Page:NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 18; CZECHOSLOVAKIA; MILITARY GEOGRAPHY CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110011-1.pdf/7

 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110011-1

A. General (U/OU)

Czechoslovakia is a landlocked, elongated, irregularly shaped country in the central part of eastern Europe (Terrain and Transportation Map, Figure 41). The topography is a complex of hills and mountains separated by nearly flat to rolling basins and river valleys. Among the most important valleys are those of the Morava and Oder rivers that cross the center of the country and are identified as the Morava-Oder Corridor on Figure 1. This is the largest natural gap in the belt of hills and mountains extending from West Germany into the U.S.S.R. and southeastward into Romania. Historically known as the Moravian Gap, the corridor has long been used by military forces moving between the North European Plain in the north and the Danube Lowlands in the south.

Sharing borders with four Communist and two non-Communist countries, Czechoslovakia is a strategic base for military operations. Prague, the capital, is within 1,000 nautical miles of every other European capital except Lisbon.

Czechoslovakia has an area of approximately 49,400 square miles, slightly less than that of the state of New York. Maximum dimensions are approximately 495 miles east-west and 175 miles north-south; the perimeter is about 2,200 miles. In January 1974 the population was estimated at 14,608,000.

Cultivated vegetation covers more than one-half of the country, and forests having many openings cover about one-third of the remainder. Most of the rivers of Czechoslovakia originate within its borders and drain into the Baltic Sea to the north or the Danube River to the south.

1. Topography

Czechoslovakia is a complex area of hills and mountains separated by nearly flat to rolling plains and basins (Figure 1). Plains are most extensive in the central and southern sections of the country separating, in part, the eastern high hills and mountains from the lower hills and mountains and scattered plains in the west. In addition, there is a large plains area near Prague and a small area of plains in the extreme southeast.

Elevations are highest in the Carpathian Mountains in the east, where elevations near the Poland border exceed 8,500 feet above sea level. In the west, hills and mountains are generally lower but locally exceed 5,250 feet. Most plains are at elevations of 750 feet or less.

2. Climate

Most of Czechoslovakia has a temperate climate. Winters (December through February) are fairly cold, cloudy, and humid, with frequent light rain or snow. Visibility (Figure 40) is poor at this time of year, especially in the mountains; chief restrictions are early morning fogs, haze, and smoke. Summers (June through August) have warm to hot afternoons, cool nights, and improved visibility and are less cloudy and less humid; precipitation is usually showery and heavier than in winter. Thunderstorm occur on 3 to 8 days per month in May through August but are rare in October through March. Throughout the year, the worst weather conditions occur in the higher mountains, where freezing temperatures are common in winter and sometimes occur in summer. Migratory pressure centers and frontal systems greatly influence the day to day weather in all seasons but are most intense from late autumn through spring. Most precipitation from late November through March falls as snow, but snow depths seldom exceed 6 inches except in the higher mountains, where the ground is usually covered with snow from early November through April. Although surface winds are predominantly from the west or northwest all year, they are greatly deflected and often channeled by mountains and valleys. Wind speeds are usually less than 20 knots, are stronger in winter than in summer, and are much stronger at the higher elevations.

1

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110011-1