Misplaced Pages

World War II in Yugoslavia: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 17:11, 14 March 2016 editTuvixer (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users4,729 edits →Critical Axis offensives← Previous edit Revision as of 14:01, 16 March 2016 edit undo205.144.32.241 (talk)No edit summaryTags: blanking Possible vandalismNext edit →
Line 1: Line 1:
9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2012}}
{{refimprove|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = World War II in Yugoslavia
| image = ]
| caption = Clockwise from top left: ] visits ] at the ], ] hanged by the occupation forces, ] confers with his troops, a group of ] with German soldiers in a village in Serbia, ] with members of the British mission
| partof =
| place = ]
| date = 6 April 1941&nbsp;– 15 May 1945<br>({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=04|day1=06|year1=1941|month2=05|day2=15|year2=1945}})
| result = ] victory
| combatant1 = '''April 1941:'''<br />{{flag|Nazi Germany|name=Germany}}<br />{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}<br />{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Hungary}}<br />{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Bulgaria}}
| combatant1a = '''1941–42:'''<br />{{flag|Nazi Germany|name=Germany}}<br />{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}<br />{{flag|Independent State of Croatia|name=NDH}}{{ref|1|a}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Government of National Salvation (occupied Yugoslavia).svg}} ]{{ref|1|a}}<br />{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Hungary}}<br />{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Bulgaria}}
| combatant1b = '''1942–45:'''<br />{{flag|Nazi Germany|name=Germany}}<br />{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}} {{small|(until 1943)}}<br>{{flag|Independent State of Croatia|name=NDH}}<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Government of National Salvation (occupied Yugoslavia).svg}} ] {{small|(until 1944)}}<br />
{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Hungary}}<br>
{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Bulgaria}} {{small|(until 1944)}}<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Albania (1943-1944).svg}} ] {{small|(1943–44)}}<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Slovene Home Guard.svg}} ]<br />{{small|(1943–45)}}<br />
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]
----
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]

| combatant2 = '''April 1941:'''<br />{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Yugoslavia}}
| combatant2a = '''1941–42:'''<br />{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]{{ref|2|b}}

| combatant3 = &nbsp;
| combatant3a = '''1941–42:'''<br />{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]
| combatant3b = '''1942–45:'''<br />{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]
<br />{{flag|United Kingdom}}<br>{{flag|Soviet Union|1923}}<br />{{small|(1944–45)}}<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Bulgarian Homeland Front.svg}} ]<br /> {{small|(1944–45)}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Albania 1944.svg}} ] {{small|(1944–45)}}<br>{{flag|United States|1912}} {{small|(limited involvement,<br />1943–45}})

| commander1 =
{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} ]<br>
{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} ]<br />{{POW}}<br />
{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} ]<br />
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Hungary (1920–1946).svg}} ]<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Independent State of Croatia.svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Independent State of Croatia.svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Government of National Salvation (occupied Yugoslavia).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ] {{KIA}}<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Slovene Home Guard.svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Bulgaria}} ]<br />
{{flagicon|Albania|1943}} ]{{KIA}}

| commander2 =
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Yugoslavia}} ]<br />
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Yugoslavia}} ]<br />
----
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]{{Executed}}<br />
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]{{Executed}}<br />
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]{{Executed}}<br />
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]<br>
{{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} ]

| commander3 =
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia.svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]{{KIA}}<br>
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} ]{{KIA}}<br>
{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} ]<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Bulgarian Homeland Front.svg}} ]

| strength1 = {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} 300,000 (1944){{sfn|Mitrovski|1971|page=211}}<br>
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} 321,000 (1943){{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=255}}<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Independent State of Croatia.svg}} 170,000 (1943){{sfn|Jelić Butić|1977|page=270}}<br>130,000 (1945){{sfn|Colić|1977|pages=61-79}}<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Government of National Salvation (occupied Yugoslavia).svg}} 40,000 (1943){{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=183}}<br>
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Bulgaria}} 70,000 (1943){{sfn|Mitrovski|1971|49}}{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=167}}<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Slovene Home Guard.svg}} 12,000 (1944){{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=771}}

| strength2 = {{flagicon image|Chetniks Flag.svg}} 93,000 (1943)<ref>Microcopy No. T314, roll 566, frames 778 – 785</ref>{{sfn|Borković|page=9}}

| strength3 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia.svg}} 100,000 (1943)<ref>Zbornik dokumenata Vojnoistorijskog instituta: tom XII – Dokumenti jedinica, komandi i ustanova nemačkog Rajha – knjiga 3, p.619</ref> <br />800,000 (1945){{sfn|Perica|2004|page=96}}<br>
{{flagicon|Soviet Union|1923}}{{flagicon image|Flag of the Bulgarian Homeland Front.svg}} 580,000 (1944)
| casualties1 = {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} Germany:<ref name="Sorge1986">{{cite book|author=Martin K. Sorge|title=The Other Price of Hitler's War: German Military and Civilian Losses Resulting from World War II|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6zl-j7o0qBIC|year=1986|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-25293-8|pages=62–63}}</ref>{{ref|3|c}}<br>19,235 killed<br>14,805 missing;<br>
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} Italy:{{ref|4|d}}<br>9,065 killed<br>15,160 wounded<br>6,306 missing;<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Independent State of Croatia.svg}} NDH:{{sfn|Geiger|2011|pages=743-744}}<br />99,000 killed
| casualties3 = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia.svg}} Partisans:{{sfn|Geiger|2011|pages=701}} 245,549 killed<br>399,880 wounded<br>31,200 died from wounds<br>28,925 missing
| notes = <center>'''Civilians killed:''' ~581,000{{sfn|Žerjavić|1993}}</center>
<center>'''Total Yugoslav casualties''': ~1,200,000</center><br />
<sup>'''a'''</sup> {{note|1||] puppet regime established on occupied ] territory}}<br />
<sup>'''b'''</sup> {{note|2||Resistance movement. Engaged in collaboration with Axis forces from mid-1942 onward, lost official Allied support in 1943.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=226}}{{sfn|Ramet|2006|page=147}}{{sfn|Tomasevich|2011|page=308}} Full names: initially "Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army", then "Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland".}}<br />
<sup>'''c'''</sup> {{note|3||Casualties in the Balkan area, including Greece, from April 1941 to January 1945}}<br />
<sup>'''d'''</sup> {{note|4||Including casualties in the ]}}
| campaignbox =
}}
{{Campaignbox World War II}}
{{Campaignbox Yugoslavia}}

Military operations in ] on the territory of ] started on 6 April 1941, when the ] was ] and partitioned between ], ], ], ] and client regimes. Subsequently, a guerrilla ] was fought against the ] occupying forces and their locally established puppet regimes, including the ] and the ] in Serbia, by the ]-led republican ]. Simultaneously, a multi-side ] was waged between the Partisans, the Serbian royalist ], Croatian nationalist ] and ], as well as ] troops.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|pages=145-155}}

Both the Yugoslav Partisans and the Chetnik movement initially resisted the occupation. However, after 1941, Chetniks extensively and systematically collaborated with the ] until the ], and thereon also with ] and Ustaše forces.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|pp=145-155}}{{sfn|Tomasevich|1975|p=246}} The Axis mounted a ] intended to destroy the Partisans, coming close to doing so in ] and ] of 1943.

Despite the setbacks, the Partisans remained a credible fighting force, gaining ] and ] for the ]. With support in logistics and air power from the Western Allies, and ] in the ], the Partisans eventually gained control of the entire country and of border regions of ] and ].

The ] was enormous. The number of war victims is still in dispute, but is generally agreed to have been at least one million. Non-combat victims included the majority of the country's ] population, many of whom perished in ] and ]s (e.g. ], ]) run by the client regimes.

