8 - March 11, 1943) when she was credited with killing seven German soldiers, earning her immediate ace status. She later became a sniper instructor of the Czechoslovak and Soviet infantry, and was at some point an ambulance driver.

Awards

She was credited with at least 30 confirmed kills during the war^[1], and earned recognition with the Soviet Order of the Red Star and the Czechoslovak War Cross.

After World War II

After the war, she studied medicine, and worked as a military doctor in Olomouc and in the Central Military Hospital in Prague. After that she was moved to Brno hospital where she met her second husband, Václav Lastovecký. She eventually attained the rank of colonel, but due to health problems she left the Army and started to work as a tourist guide for Russian speaking tourists. She currently lives in Brno. ^[2]

References

• Láník, Jaroslav - Vojenské osobnosti československého odboje 1939-1945 (2005) ISBN 80-7278-233-9
• Benešová, Hana - Máme snajperku!, Reflex.cz (2009)
• Jičínská, Vendula - Zdravotnice vzala pušku a šla do první linie, Brněnský deník (2008)

Notes

Czechoslovakia in World War Two Military units and formations Czechoslovak legions · RAF Squadrons: 310, 311, 312, 313 · 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade · Czechoslovak military units on Eastern front · Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion · I Corps Resistance members Adolf Opálka · Jan Kubiš · Jozef Gabčík · Josef Mašín · Jan Opletal · Alois Eliáš · František Moravec · Karel Pavlík · Josef Balabán · Václav Morávek · Abrahám Pressburger · Josef Matoušek · Jaroslav Čihák · Otakar Jaroš · Ján Golian · Rudolf Pernický · Bedřich Reicin · Richard Tesařík · Rudolf Viest · Ludvík Svoboda · Marie Ljalková Resistance groups Out Distance · Three Kings Resistance operations Operation Anthropoid Royal Air Force Josef František · František Fajtl · Karel Kuttelwascher · Alois Vašátko · František Peřina · Otto Smik Battles Syria-Lebanon Campaign · Siege of Tobruk · Battle of Sokolovo · Battle of Kiev · Battle of the Dukla Pass · Slovak National Uprising · Siege of Dunkirk · Prague Uprising · Battle for Czech Radio · Prague Offensive