Most of the Czechoslovak soldiers buried in Adinkerke Military Cemetery were members of the 1st Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade, a unit formed in 1943 that eventually comprised over 4,000 men and was led by General Alois Liška. The brigade evolved from the original 1st Czechoslovak Mixed Brigade, established in the United Kingdom in 1940, and was later reinforced by volunteers and conscripts from across Europe.

The brigade’s most significant engagement occurred during the siege of Dunkirk, which began in October 1944. After the Canadian 2nd Division encircled the heavily fortified port city, responsibility for the siege was handed over to the Czechoslovak brigade. Operating under the First Canadian Army within the British 21st Army Group, the brigade maintained constant pressure on a German garrison of over 12,000 troops, including elite Waffen-SS and Kriegsmarine units.

Despite harsh weather, flooded terrain, and limited resources, the Czechoslovak forces carried out successful raids—most notably on Czechoslovak Independence Day, 28 October 1944—capturing hundreds of German soldiers. In November, the brigade was formally transferred from the First Canadian Army to the 21st Army Group. By the spring of 1945, the unit had expanded to 5,900 officers and men, reinforced by nationals recruited in liberated France and a substantial group of former Wehrmacht conscripts—Czechs and Slovaks who had been forced into German service and captured by the Allies in Normandy. These reinforcements included a tank battalion, an artillery regiment, a motor transport company, and an engineering company.

The Czechoslovak brigade endured a grueling seven-month siege until the German garrison finally surrendered on 9 May 1945—one day after Nazi Germany’s official capitulation. From September 1944 until the end of the campaign, 190 soldiers of the 1st Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade lost their lives. Most are buried in nearby cemeteries—Adinkerke, De Panne, and Bourbourg.

Adinkerke Military Cemetery is a quiet resting place for soldiers of many nations from both the First and Second World Wars, and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Since 1970, annual remembrance ceremonies—organized by the Czech and Slovak embassies in cooperation with the municipality of La Panne—have been held at Adinkerke to honor the sacrifice of the Czechoslovak soldiers