The Croatian Ustaše regime committed ] against local ], ], and ]. The Chetniks pursued ] against ] and ]s. population, and Italian occupation authorities against ]. German troops carried out mass executions of civilians in retaliation for resistance activity (]).

Finally, during and after the final stages of the war, Yugoslav authorities and Partisan troops carried out reprisals, including the deportation of the ] population, forced marches and executions of thousands of captured collaborators and civilians fleeing their advance (]), atrocities against the Italian population in ] (]) and ] against Serbs, Hungarians and Germans associated with the fascist forces.

==Background==
Prior to the outbreak of war, the government of ] (1935–1939) tried to navigate between the ] and the West by seeking neutral status, signing a non-aggression treaty with Italy and extending its treaty of friendship with France. In the same time, the country was destabilized by internal tensions, as the Croatian leaders demanded a greater level of autonomy. Stojadinović was sacked by the regent ] in 1939 and replaced by ], who negotiated a compromise with Croatian leader ] in 1939, resulting in the formation of the ].

However, rather than reducing tensions, the agreement only reinforced the crisis in the country's governance.{{sfn|Trbovich|pages=131-132}} Groups from both sides of the political spectrum were not satisfied: the pro-fascist ] sought an independent Croatia allied with the Axis, Serbian public and military circles preferred alliance with the West, while the then-banned ] saw the Soviet Union as a natural ally.

After the ] to Nazi Germany in May 1940, the UK was essentially alone to face the Axis, and Prince Paul and the government saw no way of saving Yugoslavia except through adopting policies of accommodation with the Axis powers. Although Hitler was not particularly interested in creating another front in the Balkans, and Yugoslavia itself remained at peace during the first year of the war, ]'s Italy had ] in April 1939 and launched the rather unsuccessful ] in October 1940. These events resulted in Yugoslavia's geographical isolation from potential Allied support. The government tried to negotiate with the Axis on cooperation with as few concessions as possible, while attempting secret negotiations with the Allies and the Soviet Union, but those moves would fail to keep the country out of the war.{{sfn|Lampe|page=198}} Secret mission to US led by domestically influental Serbian-Jewish Captain ] with purpose to get funding to buy arms to fight off coming invasion went nowhere, while in tradition with his trademark cynical moves Stalin expelled Yugoslav ambassador Gavrilovic just one month after he signed treaty of friendship with Soviet Union.<ref name="Gorodetsky2002">{{cite book|author=Gabriel Gorodetsky|title=Stafford Cripps' Mission to Moscow, 1940-42|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=wd0hGHrq7d4C&pg=PA130|date=8 August 2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52220-5|pages=130–}}</ref>

==1941==
Having steadily fallen within the orbit of the Axis during 1940 after events such as the ], Yugoslavia followed Bulgaria and formally joined the Axis powers by signing the ] on 25 March 1941. Air force officers opposed to the move ] and took over in the following days. These events were viewed with great apprehension in Berlin, and as it was preparing to help its Italian ally in its war against Greece anyway, the plans were ] as well.

===Invasion===
{{Main|Invasion of Yugoslavia}}
]
On 6 April 1941 the ] was ] from all sides by the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and ].
During the invasion, ] by the German air force ('']''). The invasion lasted little more than ten days, ending with the unconditional surrender of the ] on 17 April. Besides being hopelessly ill-equipped when compared to the German Army ('']''), the Yugoslav army attempted to defend all borders but only managed to thinly spread the limited resources available. Also, large numbers of the population refused to fight, instead welcoming the Germans as liberators from government oppression. However, as this meant each individual ethnic group would turn to movements opposed to the unity promoted by the South Slavic state, two different concepts of resistance emerged, the monarchist ], and the communist ].{{sfn|Roberts|page=26}}

Two of the principal constituent national groups, Slovenes and Croats, were not prepared to fight in defense of a Yugoslav state with a continued ]. The only effective opposition to the invasion was from units wholly from Serbia itself.{{sfn|Shaw|1973|page=92}} The Serbian General Staff was united on the question of Yugoslavia as a "Greater Serbia" ruled, in one way or another, by Serbia. On the eve of the invasion, there were 165 generals on the Yugoslav active list. Of these, all but four were Serbs.{{sfn|Shaw|1973|page=89}}

The terms of the capitulation were extremely severe, as the Axis proceeded to dismember Yugoslavia. Germany annexed northern ], while retaining ], and considerable influence over its newly created ], the ], which extended over much of today's ] and contained all of modern ]. Mussolini's Italy gained the remainder of Slovenia, ], and large chunks of the coastal ] region (along with nearly all of the ] islands and the ]). It also gained control over the ], and was granted the kingship in the Independent State of Croatia, though wielding little real power within it. ] dispatched the ] to ] in northern Serbia, and later ].<ref>, Shoah Foundation Institute Visual History Archive; usc.edu; accessed 4 December 2015.</ref>

] moved in on 19 April 1941, occupying nearly all of the modern-day ] and some districts of eastern Serbia which, with Greek western Thrace and eastern Macedonia (the Aegean Province), were annexed by Bulgaria on 14 May.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=24}}

The ] was now only recognized by the ].{{sfn|Talmon|1998|page=294}} The ] had recognized the territorial acquisitions of their allied states.{{sfn|Thomas|1995}}{{sfn|Lemkin|2008|pages=241–64}}

===Early resistance===
Various military formations more or less linked to the general liberation movement were involved in armed confrontations with Axis forces which erupted in various areas of Yugoslavia in the ensuing weeks. {{quote|In the beginning there had been two resistance movements in Yugoslavia, the Chetniks and the Partisans. The resistance of the Chetniks had lasted only until the autumn of 1941, their leaders then going over to the enemy or returning to passivity.{{sfn|Davidson|loc=Introduction}}}}

] in ], Yugoslavia in 1941. He later ordered his officials "to make these lands German again".{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=85}}]]
From the start, the Yugoslav resistance forces consisted of two factions: the ], a communist-led movement propagating pan-Yugoslav tolerance ("]") and incorporating republican, left-wing and liberal elements of Yugoslav politics, on one hand, and the ], a conservative royalist and nationalist force, enjoying support almost exclusively from the ] population in occupied Yugoslavia, on the other hand. Initially the Chetniks received recognition from the ], while the Partisans were supported by the ].

At the very beginning, the Partisan forces were relatively small, poorly armed, and without any infrastructure. But they had two major advantages over other military and ] formations in former Yugoslavia: the first and most immediate advantage was a small but valuable cadre of ] veterans. Unlike some of the other military and paramilitary formations, these veterans had experience with a modern war fought in circumstances quite similar to those found in World War II Yugoslavia. In Slovenia, the Partisans likewise drew on the experienced ] members to train troops.

Their other major advantage, which became more apparent in later stages of War, was in the Partisans being founded on a socialist ideology rather than ]. Therefore, they won support that crossed national lines, meaning they could expect at least some levels of support in almost any corner of the country, unlike other paramilitary formations limited to territories with Croat or Serb majority. This allowed their units to be more mobile and fill their ranks with a larger pool of potential recruits.

Although the activity of the ] and ] Partisans were part of the Yugoslav People's Liberation War, the specific conditions in Macedonia and Slovenia, due to the strong ] tendencies of the local communists, led to the creation of a separate sub-armies called the ], and ] led by ], respectively.

