Attitude to war

With the outbreak of war in Yugoslavia, democratic and peace-loving forces became more active, demanding that they abandon support for any of the warring parties and adhere to an orientation toward the Soviet Union.

In 1940, the Cvetkovic government established diplomatic relations with the USSR. The anti-war and anti-fascist movement forced the government to maneuver. While verbally declaring its determination to adhere to complete neutrality, in fact, already in March 1941 it was negotiating with Hitler about the accession of Yugoslavia to the fascist bloc. In March 1941, an agreement was signed in Vienna on the country's accession to the pact of the three powers (Germany, Italy and Japan).

In response, a wave of mass indignation arose in the country. Demonstrations and rallies took place everywhere. The troops went over to the side of the demonstrators. The government led by Cvetkovic was arrested and a new government was created on a national basis.

The fight against fascist occupation

On April 6, 1941, Germany attacked Yugoslavia without declaring war. Hitler's Field Marshal List had an army of 300 thousand people at his disposal. Italy concentrated its troops in Albania and Istria, in the north of the country. Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary also took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia. In the country itself, fascist-oriented generals opened the front and betrayed the army.

The Yugoslav army was defeated within ten days. Its remnants went into the mountains and forests to continue the fight, which was led by the headquarters of the partisan detachments. Large partisan formations were created from small groups. In the fall of 1941, the partisans attacked German communications in the Balkans, cleared Montenegro, almost all of Serbia and approached Belgrade. The People's Liberation Army was formed from individual partisan detachments, which withstood seven fascist general offensives

Liberation of the country

In November 1942, the anti-fascist Assembly of People's Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ) gathered in Bihac, which became the first step towards the creation of people's power. In 1943 it was transformed into a legislative body with all the rights of parliament; The National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia was also created, which became a provisional government led by the commander of the People's Liberation Army, Marshal Josip Broz Tito. The Anti-Fascist Assembly decided that Yugoslavia should become a democratic federal state consisting of 6 parts: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

King Peter was forced to make concessions and entrust the formation of a new cabinet to Ivan Shubagaich, a supporter of cooperation with the national liberation movement. This led to the creation of a unified democratic government on July 7, 1944.

In the fall of 1944, the offensive of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia unfolded, connected with the offensive of the Red Army in the Balkans that began in the summer. As a result of the connection of two armies, on October 20, 1944, the capital of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, was liberated.

However, King Peter and his entourage began maneuvers to preserve royal power and the remnants of the previous regime, refusing to approve the Subasic government. But the Crimean Conference of the Heads of the Three Great Powers recommended that Tito and Subasic form a Provisional United Government based on their agreement.

On March 7, 1945, Tito formed a new Yugoslav government, in which Šubašić took over as foreign minister. After this, the federal parts created their own local governments. The Yugoslav army, together with the armies of the allies, continued the offensive against the Nazis, as well as their allies - the Ustasha and Chetniks, and by May 15, 1945, completed the liberation of the country, forcing the remnants of the enemy troops to capitulate.

Bulgaria during the Second World War

Bulgaria's participation in World War II

At the beginning of World War II, Bulgaria declared its neutrality, but in fact the ruling circles turned it into an appendage of the military machine of Nazi Germany. Under a secret agreement with Germany, numerous German detachments arrived in Bulgaria in the second half of 1940.

Under the guise of tourists, they settled in the most important strategic points of the country. On March 1, 1941, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Filov signed a protocol in Vienna on Bulgaria’s accession to the Three-Power Pact and at the same time agreed to the entry of German troops into the country. Taking advantage of its advantageous strategic position, Germany attacked Yugoslavia and Greece from the flank and rear and captured these countries in a short time. In gratitude, Germany “gifted” the Pirot district and Macedonia to Bulgaria in Yugoslavia, and Western Thrace to Greece.

Bulgaria declared war on the USA and England and itself became a springboard for military operations. Italian and German units accumulated here, preparing for landing operations in Odessa and Crimea. The Bulgarian ruling circles were counting on Gigler's quick victory. However, the partisan movement was developing in the country, and the forces of the Fatherland Front were accumulating.

The defeat of Romania in August 1944 forced the Bulgarian government to resort to a ruse - to declare neutrality from August 26, 1944.

Overthrow of the fascist government

The rulers of Bulgaria tried to prevent the entry of Soviet troops into the country and provide German troops with room to maneuver. The pro-fascist government of Bagryanov was replaced by the government of Mura Viev. However, the Soviet Union rejected such “neutrality”, breaking off relations with Bulgaria and declaring a state of war with it. In September 1944, troops under the command of Marshal Tolbukhin entered Bulgarian territory. Pursuing the retreating German units, the Soviet army occupied most of the territory in a short time.

