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_{Prague, Czechia, Third Republic of Czechoslovakia // Beit Daras, Israelli
SUMMER 1947-PRESENT - SECRET CZECH AID TO JEWISH ORGS IS A SAVING GRACE}
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| Czechoslovakia has been no stranger to Jews and Jewish history, or rather the plight of most oppressed groups that make their way through the European continent. The father of Czechoslovakia, President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, had close relations with Jews and the labor side of the Zionist Movement. In 1920 he became the first statesman to visit Palestine's first Jewish kibbutz, later paving the way for further recognition of Jewish orgs and communities by the Czechoslovak state. Nevertheless, the current leading Jewish government entity in Mandatory Palestine, the Jewish Agency (later to become the Israeli government), has recently come into contact with the bi-ethnic state seeking weapons. The organization, only knowingly to some, plans to openly defend its independence as a jewish state when the UN partition takes effect, by additionally using militia and informal jewish paramilitaries. Thus, the Jews turn to the government of Czechoslovakia for military aid, coordinated by Gen. Jan Heřman, a local communist military hero from Prague. The first contract, signed off officially in secret by Jan Masaryk, the Czech Foreign Minister, included 200 MG 34 machine guns, 4,500 P 18 rifles and 50,400,000 rounds of ammunition. The second and third shipments, done through the next year into October, would contain a total of 15,000 rifles and 1,600 machine guns, with bullets. The deal will be coordinated through a special financial department of the Československé Závody Strojírenské a Kovodělné, n.p. (Czechoslovak Metal-Working and Engineering Works) Financial Holdings, a nationalized conglomerate owned by the Ministry of the Interior. |

| The initial contract has been touted within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a non-ideological military support, primarily by higher-ups within both the Ministry and the National Front. Though, the informal connection between the Labor Zionists of Palestine and the Czechoslovakian Army has substantially grown, and the new government of Czechoslovakia has taken keen interest in expand its own new-found socialist influence wherever it can. The deal primarily focused on supplying the Labor Zionists and the Haganah group, with special focus by the Czechoslovak to avoid supplying more unfavorable elements such as Irgun. The weapons deals such as these can only mean the beginning of future contacts between the Jewish Agency and Czechoslovakia. |
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UNDER THE DARK OF NIGHT...
BIET DARAS, PALESTINIAN DESERT

| As the ancient desert of Palestine cooled off in the dead of night, and many tense heads rested with the moon, a loud hum of a plane sounded distant overhead, indistinguishable from the others coming and going. An American Skymaster cargo plane, chartered by the Czechoslovaks using makeshift guises in their own country, had been loaded to the brim with a secret weapons deal coming from the bi-ethnic state, containing mostly repurposed or Czech-produced German equipment from WWII. Gen. Jan Heřman himself, the chief of this coordinated deal in secrecy, was co-pilot on this mission, along with a band of younger army officers who volunteered on the mission. As they near their destined coordinates and prepare for a quick landing- |

_{Gen. Jan Heřman:}"_{This ride is getting a -*LITTLE*- rikety over here, Blaženek, and we're running out of fuel here!}"
_{Co-Pilot Blaženek:}" _{Don't you worry, general sir! We've got this in th-}"


_{~The cargo plane hits the runway and several parts of its metal underbelly skid with sparks before the plane corrects itself~}

_{Co-Pilot Blaženek:}"_{-in the bag! Like I said, sir...}"


_{~Blaženek turns to look at his senior for this mission gripping the steering wheel and staring hard at the now-still runway, who then turns to look back at Blaženek~}

| The Czechoslovak crew on a secret mission to the deserts of Palestine made the trip safely, without major hiccups. The first shipment signaled an improved ease and success on the next 2 missions that followed in later months. Both the 2nd and 3rd contract shipments would be covered with onions and potatoes in a more informal cargo cover process. At last, the Jewish command had at hand a stockpile of thousands of weapons that it could freely deploy. The two shipments proved decisive. Without doubt, of all the shipments that subsequently reached the Yishuv, none was to have greater immediate impact or historical significance. |