The most numerous local force, besides the four second-line German Wehrmacht infantry divisions assigned to occupation duties was the ] (''Hrvatsko domobranstvo''), founded in April 1941, a few days after the founding of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) itself. It was done with the authorisation of German occupation authorities. The task of the new Croatian armed forces was to defend the new state against both foreign and domestic enemies.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=419}}

The Croatian Home Guard was originally limited to 16 infantry ] and 2 cavalry ] – 16,000 men in total. The original 16 battalions were soon enlarged to 15 infantry regiments of two battalions each between May and June 1941, organised into five divisional commands, some 55,000 enlisted men.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=12}} Support units included 35 light tanks supplied by Italy,{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=420}} 10 artillery battalions (equipped with captured Royal Yugoslav Army weapons of Czech origin), a cavalry regiment in ] and an independent cavalry battalion at ]. Two independent motorized infantry battalions were based at Zagreb and Sarajevo respectively.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=13}} Several regiments of Ustaše militia were also formed at this time, which operated under a separate command structure to, and independently from, the Croatian Home Guard, until late 1944.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=17}} The Home Guard crushed the ] in June 1941, and in July they fought in Eastern and Western Bosnia. They fought in Eastern Herzegovina again, when Croatian-Dalmatian and Slavonian battalions reinforced local units.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=13}}

The Italian High Command assigned 24 divisions and three coastal brigades to occupation duties in Yugoslavia from 1941. These units were located from Slovenia, Croatia and Dalmatia through to Montenegro and Kosovo.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=10}}

From 1931-39, the Soviet Union had prepared communists for a guerrilla war in Yugoslavia. On the eve of the war, hundreds of future prominent Yugoslav communist leaders completed special "partisan courses" organized by the Soviet military intelligence in the Soviet Union and Spain.{{sfn|Timofejev|2011}} ], the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941.{{sfn|Higgins|1966|pages=11–59, 98–151}} On the same day, Yugoslav Partisans formed the ], was the first armed anti-fascist resistance unit formed by a resistance movement in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II.{{sfn|Pavličević|2007|pages=441–442}} Founded in the Brezovica forest near ], Croatia, its creation marked the beginning of anti-Axis resistance in occupied Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Pavličević|2007|pages=441–442}}

After the German attack on the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the ] formally decided to launch an armed uprising on 4 July 1941, a date which was later marked as Fighter's Day – a public holiday in the ]. In the village of ], Spanish veteran ] shot the first bullet of the campaign on 7 July 1941, a date that later became known as the "Day of Uprising of the ]". On 10 August 1941 in Stanulović, a mountain village, the Partisans formed the Kopaonik Partisan Detachment Headquarters. Their liberated area, consisting of nearby villages and called the "Miners Republic", was the first in Yugoslavia, and lasted 42 days. The resistance fighters formally joined the ranks of the Partisans later on.

The ] was organized after the surrender of the ] by some of the remaining Yugoslav soldiers. This force was organized in the ] district of western Serbia under Colonel ]. However, unlike the Partisans, Mihailović's forces were almost entirely ethnic Serbs. He directed his units to arm themselves and await his orders for the final push. Mihailović avoided direct action against the Axis, which he judged were of low strategic importance.

The royalist ] (officially the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland, JVUO), under the command of General Draža Mihailović, drew primarily from the scattered remnants of the Royal Yugoslav Army, relying overwhelmingly on the ethnic Serbian population for support. They were formed soon after the ] and the surrender of the government on 17 April 1941. The Chetniks were initially the only ] recognized by the ] and the Western Allies. The Partisans and Chetniks attempted to cooperate early during the conflict, but this quickly fell apart.

]
In September 1941, Partisans organized ].
As the levels of resistance to its occupation grew, the Axis Powers responded with numerous minor offensives. There were also ] specifically aimed at eliminating all or most Yugoslav Partisan resistance. These major offensives were typically combined efforts by the German ] and ], ], Chetniks, the Independent State of Croatia, the Serbian collaborationist government, ], and ].

The ] was the attack conducted by the Axis in autumn of 1941 against the "]", a liberated territory the Partisans established in western Serbia. In November 1941, German troops attacked and reoccupied this territory, with the majority of Partisan forces escaping towards ]. It was during this offensive that tenuous collaboration between the Partisans and the royalist Chetnik movement broke down and turned into open hostility.

After fruitless negotiations, the Chetnik leader, General Mihailović, turned against the Partisans as his main enemy. According to him, the reason was humanitarian: the prevention of German reprisals against Serbs.<ref>Bailey, 1980, P. 80</ref> This however, did not stop the activities of the Partisan resistance, and Chetnik units attacked the Partisans in November 1941, while increasingly receiving supplies and cooperating with the Germans and Italians in this. The British liaison to Mihailović advised London to stop supplying the Chetniks after the Užice attack (see ]), but Britain continued to do so.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov"></ref>

On 22 December 1941 the Partisans formed the ] (''1. Proleterska Udarna Brigada'') – the first regular Partisan military unit capable of operating outside its local area. 22 December became the "Day of the ]".

==1942==
{{onesource|section|date=December 2015}}
]
]
]
On 15 January 1942, the Bulgarian 1st Army, with 3 infantry divisions, transferred to south-eastern Serbia. Headquartered at ], it replaced German divisions needed in Croatia and the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=32}}

The Chetniks initially enjoyed the support of the Western Allies (up to the ] in December 1943). In 1942, '']'' featured an article which praised the "success" of Mihailović's Chetniks and heralded him as the sole defender of freedom in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Tito's Partisans fought the Germans more actively during this time. Tito and Mihailović had a bounty of 100,000 ]s offered by Germans for their heads. While "officially" remaining mortal enemies of the Germans and the ], the Chetniks were known for making clandestine deals with the Italians and other occupying forces. The ] was a coordinated Axis attack conducted in January 1942 against Partisan forces in eastern ]. The Partisan troops once again avoided encirclement and were forced to retreat over the ] mountain near ].

The ], an offensive against Partisan forces in eastern Bosnia, ], ] and ] which took place in the spring of 1942. It was known as ''Operation TRIO'' by the Germans, and again ended with a timely Partisan escape. This attack is mistakenly identified by some sources as the ], which took place in the summer of 1942.

The Partisans fought an increasingly successful ] against the Axis occupiers and their ], including the Chetniks (which they also considered collaborators). They enjoyed gradually increased levels of success and support of the general populace, and succeeded in controlling large chunks of Yugoslav territory. ] were organized to act as civilian governments in areas of the country liberated by the Partisans. In places, even limited arms industries were set up.

To gather ], agents of the Western ] were infiltrated into both the Partisans and the Chetniks. The intelligence gathered by liaisons to the resistance groups was crucial to the success of supply missions and was the primary influence on Allied strategy in the ]. The search for intelligence ultimately resulted in the decline of the Chetniks and their eclipse by Tito's Partisans. In 1942, though supplies were limited, token support was sent equally to each. In November 1942, Partisan detachments were officially merged into the People's Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia (''NOV i POJ'').
]'' (Brigadier) Friedrich Stahl stands alongside an ] officer and ] commander Rade Radić in central Bosnia in mid–1942.]]

==1943==
===Critical Axis offensives===
In the first half of 1943 two Axis offensives came close to defeating the Partisans. They are known by their German code names ] (Plan White) and ] (Operation Black), as the Battle of Neretva and the Battle of Sutjeska after the rivers in the areas they were fought, or the Fourth and Fifth Enemy Offensive, respectively, according to former Yugoslav historiography.

On 7 January 1943, the Bulgarian 1st Army also occupied south-west Serbia. Savage pacification measures reduced Partisan activity appreciably. Bulgarian infantry divisions participated in the ] as a blocking force of the Partisan escape-route from Montenegro into Serbia and in the ] in Eastern Bosnia.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=32}}

] started on 11 March 1943 in ], Bosnia. Tito's key officers ], ] and ] brought three proposals, first about an exchange of prisoners, second about the implementation of international law on treatment of prisoners and third about political questions.{{sfn|Lekovic|1985|page=83}} The delegation expressed concerns about the Italian involvement in supplying the Chetnik army and stated that the National Liberation Movement is an independent movement, with no aid from the Soviet Union or the UK.{{sfn|Lekovic|1985|page=86,87}} Somewhat later, Đilas and Velebit were brought to Zagreb to continue the negotiations.{{sfn|Tomasevich|1975|page=245}}

The ], also known as the Battle of the Neretva or ''Fall Weiss'' (Case White), a conflict spanning the area between western ] and northern ], and culminating in the Partisan retreat over the ] river. It took place from January to April, 1943.

