Czechoslovakia's river organization broke up with the republic in 1939, followed by attempts to re-establish forces in 1946 and 1950. In 1958 the Warsaw Pact formally assigned Danube defence to the Soviet Navy's flotilla and required national flotillas to disband. Control of armed movement on the river also gave the Soviet Union leverage over economies dependent on Danube trade. Former Warsaw Pact countries later re-established some border forces, organized variously as police or naval flotillas.
Notable Point · 1:20:18-1:21:50
Soviet control of the Danube through Warsaw Pact flotilla policy
Warsaw Pact members were directed to disband national flotillas as defense of the Danube shifted to the Soviet Navy's Danube Flotilla.