Sergej Ingr

Sergěj Ingr

Commemorative plaque in Vlkoš
Minister of National Defense of Czechoslovakia
In office July 21, 1940 – September 19, 1944
Preceded by	Jan Syrový
Succeeded by	Jan Masaryk
Personal details
Born	(1894-09-02)September 2, 1894 Vlkoš, Margraviate of Moravia, Austria-Hungary
Died	June 17, 1956(1956-06-17) (aged 61) Paris, France
Nationality	Czech
Military service
Service/branch	Austro-Hungarian Army Serbian Army Czechoslovak Legions Czechoslovak Army
Years of service	1913 - 1915 (Austria-Hungary) 1915 - 1916 (Serbia) 1916 - 1945 (Czechoslovakia)
Rank	Sergeant (Austria-Hungary) General (Czechoslovakia)

Jan Sergej Ingr (September 2, 1894 - June 17, 1956) was a Czechoslovak Army four star general and the Minister of National Defense in the Czechoslovak government-in-exile during the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.^[1]

Early life

Ingr was born in Vlkoš in the Margraviate of Moravia (present-day Czech Republic) in 1894 to his father Jan, mayor of the municipality. He had four brothers and three sisters. He was studying on the gymnasium in Kyjov and in 1913 he became a member of the cadet school in Královo Pole.

First World War

After the outbreak of the First World War he went as a Sergeant to Eastern Front. In fall of 1915 he was captured by Russians in Caricyn. He then joined 1st Serbian Voluntary Division and fought against the Bulgarian soldiers in Dobruja. In 1916 he moved to the 2nd Artillery Regiment of George of Poděbrady in rank of Lieutenant and joined the famous Czechoslovak Legions. He also adopted the name Sergěj and became a member of Eastern Orthodox Church. In 1917 he also fought in France, in 1918 he took part in battles in Ardennes and in Foligno. At the end of the war he was a Captain and was able to speak in five language(German, Russian, Serbian, French and Italian).^[2]

Between wars

In December 1918 he returned to Czechoslovakia to battle the Hungarians, who were claiming a part of Czechoslovak territory, as a part of Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919. After the successful fights, he moved to Cieszyn Silesia and helped the army to solute the problems with Poland. He won in Jablunkov, as well as in Třinec and was promoted to Major. During the mobilization in 1938 he was already a Brigadier General and deputy commander of the 3rd Czechoslovak Army Corps.

Second World War

According to call of president Edvard Beneš, Ingr moved to exile in France. In Paris, he established an Army Office and started to organize Czechoslovak troops in town of Agde, becoming Commander of the Czechoslovak Army in France. In 1940 he and his 11,405 voluntaries took part in Battle of France in fights on Marne, Seine and Loire. After the establishment of Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London, Ingr became the Minister of National Defense. In 1944, after the intervention of Communists, he had to be removed from office, but was instead appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces.

Post War

On July 6, 1945 Ingr was promoted to full General and retired, becoming his country's ambassador in The Hague. In 1949 he established The Council of Free Czechoslovakia as the attempt to reestablish the democracy in Czechoslovakia after the Communist's victory. He died in 1956 on heart failure.