]

The ], also known as the Battle of the Sutjeska or ''Fall Schwarz'' (Case Black) was an operation that immediately followed the Fourth Offensive and included a complete encirclement of Partisan forces in southeastern Bosnia and northern Montenegro in May and June 1943.

{{quote|In that August of my arrival there were over 30 enemy divisions on the territory of Jugoslavia, as well as a large number of satellite and police formations of Ustashe and Domobrani (military formations of the puppet Croat State), German Sicherheitsdienst, chetniks, Neditch militia, Ljotitch militia, and others. The partisan movement may have counted up to 150,000 fighting men and women (perhaps five per cent women) in close and inextricable co-operation with several million peasants, the people of the country. Partisan numbers were liable to increase rapidly.{{sfn|Davidson|loc=Contact}}}}

The Croatian Home Guard reached its maximum size at the end of 1943, when it had 130,000 men. It also included an air force, the ] (''Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske'', or ZNDH), the backbone of which was provided by 500 former ] officers and 1,600 NCOs with 125 aircraft.<ref>Savic, et al., 2002, p. 60</ref> By 1943 the ZNDH was 9,775 strong and equipped with 295 aircraft.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=17}}

===Italian capitulation and Allied support for the Partisans===
], September 1943.]]

On 8 September 1943, the Italians concluded ], leaving 17 divisions stranded in Yugoslavia. All divisional commanders refused to join the Germans. Two Italian infantry divisions joined the Montenegrin Partisans as complete units, while another joined the Albanian Partisans. Other units surrendered to the Germans to face imprisonment in Germany or summary execution. Others surrendered themselves, arms, ammunition and equipment to Croatian forces or to the Partisans, simply disintegrated, or reached Italy on foot via Trieste or by ship across the Adriatic.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=12}} The Italian ] was disestablished and the country's possessions were subsequently divided between Germany, which established its ], and the Independent State of Croatia, which established the new district of Sidraga-Ravni Kotari. The former Italian kingdoms ] and ] were placed under German occupation.

1943 would bring a change in the attitude of the Allies. The Germans were executing ] (Battle of Sutjeska, the Fifth anti-Partisan offensive), one of a series of offensives aimed at the resistance fighters, when ] was sent by the British to gather information. His reports contained two important observations. The first was that the Partisans were courageous and aggressive in battling the German ] and 104th Light Division, had suffered significant casualties, and required support. The second observation was that the entire German 1st Mountain Division had transited from the Soviet Union on rail lines through ]-controlled territory. British intercepts (ULTRA) of German message traffic confirmed Chetnik timidity. Even though today many circumstances, facts, and motivations remain unclear, intelligence reports resulted in increased Allied interest in Yugoslavia air operations and shifted policy.

The ] was a series of operations undertaken by the ] and the ] after the ] in an attempt to secure the ] coast. It took place in the autumn and winter of 1943/1944.

At this point the Partisans were able to win the moral, as well as limited material support of the Western ], who until then had supported General ]'s Chetnik Forces, but were finally convinced of their collaboration by many intelligence-gathering missions dispatched to both sides during the course of the war.

In September 1943, at Churchill's request, Brigadier General ] was parachuted to Tito's headquarters near Drvar to serve as a permanent, formal liaison to the Partisans. While the Chetniks were still occasionally supplied, the Partisans received the bulk of all future support.<ref>Martin, 1946, p.34</ref>

When the ] (the ] wartime council in Yugoslavia) was eventually recognized by the Allies, by late 1943, the official recognition of the Partisan ] soon followed. The ] was recognized by the major Allied powers at the ], when United States agreed to the position of other Allied.<ref>Rendulić, Zlatko. ''Avioni domaće konstrukcije posle drugog svetskog rata'' (Domestic aircraft construction after World War II), Lola institute, Beograd, 1996, p 10. "At the ] of 28 November to 1 December 1943, NOVJ is recognized as an allied army, this time by all three allied sides, and for the first time by the United States."</ref> The newly recognized Yugoslav government, headed by Prime Minister ], was a joint body formed of AVNOJ members and the members of the former government-in-exile in London. The resolution of a fundamental question, whether the new state remained a monarchy or was to be a republic, was postponed until the end of the war, as was the status of King ].

Subsequent to switching their support to the Partisans, the Allies set-up the ] (under the suggestion of Brigadier-General Fitzroy Maclean) with the aim to provide increased supplies and tactical air support for Marshal Tito's Partisan forces.

==1944==

===Last Axis offensive===
In January 1944, Tito's forces unsuccessfully attacked ]. But, while Tito was forced to withdraw, Mihajlović and his forces were also noted by the Western press for their lack of activity.<ref>{{cite journal| date =17 January 1944| title = While Tito Fights| journal = Time Magazine| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,796332,00.html| accessdate =14 September 2007 }}</ref>

The ] was the final Axis attack in western Bosnia in the spring of 1944, which included ''Operation Rösselsprung'' (Knight's Leap), an unsuccessful attempt to eliminate Josip Broz Tito personally and annihilate the leadership of the Partisan movement.

===Partisan growth to domination===
]]]
Allied aircraft specifically started targeting ZNDH (]) and ] bases and aircraft for the first time as a result of the ], including ''Operation Rösselsprung'' in late May 1944. Up until then Axis aircraft could fly inland almost at will as long as they remained at low altitude. ] units on the ground frequently complained about enemy aircraft attacking them while hundreds of Allied aircraft flew above at higher altitude. This changed during ''Rösselsprung'' as Allied fighter-bombers went low en-masse for the first time, establishing full ]. Consequently, both the ZNDH and Luftwaffe were forced to limit their operations in clear weather to early morning and late afternoon hours.<ref>Ciglic, et al., 2007, p. 113</ref>

The Yugoslav Partisan movement grew to become the largest resistance force in occupied Europe, with 800,000 men organized in 4 ]. Eventually the Partisans prevailed against all of their opponents as the official army of the newly founded ] (later Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia).

In 1944, the Macedonian and ] commands made contact in ] and formed a joint command, which consequently placed the Macedonian Partisans under the direct command of Marshal ].<ref>Narodnooslobodilačka Vojska Jugoslavije. Beograd. 1982.</ref> The Slovene Partisans also merged with Tito's forces in 1944.<ref name="McQueen2006">{{cite book |last=Stewart |first=James |editor=Linda McQueen |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qwBUkHaz76QC |title=Slovenia |publisher=New Holland Publishers |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-86011-336-9 |page=15}}</ref>{{sfn|Klemenčič|Žagar|2004|pp=167–168}}

On 16 June 1944, the ] between the Partisans and the Yugoslavian Government in exile of King ] was signed on the island of ]. This agreement was an attempt to form a new Yugoslav government which would include both the communists and the ]. It called for a merge of the Partisan ] (''Antifašističko V(ij)eće Narodnog Oslobođenja Jugoslavije'', AVNOJ) and the Government in exile. The Tito-Šubašić agreement also called on all Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs to join the Partisans. The Partisans were recognized by the Royal Government as Yugoslavia's regular army. Mihajlović and many Chetniks refused to answer the call. The Chetniks were, however, praised for ] in 1944; United States President Harry S. Truman posthumously awarded Mihailović the ] for his contribution to the Allied victory.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

===Allied advances in Romania and Bulgaria===
]
In August 1944, ], Romania quit the war, and the Romanian army was placed under the command of the ]. Romanian forces, fighting against Germany, participated in the ]. ] quit as well and, on 10 September, declared war on Germany and its remaining allies. The weak divisions sent by the ] to invade Bulgaria were easily driven back. In Macedonia, the Bulgarian troops, surrounded by German forces and betrayed by high-ranking military commanders, fought their way back to the old borders of Bulgaria. In Late September 1944 three Bulgarian armies, some 455,000 strong in total lead by General Georgi Marinov Mandjev from the village of Goliamo Sharkovo – Elhovo, entered Yugoslavia with the strategic task of blocking the German forces withdrawing from Greece. Southern and eastern Serbia and Macedonia were liberated within two months and the 130,000-strong ] continued to Hungary.