An uprising began in Bulgaria under the leadership of the Fatherland Front. On September 9, 1944, the fascist government of Muraviev was overthrown and a new government was created from representatives of the Fatherland Front, which signed a truce agreement in Moscow with representatives of the USSR, Great Britain and the USA. Now the Bulgarian troops had to take an active part in the fight against the remnants of Hitler’s troops. The Fatherland Front carried out deep democratic reforms. War criminals were punished, all fascist laws were repealed, and civil liberties were restored. On November 18, 1945, the first democratic free elections took place in Bulgaria. They brought victory to the Fatherland Front. Vasil Kolarov (1877-1950) was elected Chairman of the People's Assembly. Bulgaria has entered a new period of development.

• March 1, 1941 - the Bulgarian government signed a protocol on the country's accession to the Germany-Italy-Japan Pact. Bulgaria declares war on the USA and England
• August 26, 1944 - Bulgaria's withdrawal from the war and declaration of neutrality
• September 1944 - USSR declaration of war on Bulgaria and occupation of its territory
• September 1944 - popular uprising in Bulgaria, signing of an armistice with the USSR, Great Britain and the USA
• November 1945 - victory in Bulgaria of the Fatherland Front. The path of democratic change

Speaking about the history of the Second World War in Yugoslavia, many reduce the events that took place to the following simplified scheme - having been defeated by Germany, Yugoslavia ceased to exist, while the Croats formed a puppet state that became an ally of Germany, and the Serbs unleashed a fierce partisan struggle against the occupiers.

I will try to separate the wheat from the chaff and the sheep from the goats in this statement.

On April 6, 1941, Germany attacked Yugoslavia. Already on April 13, the Germans were in Belgrade, and on April 17, the Yugoslav army capitulated. The largest state in southern Europe suffered a crushing defeat in ten days. One of the main reasons for this outcome was the catastrophic disintegration of the Yugoslav army. Up to 40% of active-duty army personnel deserted; mobilization was disrupted due to the non-appearance of conscripts.

Even before the official surrender of Yugoslavia (April 10, after the occupation of Zagreb), Croatian nationalists led by Ante Pavelic announced the creation of an independent Croatia. On May 1, 1941, the Germans created the “Serbian government of national salvation” in Belgrade under the leadership of Milan Ačimović; in August he was replaced by the former Yugoslav general and minister of war Milan Nedic. And although formally Croatia was independent, and the Serbian government was subordinate to the German administration, both were controlled directly from Berlin. The territory of Slovenia was divided between Italy and Germany, and significant territories of the former Yugoslavia went to the German allies - Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, Italy.

Ante Pavelic

The ideology and goals of the puppet governments of Serbia and Croatia were disgracefully similar - the creation of mononational states throughout the entire territory of Serbs and Croats (even if these nations are a minority in this territory). The parties did not limit themselves in choosing the means to implement their program. The most moderate proposal was an ethnic transfer and exchange of territories, but in reality everything quickly resulted in the most brutal genocide of the Croats against the Serbs and vice versa. At Berlin's direction, both the Serbian and Croatian governments began persecuting Jews and Gypsies. To Nedić’s credit, it should be noted that, unlike the Croats, he refused to create Serbian detachments to fight on the Soviet front. It is noteworthy that despite the terrible atrocities committed by the nationalists, Croatia and Serbia maintained some semblance of diplomatic relations.

Dimitri Letich

The governments of Pavelic and Nedic immediately acquired their own armed forces. For the Croats these were formations of the “Ustasha”, for the Serbs - the Serbian state guard - the so-called. “Nedichevtsy” and “Zborovtsy” of the Serbian Nazi Dimitri Letich. Soon two more epic figures appeared on the scenes: Draza Mihailovic and Josip Broz Tito.

Draza Mihailovic

Dragoljub (Draza) Mihailovich- Colonel of the Yugoslav Army. He did not recognize the surrender on April 17 and called on his supporters to continue the war using guerrilla methods. The basis of Mikhailovich’s detachments were three fighters who united into half-companies - the so-called. "fours". This is where the “Chetniks” came from. Mihailovic was a staunch monarchist and called for the restoration of pre-war Yugoslavia under the rule of the Serbian Karadjordjević dynasty. However, Mikhailovich was in no hurry to enter into direct clashes with the Germans. He preferred to accumulate strength, waiting for the right moment for a general uprising. The Germans regarded this position as an invitation to negotiations. Draža readily responded to the corresponding proposal, but set a deliberately impossible condition for the Germans - the immediate withdrawal of the German army from the entire territory of Yugoslavia. This is where the negotiations ended. But Mikhailovich quickly found a common language with Nedich.

Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz, nicknamed Tito was a communist and had fairly long-standing ties with Moscow through the Comintern. After the German attack on the USSR, Tito intensified his activities to create a communist underground. At first, the detachments of Tito and Mikhailovich undertook joint armed actions against the Germans, but soon their paths diverged. Mikhailovich believed that the Croatian “Ustashi” were the primary enemy, and that armed struggle against the Germans was currently useless and even harmful. Added to the strategic, ideological and national differences was the personal enmity of the two ambitious leaders. In November 1941, fighting began between the Chetniks and the partisans. By the end of the year, the combined forces of Mihailović and the pro-German Serbian administration inflicted severe losses on Tito’s partisans and they were forced to leave the territory of Serbia and retreat to the mountains of Bosnia.

By the way, about Bosnia and its inhabitants. Both Serbs and Croats considered Bosnia to be their ancestral territory with the only difference: the Serbs claimed that the Bosnians were Serbs converted to Islam, and the Croats claimed that the Bosnians were Croat converts to Islam. At the same time, both of them enthusiastically began terror against Muslim Bosniaks. Particularly well known are the large-scale ethnic cleansings carried out by the Chetniks in June 1941 and February 1942. However, the Bosniaks also did not sit idly by; their terror was directed mainly against the Serbs. In January 1943, a group of Muslim leaders sent a letter to Hitler with a request to protect the Bosniaks from Serbo-Croatian (and for some reason Jewish) tyranny (according to the authors of the letter, at the end of 1942, 150 thousand Bosniaks became victims of purges), to make Bosnia a separate formation with its own armed forces under a German protectorate. Instead, the formation of the Muslim SS division "Handschar" began in Bosnia. Many Bosniaks joined this division, believing that it could protect them from attacks by nationalists, but instead the Handshar was redeployed to France. There was a riot in the division, several German officers were killed. “Handshar” was again transferred to Bosnia, where its fighters partially fled, replenishing the local self-defense units and the ranks of Tito’s partisans, as the largest military formation that opposed the Serbian and Croatian formations. The Germans replenished the remnants of “Handshar” with anyone and threw them against... Tito’s troops. The situation of a brutal civil war in the territory of the former Yugoslavia was more than suitable for the German command. In the territories of Kosovo and Macedonia, which were ceded to the Italians and included by them in the puppet state “Greater Albania,” Muslim Albanians from the SS Scandenberg division methodically massacred the non-Muslim population, primarily the Serbs.

Ustasha holds the head of a Serbian Chetnik in his hands.

In this situation, when everyone fought against everyone and almost no one against the Germans, the Allies initially relied on Mikhailovich’s Chetniks. At the end of 1941 and beginning of 1942, the Yugoslav government in exile appointed Draza Minister of War and awarded the rank of division general. In May, Draža became an army general. Mikhailovich was also perceived as an ally in the struggle in the USSR. However, by the end of 1942 the situation began to change. The wait-and-see policy adopted by Mikhailovich began to greatly worry the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition. In response to calls to intensify the fight against the Germans, Mikhailovich irritably wrote to Moscow:

“The truth is that the Serbian people are very well aware of the interests of their great Russian brothers. From the point of view of their interests, it was clear that, having started the war, Russia called on the enslaved peoples for an armed uprising against the occupiers in order to fetter their strength and exhaust them rear. But on the other hand, isn’t it clear that the enslaved peoples, having accepted this call and based on their current and future national interests, retained their right to decide for themselves the moment of the start of armed struggle against the occupiers? This right cannot be disputed, since in history. There are no examples of one people sacrificing everything, even to the point of committing suicide, for the sake of the interests of some other people or for the sake of some universal human interests that at the same time would not coincide with the interests of this people.”

As a result, from the beginning of 1943, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition changed their policy on the Yugoslav issue and recognized Tito as their only ally in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. By that time, Tito’s troops already numbered about 250 thousand people. In response, Mikhailovich, apparently completely losing his sense of reality, wrote to Moscow:

“The small Slavic peoples, branches of the Slavic tree, should be as proud as they are grateful to Mother Russia for the pain that only she could endure in the name of the birth of a new world, and a Slav who is not able to feel this is not a Slav, but degenerate.... Our Russian brothers, of course, must understand the reasons for our defeat in 1941. Along with the betrayal of their brothers, which is evidenced by the Croatian traitor himself, the courage of our people was crushed by the betrayal of those to whom Moscow is so favorable today.. The shamelessness of the terrible [crimes] committed by the communists under the leadership of Tito would be impossible to believe if irrefutable documents did not exist...

