 jan syrovÃ½ (24 january 1888 &ndash; 17 october 1970) was a czechoslovak army four star general and the prime minister during the munich crisis. ==early life and military career== jan syrovÃ½ studied building at a technical school. following his graduation in 1906, he became a one year volunteer in the austro-hungarian army. after that, he studied at a technical college in russia. during world war i, he fought in the czechoslovak legions of the russian army and lost his right eye in the battle of zborov. by the end of the war he commanded the legions and anti-bolshevik forces on the trans-siberian railway. a well-known veteran commander, he served as chief of staff of the czechoslovak army from 1926 to 1933 and as is general inspector from 1933 to 1938. vojenskÃ© osobnosti-jan syrovÃ½ during this time, helped to prepare the czechoslovak air force with the collaboration of jan antonÃ­n baÅ¥a and moved military personnel and materials away from nazi germany. ==premiership and the "munich crisis"== when milan hodÅ¾a's government resigned on 23 september 1938, syrovÃ½ was appointed prime minister of a national unity government, despite his objections. syrovÃ½ had insisted he was just a soldier, not a politician, and that he lacked the qualifications and relevant experience to qualify him for such an important post. president edvard beneÅ¡ told him that the nation needed him and that, as a soldier, he should regard it as an order. with some reluctance, syrovÃ½ then accepted, and also took the defence portfolio as well. as prime minister, he was forced to accept the terms of the munich agreement on 30 september. in a speech to the nation, he stated czechoslovakia had no choice but to accept the terms because without british or french support, the country was outnumbered and any conflict would result in severe casualties. "we were abandoned," he said. "we stand alone." [http://www.fronta.cz/dokument/projev-predsedy-vlady-syroveho-30-zari-1938  proj
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