On 10 September 1944, Bulgaria changed sides and declared war on Germany as an Allied Power. The Germans swiftly disarmed the 1st Occupation Corps of 5 divisions and the 5th Army, despite short-lived resistance by the latter. Survivors retreated to the old borders of Bulgaria. After the occupation of Bulgaria by the Soviet army negotiations between Tito and the Bulgarian Communist leaders were organized, resulting in a military alliance between them. The new Bulgarian Peoples Army and the Red Army 3rd Ukrainian Front troops were concentrated at the old Bulgarian-Yugoslav border. On 8 October, they entered Yugoslavia. The First and Fourth Bulgarian Armies invaded ], and the Second Army south-eastern Serbia. The First Army then swung north with the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front, through eastern Yugoslavia and south-western Hungary, before linking up with the British 8th Army in Austria in May 1945.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=33}}

===Liberation of Belgrade and eastern Yugoslavia===
]
Concurrently, with Allied air support and assistance from the Red Army, the Partisans turned their attention to ]. The chief objective was to disrupt railroad communications in the valleys of the Vardar and Morava rivers, and prevent Germans from withdrawing their 300,000+ forces from Greece.

The Allied air forces sent 1,973 aircraft (mostly from the US 15th Air Force) over Yugoslavia, which discharged over 3,000 tons of bombs. On 17 August 1944 Marshal ] offered an amnesty to all collaborators. On 12 September, King ] broadcast a message from London, calling upon all Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to "join the National Liberation Army under the leadership of Marshal Tito". The message had a devastating effect on the morale of the Chetniks. Many of them switched sides to the Partisans.

In September, the Red Army and the Partisans launched the ], and took the city on 20 October. At the onset of winter, the Partisans effectively controlled the entire eastern half of Yugoslavia—Serbia, ], Montenegro—as well as most of the ]n coast. The Wehrmacht and the forces of the Ustaše-controlled ] fortified a ] that held through the winter of 1944–45 in order to aid the evacuation of German ] from the Balkans. To raise the number of Partisan troops Tito again offered the amnesty on 21 November 1944. In November 1944, the units of the Ustaše militia and the Croatian Home Guard were reorganized and combined to form the Army of the Independent State of Croatia.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=17}}

==1945==
{{quote|Every German unit which could safely evacuate from Jugoslavia might count itself lucky.{{sfn|Davidson|loc=Rules and Reasons}}}}
The Germans continued their retreat relatively undisturbed.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} Having lost the easier withdrawal route through Serbia, they fought to hold the Syrmian front in order to secure the more difficult passage through Kosovo, Sandzak and Bosnia. They even scored a series of temporary successes against the People's Liberation Army. They left Mostar on 22 February 1945. They did not leave Sarajevo until 15 April. Sarajevo had assumed a last-moment strategic position as the only remaining withdrawal route and was held at substantial cost. In early March the Germans moved troops from southern Bosnia to support an unsuccessful counter-offensive in Hungary, which enabled the NOV to score some successes by attacking the Germans' weakened positions. Although strengthened by Allied aid, a secure rear and mass conscription in areas under their control, the one-time partisans found it difficult to switch to conventional warfare, particularly in the open country west of Belgrade, where the Germans held their own until mid-April in spite of all of the raw and untrained conscripts the NOV hurled in a bloody war of attrition against the Syrmian Front.{{sfn|Pavlowitch|2008|page=258}}

On 8 March 1945, a coalition Yugoslav government was formed in Belgrade with Tito as Premier and ] as Foreign Minister. King ] agreed not to return until after an election can be organized.

===Partisan general offensive===
On 20 March 1945, the Partisans launched a general offensive in the ]-]-] sector. With large swaths of Bosnian, Croatian and Slovenian countryside already under Partisan guerrilla control, the final operations consisted in connecting these territories and capturing major cities and roads. For the general offensive Marshal Josip Broz Tito commanded a Partisan force of about 800,000 men organized into four ]: the ] commanded by ], ] commanded by ], ] commanded by ], and the ] commanded by ]. In addition, the Yugoslav Partisans had eight independent army corps (the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and the 10th).

Set against the Yugoslav Partisans was German General ] of ] ('']''). This Army Group had seven army corps (the ], ], ], XXXIV, LXIX, and ]). These corps included seventeen weakened divisions (], 2nd Cossack, ], ] ], 22nd, ], 104th, 117th, 138th, ], 188th, 237th, ], ], ], ] and the ]). In addition to the seven corps, the Axis had remnant naval and ] forces, under constant attack by the British ], ] and ].{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=9}}
]
The army of the ] was at the time composed of eighteen divisions: 13 infantry, two mountain, two assault and one replacement Croatian Divisions, each with its own ] artillery and other support units. There were also several armoured units. From early 1945, the Croatian Divisions were allocated to various German corps and by March 1945 were holding the Southern Front.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=17}} Securing the rear areas were some 32,000 men of the Croatian ] (''Hrvatsko Oruznistvo''), organised into 5 Police Volunteer Regiments plus 15 independent battalions, equipped with standard light infantry weapons, including mortars.{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=30}}

The ] (''Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske'', or ZNDH) and the units of the ] (''Hrvatska Zrakoplovna Legija'', or HZL), returned from service on the ] provided some level of air support (attack, fighter and transport) right up until May 1945, encountering and sometimes defeating opposing aircraft from the British ], ] and the ]. Although 1944 had been a catastrophic year for the ZNDH, with aircraft losses amounting to 234, primarily on the ground, it entered 1945 with 196 machines. Further deliveries of new aircraft from Germany continued in the early months of 1945 to replace losses. By 10 March, the ZNDH had 23 ] G&Ks, three ], six ], and two ] G fighters. The final deliveries of up-to-date German ] G and K fighter aircraft were still taking place in March 1945.<ref>Savic & Ciglic, 2002, p. 70</ref> and the ZNDH still had 176 aircraft on its strength in April 1945.<ref>Ciglic, et al., 2007, p. 150</ref>

Between 30 March and 8 April 1945, General Mihailović's Chetniks mounted a final attempt to establish themselves as a credible force fighting the Axis in Yugoslavia. The Chetniks under ] ] fought a combination of Ustaša and Croatian Home Guard forces in the ]. In late March 1945 elite NDH Army units were withdrawn from the Syrmian front to destroy Djurisic's Chetniks trying to make their way across the northern NDH.{{sfn|Pavlowitch|2008|page=256}} The battle was fought near Banja Luka in what was then the ] and ended in a decisive victory for the Independent State of Croatia forces.

Serbian units included the remnants of the ] and the ] from the ]. There were even some units of the ] (''Slovensko domobranstvo'', SD) still intact in ].{{sfn|Thomas|1995|page=22}}

By the end of March, 1945, it was obvious to the Croatian Army Command that, although the front remained intact, they would eventually be defeated by sheer lack of ammunition. For this reason, the decision was made to retreat into Austria, in order to surrender to the British forces advancing north from Italy.{{sfn|Shaw|1973|page=101}} The German Army was in the process of disintegration and the supply system lay in ruins.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ambrose, S.|title=The Victors – The Men of World War II|location=London|year=1998|isbn= 978-0-684-85629-2|page=335}}</ref>

] was liberated by the Partisans the same day that the general offensive was launched. The 4th Army, under the command of ], broke through the defences of the ]. By 20 April, Drapšin liberated ] and the ], including the islands, and reached the old Yugoslav border with Italy. On 1 May, after capturing the former Italian possessions of ] and ] from the German LXXXXVII Corps, the Yugoslav 4th Army beat the western Allies to ] by one day.

