Tel.: +420 731 971 482
GPS souřadnice:
50°30'28.378"N
16°7'30.587"E
Wycieczki: w każdy ostatni weekend miesiąca
Infantry Casemate T-S 20 “Na Pláni” is located above the village of Chlívce on the green hiking trail (about 100 m from the road to Červený Kostelec). The building is open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on every last weekend of the month from April to October. On major holidays, it is open during the weekends as listed on the website and Facebook. Tours can be arranged for schools, tours and other individual groups (see contact details).
How to get here
The best way to get to us by car is to take the road from Červený Kostelec towards Stárkov, Rokytník. You can leave your car right by the casemate, which you get to by turning onto the forest path on your left-hand side, and following the sign pointing to our museum. Ideally, however, you can start your tour of the site from the bottom and park by the light fortifications. You’ll see the parking area on your left as you come out of the woods, where you will also see the silhouette of the pillbox.
History
Infantry Casemate T-S 20 “Na Pláni” is part of a line of 263 heavy and 9,984 light Czechoslovak fortifications, which began to be built as a response to possible aggression from Nazi Germany. When Adolf Hitler seized power in 1933, the Czechoslovak officers carefully considered how the nation might best be defended. Given the elongated shape of the young country and the realistic capabilities of the Czechoslovakian armed forces, the decision was taken to build fortifications along the border.
The building is located in an important section of the fortification line, known as the Chlívecky Closure, which lies at the foot of the Jestřebí Mountains. The closure guards the road leading across the southern edge of the Jestřebí Mountains from where the Germans would march in the direction of Teplice nad Metují - Stárkov - Červený Kostelec, with the possibility that they would then further advance inland toward Jaroměř. The immediate road barrier is provided by two separate infantry casemates, T-S 20 "Na Pláni" and T-S 19 "Turov", accompanied by two lines of light fortifications and an anti-tank ditch with a series of pillboxes.
Infantry Casemate T-S 20 “Na Pláni” was concreted in by Ing. Josef Filip in Roman resistance II concrete from 25 to 30 April 1938, at a cost of CZK 1,070,000. The company used 1,657 m3 of reinforced concrete, making it the largest structure in the section between Hronov and Červený Kostelec. Its main weapons consist of a vz. 36 4.7 cm anti-tank gun (L1) and twin ZB 37 heavy machine guns (M) on each side. The right side of the building fires out from an anti-tank ditch towards infantry casemate T-S 19 as well as the important Červený Kostelec – Stárkov road. The left side fires towards the adjacent planned but not constructed T-S 21 casemate. Three cupolas were planned for the infantry casemate; the right one was for a vz. 37 heavy machine gun, the left for a vz. 26 light machine gun, and the middle cupola was an artillery observation cupola. It was to assist the fortress artillery from the unbuilt Jírová Hora fortress, which was to stand between Chlívce and Zbečník.
In 1938, the building was largely completed and the earthworks had commenced. The electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning systems were largely completed. However, the cupolas had not yet been installed. The two L1 guns were installed and the casemate largely armed. The crew consisted of 43 men from the emerging Frontier Regiment 17, specifically the 2nd/17th Frontier Company, for the time being part of the 8th Červený Kostelec Guard Battalion. At the same time, 6 artillery observers were to be stationed in the building. The commander of infantry casemates T-S 20 "Na Pláni" and T-S 19 "Turov" was Lt. Infantryman Vilém Kozák.
During the general mobilization of September 1938, field fortifications connecting the pillboxes were added to the line, together with several positions for heavy or light machine guns; intersections were built along the road from Červený Kostelec to Stárkov, and mines were placed under the bridge in Bystré. The light fortifications, which were completed and fully equipped, were manned by members of the 22nd Infantry Regiment from Jičín.
After the signing of the Munich Agreement, the infantry casemate, unlike the T-S 19 blockhouse, found itself within the territory of the Third Reich.
The infantry casemate was the only one of the 5th Engineer Group Command’s buildings in occupied territory, right on the future Protectorate border, which ran to the neighbouring T-S 19 casemate. An improvised wooden customs office was set up here by the Financial Guard. The blockhouse was fortunately spared the more thorough tests by the Reichswehr troops, and so, apart from a few hits, it has been preserved in good condition. However, the firing ports for the L1 and M guns were ripped out.
Nowadays, the building is managed by the T-S 20 Pláň Military History Society, which is working to restore part of the casemate to its original state; the rest of the building houses an exposition dedicated mainly to the Czechoslovak Legionnaires in Italy, the events of 1938 in the Broumov region, and Jiří Potůček, radio operator of the SILVER A parachute team.
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