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Bratislava

Bratislava (/ˌbraːtɨˈslɑːvə/ [ˈbracislava]; formerly Slovak: Prešporok; German: Pressburg or Preßburg; Latin: Posonium; Hungarian: Pozsony; Serbian: Пожун, Požun) is the capital of Slovakia, and with a population of about 500,000, the country's largest city. The greater metropolitan area is home to more than 650,000 people. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia, occupying both banks of the Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.

Bratislava in The Hot War[]

Bratislava was one of several cities in the Soviet sphere of influence the United States bombed with ordinary explosives on the night of 24 February 1951.[1]

In late 1951, Slovakian nationalists, would-be heirs to the late Jozef Tiso, staged an uprising and succeeded in taking Bratislava with goal of detaching Slovakia from the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Soviet bombers stationed in Prague launched a late night raid, leveling Bratislava with conventional explosive ordinance (the Soviets could not spare an atom bomb). The rebels were able to implement air defenses, including flak, which did succeed in downing several Soviet bombers.[2]

References[]

  1. Bombs Away, pg. 121.
  2. Fallout, loc., 3646-3718.
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