The Yugoslav 2nd Army, under the command of ], forced a crossing of the ] on 5 April, capturing ], and reached the ]. On 6 April, the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Corps of the Yugoslav Partisans took ] from the German XXI Corps. On 12 April, the Yugoslav 3rd Army, under the command of ], forced a crossing of the ] river. The 3rd Army then fanned out through ], reached a point north of Zagreb, and crossed the old Austrian border with Yugoslavia in the ] sector. The 3rd Army closed the ring around the enemy forces when its advanced motorized detachments linked up with detachments of the 4th Army in ].

Also, on 12 April, the Yugoslav 1st Army, under the command of ] penetrated the fortified front of the German XXXIV Corps in Syrmia. By 22 April, the 1st Army had smashed the fortifications and was advancing towards Zagreb.

The long-drawn out liberation of western Yugoslavia caused more victims among the population. The breakthrough of the Syrmian front on 12 April was, in ]'s words, "the greatest and bloodiest battle our army had ever fought", and it would not have been possible had it not been for Soviet instructors and arms.<ref>Dilas 1977, p. 440.</ref>
By the time General ]'s NOV units had reached Zagreb, on 9 May 1945, they had perhaps lost as many as 36,000 dead. There were by then over 400,000 refugees in Zagreb.{{sfn|Pavlowitch|2008|page=259}} After entering Zagreb with the Yugoslav 2nd Army, both armies advanced in Slovenia.

===Final operations===
]
On 2 May, the German capital city, ] the ]. On 8 May 1945, the ] and the ]. The Italians had quit the war in 1943, the Bulgarians in 1944, and the Hungarians earlier in 1945. Despite the German capitulation, however, sporadic fighting still took place in Yugoslavia. On 7 May, ] was evacuated, on 9 May, ] and ] were captured by the Partisans, and General ], Commander-in-Chief of ] was forced to sign the total surrender of the forces under his command at Topolšica, near ], Slovenia, on Wednesday 9 May 1945. Only the Croatian and other anti-Partisan forces remained.

From 10 to 15 May, the Yugoslav Partisans continued to face resistance from Croatian, and other anti-Partisan forces throughout the rest of Croatia and Slovenia. The ], the last battle of World War II in Europe, started on 14 May, ending on 15 May 1945 at Poljana, near ] in Slovenia. It was the culmination and last of a series of battles between Yugoslav Partisans and a large (in excess of 30,000) mixed column of German Army ('']'') soldiers together with Croatian Ustaše, Croatian Home Guard, Slovenian Home Guard, and other anti-Partisan forces who were attempting to retreat to Austria.

===Aftermath===
{{refimprove|date=February 2014}}
On 5 May, in the town of ] (50&nbsp;km northwest of Trieste), between 2,400 and 2,800 members of the Serbian Volunteer Corps surrendered to the British. On 12 May, about 2,500 additional Serbian Volunteer Corps members surrendered to the British at Unterbergen on the ] River.
On 11 and 12 May, British troops in ], Austria, were harassed by arriving forces of the Yugoslav Partisans.{{Why|date=December 2015}} In Belgrade, the British ambassador to the Yugoslav coalition government handed Tito a note demanding that the Yugoslav troops withdraw from Austria.

On 15 May 1945 a large column of the Croatian Home Guard, the Ustaše, the XVth SS Cossack Cavalry Corps and the remnants of the Serbian State Guard, and the Serbian Volunteer Corps, arrived at the southern Austrian border near the town of ]. The representatives of the Independent State of Croatia attempted to negotiate a surrender to the British under the terms of the ] that they had joined in 1943, and were recognised by it as a "belligerent", but were ignored.{{sfn|Shaw|1973|page=101}} Most of the people in the column were turned over to the Yugoslav government as part of what is sometimes referred to as ]. Following the ], the Partisans proceeded to brutalize the ]s.

On 15 May, Tito had placed Partisan forces in Austria under Allied control. A few days later he agreed to withdraw them. By 20 May, Yugoslav troops in Austria had begun to withdraw. On 8 June, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Yugoslavia agreed on the control of Trieste. On 11 November, ] were held in Yugoslavia. In these elections the communists had an important advantage because they controlled the police, judiciary and media. For that reason the opposition did not want to participate in the elections.{{sfn|Klemenčič|Žagar|2004|pp=197}} On 29 November, in accordance with election result, Peter II was deposed by communist dominated Yugoslavia's Constituent Assembly.<ref name="AbromeitNorman2015">{{cite book|author1=John Abromeit|author2=York Norman|author3=Gary Marotta|coauthors=Bridget Maria Chesterton|title=Transformations of Populism in Europe and the Americas: History and Recent Tendencies|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=jBXfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60|date=19 November 2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4742-2522-9|pages=60–}}</ref> On the same day, the ] was established as a ] during the first meeting of the Yugoslav Parliament in Belgrade. ] was appointed Prime Minister. The autonomist wing in the ], which dominated during World War II, was finally pushed aside in 1945 after the Second Assembly of the ].

On 13 March 1946, Mihailović was captured by agents of the ] (''Odsjek Zaštite Naroda'' or OZNA). From 10 June to 15 July of the same year, he was tried for ] and ]. On 15 July, he was found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad.<ref>, time.com, 24 June 1946.</ref>

On 16 July, a clemency appeal was rejected by the Presidium of the National Assembly. During the early hours of 18 July, Mihailović, together with nine other Chetnik and Nedić's officers, was executed in Lisičiji Potok. This execution essentially ended the World War II-era civil war between the communist Partisans and the royalist Chetniks.

==Casualties==
===Yugoslav casualties===
{{Further|World War II casualties|World War II reparations towards Yugoslavia}}
{| class="wikitable" table align="right"
|+ Victims by nationality
|-
!Nationality!!1964 list!!{{sfn|Cohen|1996|page=109}}Kočović !!Žerjavić{{sfn|Žerjavić|1993}}
|-
|Serbs || 346,740 || 487,000 || 530,000
|-
|Croats || 83,257 || 207,000 || 192,000
|-
|Slovenes || 42,027 || 32,000 || 42,000
|-
|Montenegrins || 16,276 || 50,000 || 20,000
|-
|Macedonians || 6,724 || 7,000 || 6,000
|-
|Muslims || 32,300 || 86,000 || 103,000
|-
|Other Slavs || – || 12,000 || 7,000
|-
|Albanians || 3,241 || 6,000 || 18,000
|-
|Jews || 45,000 || 60,000 || 57,000
|-
|Gypsies || – || 27,000 || 18,000
|-
|Germans || – || 26,000 || 28,000
|-
|Hungarians || 2,680 || – || –
|-
|Slovaks || 1,160 || – || –
|-
|Turks || 686 || – || –
|-
|Others || – || 14,000 || 6,000
|-
|Unknown || 16,202 || – || –
|-
! Total || 597,323 || 1,014,000 || 1,027,000
|}

