Czechoslovak Arms Exports Volume 6: Libya 1948-1989

During the Cold War, communist Czechoslovakia was one of the largest arms exporters to the Middle East among the Soviet Bloc countries. The last volume of the Czechoslovak Arms Exports to the Middle East mini-series describes the history of Czechoslovak military assistance and armament shipments to Libya from the early 1980s until the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia.

The military coup in Libya in 1969, led by Muammar Gaddafi, heralded the golden age of Czechoslovak arms exports. The first major contract was signed already during the next year. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Libya obtained immense quantities of Czechoslovak-made armoured fighting vehicles, multiple rocket launchers and jet trainers. As part of Operation Litomyšl, several hundred Czechoslovak military advisors and instructors were deployed to Libya, representing the largest continuous deployment of Czechoslovak soldiers abroad during the entire Cold War. However, the oil glut coupled with Libyan economic mismanagement during the 1980s meant that deliveries of weapons to Libya ultimately resulted in massive debts for the state treasury of communist Czechoslovakia.

Using the declassified original documentation, this is the most comprehensive account of the Czechoslovak military involvement in the Middle East during the Cold War which was ever published.