The decision to launch the operation
autumn 1941
Two soldiers were to attack a senior Nazi official inside occupied territory. The operation took shape amid repression and differing expectations of its possible consequences.
Czechoslovak resistance operated at home and abroad. In London, military intelligence prepared parachute missions into occupied territory. One team received the codename ANTHROPOID and the task of attacking Reinhard Heydrich, Acting Reich Protector. His arrival in autumn 1941 had brought a wave of repression against domestic resistance.
Historical accounts differ on the initial decision. Atentát stresses political and diplomatic aims and the president’s associates. Historian Karel Straka’s study describes the first military-intelligence decision as retaliation for terror. In his account, President Edvard Beneš rejected the plan because of its risks, but preparations continued. The operation’s origins cannot accurately be told as one order on which all sources agree.
The task ultimately fell to Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš. Britain offered training and equipment. Once back in the Protectorate, they would need people to provide shelter, food and contacts. From the outset, the military operation was intertwined with domestic assistance.
Some stages overlap. The wave of repression after the attack began on 27 May 1942.
Places
- Bellasis — final training and waiting for departure
British facilities for subsequent training, not the London decision site.
- Brickendonbury — a manor and sabotage school
One stage of specialist training.
First, the pair needed preparation for the mission and for life in an occupied country.