{| class="wikitable" table align="right"
|+ Casualties by location according to the 1964 Yugoslav list{{sfn|Žerjavić|1993}}
|-
! Location !!Death toll!! Survived
|-
| Bosnia and Herzegovina || 177,045 || 49,242
|-
| Croatia || 194,749 || 106,220
|-
| Macedonia || 19,076 || 32,374
|-
| Montenegro || 16,903 || 14,136
|-
| Slovenia || 40,791 || 101,929
|-
| Serbia (proper) || 97,728 || 123,818
|-
| Kosovo || 7,927 || 13,960
|-
| Vojvodina || 41,370 || 65,957
|-
| Unknown || 1,744 || 2,213
|-
!Total || 597,323 || 509,849
|}
The Yugoslav government estimated the number of casualties to be at 1,704,000 and submitted the figure to the International Reparations Commission in 1946 without any documentation.{{sfn|MacDonald|2002|page=161}} The figure included war related deaths but also the expected population if war did not break out, the number of unborn children, and losses from emigration and disease.{{sfn|Cohen|1996|page=108}} The same figure was later submitted to the Allied Reparations Committee in 1948 but was claimed to be only from war related deaths.{{sfn|Cohen|1996|page=108}} After Germany requested verifiable data the Yugoslav Federal Bureau of Statistics created a nationwide survey in 1964.{{sfn|Cohen|1996|page=108}} The total number of those killed was found to be 597,323.{{sfn|Cohen|1996|page=108}} The list stayed a state secret until 1989 when it was published for the first time.{{sfn|Žerjavić|1993}}

The U.S. Bureau of the Census published a report in 1954 that concluded that Yugoslav war related deaths were 1,067,000. The U.S. Bureau of the Census noted that the official Yugoslav government figure of 1.7 million war dead was overstated because it "was released soon after the war and was estimated without the benefit of a postwar census".<ref>U.S. Bureau of the Census ''The Population of Yugoslavia'' Ed. Paul F. Meyers and Arthur A. Campbell , Washington D.C.- 1954</ref> A study by ] estimates total war related deaths at 1,027,000. Military losses are estimated at 237,000 ] and 209,000 collaborators, while civilian losses at 581,000, including 57,000 Jews. Losses of the Yugoslav Republics were Bosnia 316,000; Serbia 273,000; Croatia 271,000; Slovenia 33,000; Montenegro 27,000; Macedonia 17,000; and killed abroad 80,000.{{sfn|Žerjavić|1993}} Statistician ] calculated that the actual war losses were 1,014,000.{{sfn|Žerjavić|1993}} The late ], Professor Emeritus of Economics at San Francisco State University, believes that the calculations of Kočović and Žerjavić "seem to be free of bias, we can accept them as reliable".{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=737}}
The reasons for the high human toll in Yugoslavia were as follows:
# Military operations of five main armies (Germans, Italians, ], ] and ]).{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=744}}
# German forces, under express orders from Hitler, fought with a special ], who were considered ].{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=744}} One of the worst massacres during the German military occupation of Serbia was the ].
# Deliberate acts of reprisal against target populations were perpetrated by all combatants. All sides practiced the shooting of hostages on a large scale. At the end of the war Ustaše collaborators were killed during the ].{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|pages=744–745}}
# The systematic extermination of large numbers of people for political, religious or racial reasons. The most numerous victims were Serbs killed by the Ustaše and Croats and Muslims killed by the Chetniks. The Ustaše massacred Serbs throughout the Independent State of Croatia and especially in ], ], Lika, northwest Bosnia, and eastern Herzegovina and killed others in concentration camps such as the ].

Chetniks carried out massacres against Muslims in ] and ] and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, northern ], and ]. Jews were partly killed in camps throughout Yugoslavia and partly in camps in Germany, Norway and Greece after deportation.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=747}} In the ], Italian authorities led by ] terrorized the ] civilian population and deported them to concentration camps with the goal of ] the area. The large numbers of casualties as a result of the ethnic cleansing the local populace committed on one another, along with the especially brutal methods of execution used-mass hangings, clubbing to death, setting fire to buildings with people inside, etc.,-led even the Germans occupying the area to express shock at the violence.<ref></ref><ref>. On page 3. Book also quoted in: Ballinger, P. (2002), p.138</ref><ref name="Ballinger2003">{{cite book|author=Pamela Ballinger|title=History in Exile: Memory and Identity at the Borders of the Balkans|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=da6acnbbEpAC|year=2003|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-08697-4}}</ref> Mass killings by partisan purges and at Bleiburg were done for both political and ethnic reasons. Most victims were either killed for association with fascist forces such as soldiers and collaborators or were civilians of ethnic groups associated with the fascist forces such as Hungarian, German and Italian.<ref>Marcus Tanner, Croatia: a Nation Forged in War</ref>
# The reduced food supply caused famine and disease.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=748}}
# Allied bombing of German supply lines caused civilian casualties. The hardest hit localities were ], ], ] and ].{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=749}}
# The demographic losses due to a 335,000 reduction in the number of births and emigration of about 660,000 are not included with war casualties.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|page=749}}
] and its surrounding area to be executed.]]
In Slovenia, the ] launched a comprehensive research on the exact number of victims of World War II in Slovenia in 1995.<ref></ref> After more than a decade of research, the final report was published in 2005, which included a list of names. The number of victims was set at 89,404.<ref></ref> The figure also includes the victims of ] by the Communist regime immediately after the war (around 13,500 people). The results of the research came as a shock for the public, since the actual figures were more than 30% higher than the highest estimates during the Yugoslav period.<ref></ref> Even counting only the number of deaths up to May 1945 (thus excluding the military prisoners killed by the Yugoslav Army between May and July 1945), the number remains considerably higher than the highest previous estimates (around 75,000 deaths versus a previous estimate of 60,000).

There are several reasons for such a difference. The new comprehensive research also included Slovenes killed by the Partisan resistance, both in battle (members of collaborationist and anti-Communist units), and civilians (around 4,000 between 1941 and 1945). Furthermore, the new estimates includes all the Slovenians from Nazi-occupied Slovenia who were drafted in the Wehrmacht and died either in battle or in prisoner camps during the war. The figure also includes the Slovenes from the ] who died in the Italian Army (1940–43), those from ] who died in the Hungarian Army, and those who fought and died in various Allied (mostly British) units. The figure does not include victims from ] (except of those who joined the Slovenian Partisan units), nor does it include the victims among ] (again with the exception of those fighting in the Partisan units) and ]. 47% percent of casualties during the war were partisans, 33% were civilians (of which 82% were killed by Axis powers or Slovene home guard), and 20% were members of the Slovene home guard.<ref>Delo, ''Sobotna priloga'', 30 October 2010.</ref>

In Croatia, the Commission for the Identification of War and Post-War Victims of the Second World War was active from 1991 until the Seventh Government of the republic, under Prime Minister ] ended the commission in 2002.<ref>, narodne-novine.nn.hr</ref> In the 2000s, concealed mass grave commissions were established in both ] and ] to document and excavate mass graves from the Second World War.

