CZECHOSLOVAKIA'S HISTORY
October 1918: Czechoslovaks declare independence from Austro-Hungarian empire.
Sept. 10, 1919: Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, stemming from negotiations at Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, formally declares Bohemia and Moravia separate from Austria and part of new state of Czechoslovakia.
June 4, 1920: Treaty of Trianon formally cedes Slovakia (previously known as upper Hungary) to Czechoslovakia.
Fall 1938: Treaty of Munich allows Germany to annex Sudeten regions of Bohemia. Other parts of Czechoslovakia are transferred to Poland and Hungary. Separatist movements of Czechs (Bohemians and Moravians), Slovaks, and Ruthenians (eastern tip of Czechoslovakia) demand greater autonomy.
March 1939: German troops enter Prague. Bohemia and Moravia are declared a German protectorate. Slovakian Premier Joseph Tiso puts Slovakia under German protection.
April 1945: Czechoslovakia is reestablished after losing parts of Ruthenia to Soviet Union.
February 1948: National government is taken over by Communist coup.
August 1968: Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia to put an end to "Prague Spring" reforms.
Fall 1989: The Velvet Revolution deposes the communist government. Czechoslovak Socialist Republic is later renamed the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic.
December 1989: Parliament elects Vaclav Havel as president.
June 1992: Vladimir Meciar, a strong nationalist, is elected prime minister of Slovak Republic; Vaclav Klaus, a federalist, becomes prime minister of Czech Republic.
Jan. 1, 1993: After talks between Meciar and Klaus fail to save the federation, the two agree to a split, and the independent Czech Republic and Slovak Republic are born.