The Russian brothers know better than anyone else that at the time of any revolution, various foreigners are always swimming in troubled waters. These suspicious foreigners began with treason, which became the reason for the undeserved defeat of our people, in whose understanding there is no crime worse than taking up arms against one’s fatherland... Their activities inevitably had to lead to civil war. The country turned into an arena of brutal struggle and violence. The best and noblest became victims...

Why did the Slavic Committee in Moscow so easily and quickly lose its way and side with a handful of foreigners against a people so close and loyal to it... And besides, do our Russian brothers consider it normal for the people closest to them to be led by foreigners? Was it the same with the great Russian people? We think not. The Great Russian Revolution was led by Russian Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. This revolution knew who and, perhaps, where it was leading."

By foreigners, Draža understood primarily the Croatian Tito and one of his closest associates, the Jew Moshe Piyade. However, one can easily imagine how these words could have been regarded by the Georgian and communist Stalin.

Representatives of the allied military missions were now constantly at Tito's headquarters; the allies generously supplied the partisans with supplies, weapons and ammunition. So, after the surrender of Italy in 1943, a significant part of the Italian arsenals, including artillery, was transferred to Tito. Tito's army grew by leaps and bounds, representatives of all nationalities of Yugoslavia fought in its ranks - Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Jews, Russians and even Italians. And if among the soldiers the majority were Serbs, then among the officers a very significant part were Croats. By the way, the future president of independent Croatia (1991), Dr. Franjo Tudjman, was one of Tito’s youngest colonels.

By the end of 1943, Tito already controlled a third of the territory of the former Yugoslavia and diverted significant German forces to himself. This was exactly what the Allies were striving for. Former nationalist fighters, especially the Chetniks, and members of the Croatian Domobran police joined Tito's army in droves. The British military representative at Tito's headquarters describes a meeting with one of these partisans:

“Father Vlado was a Serbian Orthodox priest who initially joined Mihailovic and commanded a Chetnik platoon. Soon he left the Chetniks and joined the partisans.
He did this, he said, because he "didn't get enough fighting with the enemy."
With the partisans, he felt completely satisfied. On the one hand, fight as much as your heart desires; on the other hand, in his free time from battles, he fulfilled his “spiritual duties” among numerous religious partisans.
He was a colorful personality: a large red beard, a priest’s cross on his neck, a long cassock, belted crosswise with machine-gun belts. There are three pistols and grenades in my belt.”

When the Red Army entered the territory of Yugoslavia, the detachments of the Serbian nationalists Nedic, Letic and the Chetniks of Mihailovic retreated into hard-to-reach areas without resistance. On October 20, 1944, the capital of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, was liberated as a result of joint actions by troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, the Bulgarian army and the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia under the command of Tito. After which the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were transferred to Hungary, and by that time numbering about 850 thousand people, Tito’s army independently liberated the main territory of Yugoslavia, literally crushing the forces of the Chetniks, Ustashas, ​​Zborovtsy, Nedichevtsy and other nationalists of all stripes, and also the Germans and Hungarians who did not have time to escape. The idea of ​​Serbian nationalists to unite with the troops of the Russian Volunteer Corps, Vlasov's army and von Panwitz's Cossacks to jointly fight Tito's partisans remained unfulfilled.

Dimitri Letić died on April 23, 1945, Milan Nedić was arrested and committed suicide in 1946, in the same year Draza Mihailovic was shot in Belgrade by the verdict of a fast-moving court “for collaboration with the occupiers”, Ante Pavelić fled to Spain, where he died in 1959 after an attempt on his life.