===German casualties===
According to German casualty lists quoted by ] for July 30, 1945, from documents found amongst the personal effects of General ], head of the Public Relations Department of the German High Command, total German casualties in the Balkans amounted to 24,000 killed and 12,000 missing, no figure being mentioned for wounded. A majority of these casualties suffered in the Balkans were inflicted in Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Davidson|loc=The sixth offensive}} According to German researcher ], German losses in the Balkans were more than three times higher – 103,693 during the course of the war, and some 11,000 who died as Yugoslav prisoners of war.{{sfn|Overmans|2000|p=336}}

==See also==
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Bibliography===
* Bailey, R. H. (original edition from 1978). ''Partisans and Guerrillas (''World War II''; v. 12)''. Chicago, Illinois, USA: Time-Life Books. 1980.
* {{cite book|ref=harv|first=Milan |last=Borković |title=Kontrarevolucija u Srbiji – Kvislinška uprava 1941–1944|language=Serbo-Croatian}}
* Ciglić, B. and Savić, D. '''Dornier Do 17 The Yugoslav story, Operational Record 1937–1947''. Jeroplan, Belgrade, 2007. ISBN 978-86-909727-0-8
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Cohen|first=Philip J.|last2=Riesman|first2=David |title=Serbia's Secret War: Propaganda and the Deceit of History| publisher=Texas A&M University Press|year=1996|isbn=0-89096-760-1}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv|first=Mladenko|last=Colić|title= Kolaboracionističke oružane formacije u Jugoslaviji 1941–1945. godine: Oslobodilačka borba naroda Jugoslavije kao opštenarodni rat i socijalistička revolucija|volume=2|year=1977|language=Serbo-Croatian}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv|last=Davidson|first=Basil|title=Partisan Picture|authorlink=Basil Davidson|url=http://www.znaci.net/00001/3.htm}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last= Deakin|first=Frederick William|authorlink=|title=The embattled mountain|year=1971|url=|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|id=}}
* Đilas, M., ''Wartime'', Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1977. ISBN 0-15-694712-9
* {{cite book |ref=harv| first=Vladimir|last=Geiger|title=Ljudski gubici Hrvatske u Drugom svjetskom ratu koje su prouzročili "okupatori i njihovi pomagači"; Brojidbeni pokazatelji (procjene, izračuni, popisi) |year=2011 |language=Serbo-Croatian}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv|first=Trumbull|last=Higgins|title=Hitler and Russia|publisher=The Macmillan Company|year=1966}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv|first=Fikreta|last=Jelić Butić|title=Ustaše i NDH|year=1977}}
*{{cite book |author1=Matjaž Klemenčič|author2=Mitja Žagar |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ORSMBFwjAKcC |title=The former Yugoslavia's diverse peoples: a reference sourcebook |chapter=Histories of the Individual Yugoslav Nations |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2004 |pages=167–168}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Lampe |first=John R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZ1x7gvwx_8C&pg=PA198 |title=Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country |page=198}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Lekovic|first=Miso |url=http://www.amazon.com/MARTOVSKI-PREGOVORI-1943-MISO-LEKOVIC/dp/B004HB7VRS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1457339426&sr=8-2&keywords=Martovski+pregovori|title=Martovski pregovori 1943|year=1985|}}
* {{cite book|ref=harv |last=Lemkin |first=Raphael |others=Introductions by Samantha Power and William A. Schabas |date=2008 |title=Axis Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation, Analysis of Government, Proposals for Redress |edition=2nd |publisher=The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. |location=Clarke, New Jersey |isbn=1-58477-901-2 |pages=241–264}}
* {{cite journal |ref=harv|title=The National Liberation War in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945 |last=Mamula |first=Branko |journal=The Journal of the Royal United Services Institute |volume=130 |issue=4 |year=1985 |pages=52–56}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last= Maclean|first=Fitzroy |authorlink=|title=Eastern Approaches|year=1949|url= http://books.google.rs/books?id=BuJFPgAACAAJ&dq=Fitzroy+Maclean+eastern&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_6aUU42wIKi40QXBs4GgBA|publisher=Penguin Group|location=|id=}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last1=Mitrovski |first1=Boro |last2=Glišić |first2=Venceslav |last3=Ristovski |first3=Tomo |date=1971 |title=Bugarska vojska u Jugoslaviji 1941–1945 |trans-title=The Bulgarian Army in Yugoslavia 1941–1945 |language=Slovenian |publisher=Međunarodna politika}}
* Martin, D. ''Ally Betrayed: The Uncensored Story of Tito and Mihailovich'', Prentice Hall, New York, 1946.
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last= Overmans|first=Rüdiger |authorlink=|title=Deutsche militärische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg|year=2000|url=http://books.google.rs/books?id=q4L9p1T0m1EC&printsec=frontcover&dq=R%C5%B1diger+Overmans&hl=sr&sa=X&ei=Z0OHU5WnGsnA7Abd8oCADw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=R%C5%B1diger%20Overmans&f=false|publisher=Oldenbourg|isbn=3-486-56531-1|location=München|id=}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv|last=Pavličević |first=Dragutin |title=Povijest Hrvatske |publisher=Naklada Pavičić |year=2007 | isbn = 978-953-6308-71-2}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Pavlowitch |first=S.K. |title=Hitler's New Disorder: the Second World War in Yugoslavia |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-231-70050-4}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Perica |first=Vjekoslav| title=Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States |publisher=] |year=2004 |isbn=0-19-517429-1}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Ramet |first=Sabrina|title=The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building and Legitimation, 1918–2005 |year=2006 |publisher=] |location=New York |isbn=0-253-34656-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTw3lEqi2-oC&pg=PA148 |accessdate=2 June 2011}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Roberts |first=Walter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=43CbLU8FgFsC&pg=PR15|title= Tito, Mihailovic and the Allies}}
* Savic, D. and Ciglic, B. ''Croatian Aces of World War II'', Osprey Aircraft of the Aces – 49, Oxford, 2002. ISBN 1-84176-435-3
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Shaw |first=L. |title=Trial by Slander: A background to the Independent State of Croatia |publisher=Harp Books |location=Canberra |year=1973 | isbn=0-909432-00-7}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Talmon |first=Stefan |title=Recognition of governments in international law: with particular reference to governments in exile |publisher=] |year=1998 |isbn=0-19-826573-5}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Timofejev |first=Alexej J |url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/50893747/Rusi-i-drugisvetski-rat-u-Jugoslaviji |title=Rusija i Drugi svetski rat u Jugoslaviji |trans-title=Russians and the Second World War in Yugoslavia |location=Belgrаde |year=2011 |language=Serbo-Croatian}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv | last=Trbovich |first=Anna S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0uPN9_B3Lr4C&pg=PA129 |title=A Legal Geography of Yugoslavia's Disintegration |pages=131–132}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last1=Thomas |first1=Nigel |last2=Mikulan |first2=Krunoslav |others=Illustrated by Darko Pavlovic |date=1995 |title=Axis Forces in Yugoslavia 1941–45 |series=Men-at-Arms |volume=282 |publisher=Osprey |location=London |isbn=1-85532-473-3 |url=http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/Axis-Forces-in-Yugoslavia-1941%E2%80%9345_9781855324732}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last1=Thomas |first1=Nigel |last2=Abbot |first2=Peter |last3=Chappell |first3=M |title=Partisan Warfare 1941–45 |publisher=Osprey |location=London |year=2000 |isbn=0-85045-513-8}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last= Tomasevich|first=Jozo |authorlink=|title=The Chetniks|year=1975|url=|publisher=Stanford University Press|location=|isbn=0804708576}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Tomasevich|first=Jozo |authorlink=|title=War and Revolution in Yugoslavia: 1941–1945|year=2001 |url=|publisher=Stanford University Press|location=|isbn=0804779244|id=}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |editor-last=Vucinich |editor-first=Wayne S. |last1=Vucinich |first1=Wayne S. |last2=Tomasevich |first2=Jozo |last3=McClellan |first3=Woodford |last4=Auty |first4=Phyllis |last5=Macesich |first5=George |last6=Zaninovich |first6=M. George |last7=Halpern |first7=Joel M. |date=1969 |title=Contemporary Yugoslavia: Twenty Years of Socialist Experiment |publisher=University of California Press |oclc=47922 |lccn=69-16512 |isbn=9780520015364}}
* {{cite book |ref=harv |last=Žerjavić |first=Vladimir |title=Yugoslavia: Manipulations with the Number of Second World War Victims |publisher=Croatian Information Centre |isbn=0-919817-32-7|url=http://www.hic.hr/books/manipulations/index.htm}}

{{Campaignbox Yugofront}}
{{WWII history by nation}}
{{Nazi Germany occupations}}
{{World War II}}
{{Yugoslavia topics|state=collapsed}}

]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Revision as of 14:01, 16 March 2016

9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11