during the Slovak-Hungarian War that began a week later. The seventeen surviving OA vz. 30s formed one company in the Armored Battalion "Martin" formed by the Slovak Army in mid-1939, but that was reduced to a platoon by late 1939. Four armored cars reinforced the 2nd Infantry Division during the invasion of Poland and three others reinforced a cavalry reconnaissance unit in the vicinity of Sanok. A company of six OA vz. 30s was part of Mobile Group Kalinčiak that was formed on 5 September to work with the 2nd Infantry Division, but saw no combat before being withdrawn back to Slovakia on the 21st. A platoon of three was assigned to the Mobile Group that joined the Germans in Operation Barbarossa on 24 June 1941. Two more were added when the Mobile Group was reinforced and redesignated as the Mobile Brigade on 8 July. The only serious combat encountered by the Slovak armor was at Lipovec in late July where they failed to dislodge the Soviet 44th Mountain Rifle Division from its positions. One OA vz. 30 was destroyed during this battle and two others were heavily damaged. All of the armored cars were withdrawn together with all the other armored vehicles and returned to Slovakia in early August. A company of six OA vz. 30s was sent to reinforce the Security Division on anti-partisan duties in Ukraine in August 1942. Two were destroyed in combat and there was only one running when the survivors were withdrawn back to Slovakia on 12 January 1943. Once the Panzerkampfwagen IIs that the Ministry of Defense had ordered to replace them arrived in January 1944 they were put into storage although they were still carried on the books. They saw some use by the insurgents when the Slovak National Uprising began in September 1944, but little is known of their activities. Romania Almost nothing is known about the career of the OA vz. 30 in Romania after one Czech company of ten sought refuge there in March 1939. One unconfirmed report says that some were on the strength of the Romanian dictator Antonescu's bodyguard unit (Batalionul de gardă al mareşalului Antonescu or Regimentul de gardă al Conducătorului Statului). Supposedly three were destroyed during American bombing of Ploieşti in the summer of 1944 while being serviced at the depot there. Notes References External links Slovak vehicles on Tanks! Czech-language article on the OA