CZ-UB, or Ceska Zbrojovka - Uhersky Brod (literally "Czech Weapons Factory - Uhersky Brod") began life as a satellite plant of the original Ceska Zbrojovka enterprise, Ceska Zbrojovka, a.s., Praha, a joint-stock company that was partially nationalized in the late 1930s. CZ-UB was originally known as Ceska Zbrojovka, a.s., Praha, zavod v Uherskem Brode ("Czech Weapons Factory, joint-stock company of Prague, Plant at Uhersky Brod") from its inception in 1936 to 1945. However, the full story of the company we know as "CZ" begins at the birth of the Czechoslovak Republic, shortly after World War I.
The troubled history between the Czech and Slovak peoples and their German and Austrian "neighbors" motivated the Czechoslovak Republic to build a strong domestic military-industrial complex. The Czechoslovak nation was created by treaty in 1919; thus, it inherited many political and social problems from the Austro-Hungarian Empire that were simply ignored at Versailles. These included the artificial marriage of the Czech and Slovak lands, large numbers of German and Hungarian minorities in Bohemia, and relative political isolation. From a strategic standpoint, Czechoslovakia was surrounded on three sides by hostile neighbors and did not enjoy close relations with Poland and the Soviet Union. For these reasons, the rearmament and industrial development of Czechoslovakia were the primary economic and strategic goals of the young republic, and this process began almost immediately in 1919-1920. New enterprises were created for the production for ordnance, munitions, and arms, and most of these facilities still exist today, usually in the form of independent joint-stock companies. Ceska Zbrojovka-Uhersky Brod is considered the current incarnation of the original Ceska Zbrojovka, which began life in this period.
It is impossible to tell the story of Ceska Zbrojovka without first discussing Zbrojovka Brno. Officially founded in 1917, Zbrojovka Brno ("Weapons Factory of Brno") had played a small, but vital role in the first World War. Brno is the former capital of the Kingdom of Moravia, and it is also the second largest city in the Czech lands. The Brno arsenal would soon make a name for Czech firearms in the European civilian market, but the Brno plant lacked the overall capacity to rearm an entire nation. As the only major established arsenal, the renamed Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka Brno tackled several high-priority projects in 1919-1920. These included the manufacture of railway rolling stock, design and manufacture of hand grenades, and the re-arsenaling of Austrian 8mm M-95 Mannlicher rifles. Beginning in 1921, Brno began manufacture of Mauser Gewehr 98 rifles, since German production was prevented by the Versailles Treaty. While this meant that Brno would be better known for most of the 20th century, it created a unique opportunity for the development of Ceska Zbrojovka.
The forerunner of CZ-UB was the enterprise Jihoceska Zbrojovka, which was established at Plzen in 1919. In 1921, Jihoceska Zbrojovka moved to Strakonice. In 1922, the company absorbed the Hubertus Company, which had facilities at Vejprty and Prague. At this time, the company was renamed Ceska Zbrojovka. By 1923, these facilities were known as Ceská Zbrojovka v Praze ("Czech Weapons Factory of Prague") and Ceská Zbrojovka v Praze, Továrny ve Strakonicích ("Czech Weapons Factory of Prague, Strakonice Plant"). Various firms in the Czechoslovak Republic and Western Europe supplied some of the necessary parts during this period.
During this early period, Jihoceska Zbrojovka/Ceska Zbrojovka production concentrated on the vz-22 pistol, a relatively complicated locked-breech design in .380 ACP (9x17mm, 9mm Browning Short). Essentially, the vz-22 was a pocket pistol intended for export, like the vast majority of European handguns of the post-war period. In 1924, the vz-24 replaced the vz-22. The vz-24 is little more than an improved and more elegant vz-22; it was also chambered in .380 ACP. The vz-24 was more popular than its forerunner in the civilian export market, and thus more common in the U.S. and Western Europe. During this period, the Czech military issued a wide variety of handguns, including Austro-Hungarian models and the vz-24.
By 1924, the general policy of the Czech arms industry emerged: Zbrojovka Brno would make bolt-action rifles and Ceska Zbrojovka would make virtually everything else (mostly pistols, machine guns, aircraft armament, and signal guns). With the notable exception of the vz-24 pistol, which was also exported, Ceska Zbrojovka focused on contracts for the Czechoslovak military and police from 1924-1938. During this period, production at Brno concentrated on the vz-24 Czech Mauser for the Czech military and export. The emphasis on export was intended to garner foreign currency for modernization of the Czech arms industry.
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