People's Liberation War of 1941-1945. Establishment of people's democratic power in Yugoslavia. The People's Liberation War of the peoples of Yugoslavia of 1941-1945, which unfolded under the leadership of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was a bright page in the history of the struggle against fascism. It was closely intertwined with the revolutionary struggle against the Yugoslav bourgeoisie, which associated itself with politics collaborationism, was a struggle for national and social liberation, the creation of a new socialist Yugoslavia. Already on April 10, 1941, by decision of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, the Military Committee was formed, headed by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia I. Broz Tito. Military committees that formed combat anti-fascist groups began to operate in all regions of Yugoslavia. On June 22, 1941, on the day of the treacherous attack of fascist Germany on the USSR, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia addressed the people of Yugoslavia with an appeal in which it called on them to rise up to fight against the fascist invaders. On June 27, 1941, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia created the Main Headquarters (in September 1941, renamed the Supreme Headquarters) of the people's liberation partisan detachments of Yugoslavia, led by Josip Broz Tito. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia initiated the creation (in 1941) of the United People's Liberation Front, whose task was to fight against the occupiers and for the unity and brotherhood of the peoples of Yugoslavia. On July 4, 1941, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia decided to start a nationwide armed uprising (July 4 is celebrated in the SFRY as a state holiday - Fighter's Day). In July 1941, armed struggle engulfed , in October - Vardar Macedonia. People's liberation committees began to emerge in the territories of Yugoslavia liberated from the fascist occupiers. The beginning of a widespread partisan struggle caused a regrouping among the Yugoslav bourgeoisie, the overwhelming majority of whom found themselves in the camp of collaborators and collaborated with the occupiers in various forms. Part of the Serbian bourgeoisie united around the “Serbian government” created by the German occupiers in August 1941 in Belgrade led by General M. Nedic. Another part of it was oriented towards the emigrant royal government. On her initiative, D. Mikhailovich began organizing armed detachments (chetniks). Since the autumn of 1941, the Chetniks began to cooperate with the Quisling units of Nedic and with the occupiers, and waged an armed struggle against the partisans. The emigre government recognized the Chetniks as “its armed forces in the homeland” and in January 1942 appointed Mihailović as Minister of War, effectively siding with the occupiers in the fight against the partisan movement in Yugoslavia.

The development of the people's liberation struggle and the political situation in Yugoslavia were influenced by the general successes of the anti-Hitler coalition in the fight against the fascist bloc, especially the victories of the Soviet Army in the winter campaign of 1942-1943. In Yugoslavia, the number of partisan detachments rapidly grew (by the end of 1941 - about 80 thousand people, by the end of 1942 - 150 thousand people), and their combat capabilities. Back on December 22, 1941, the first regular military unit was formed - the 1st Proletarian Brigade, which marked the birth of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOLA). On November 26-27, 1942, the 1st session of the all-Yugoslav political body, the Anti-Fascist Assembly of People's Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ), took place in the city of Bihac. Its 2nd session (November 29-30, 1943, the city of Jajce), at which AVNOJ was constituted as the supreme legislative and representative body of Yugoslavia, was a major milestone in the struggle of the Yugoslav peoples for the creation of a multinational socialist state. Created by AVNOJ as the provisional government of the new Yugoslavia, the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia (NKLJ), headed by Josip Broz Tito, became the first highest executive body of people's power. On December 14, 1943, the Soviet government issued a statement welcoming the decisions of the 2nd session of the AVNOJ and the formation of the NCOC). The statement also announced the decision to send a Soviet military mission to Yugoslavia (arrived in Yugoslavia in February 1944). The Soviet government condemned the activities of Mikhailovich's Chetniks and showed that it did not consider the Yugoslav emigrant government to be the plenipotentiary representative of the peoples of Yugoslavia. At all stages of the development of the liberation movement of Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union provided it with moral, political and diplomatic support, as well as material and military assistance. The latter has especially intensified since 1944, when the Soviet Army approached the Balkans. In the fall of 1944, Soviet troops reached the borders of Yugoslavia. In the course of joint actions by Soviet troops and units of the NOAU, a number of regions of the country were liberated from German troops, as well as Belgrade on October 20, 1944 (see Belgrade operation of 1944). At the end of 1944 - beginning of 1945, the NOAU received significant assistance from the Soviet Union with heavy weapons, ammunition, and food.

The USSR contributed to the adoption by the Tehran Conference of 1943 of a decision to provide military and material assistance to the NOAU from outside Great Britain And USA. The successes of the people's liberation struggle in Yugoslavia and its consistent support by the Soviet Union forced the ruling circles of Great Britain and the United States to abandon their unconditional support for the Chetniks and the emigrant royal government in London. As a result of the agreement signed on June 16, 1944 by the chairman of the NKOJ I. Broz Tito and the royal prime minister I. Subasic, the émigré royal government was forced to condemn the Chetniks. The Tito-Subasic Agreement of November 1, 1944 provided for the creation of a unified Yugoslav government (instead of the NKOJ and the exile government). The Crimean Conference of 1945 recommended speeding up the formation of a unified government of Yugoslavia based on this agreement. On March 7, 1945, the Provisional Government of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was created, headed by Josip Broz Tito. As the territory of Yugoslavia was liberated from the fascist occupiers, all power in the liberated areas was concentrated in the hands of the working people under the leadership of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. The people's committees turned into organs of people's democratic power in the finally liberated territory of Yugoslavia; a new state apparatus was created.

On April 11, 1945, the Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Assistance and Post-War Cooperation between the USSR and Yugoslavia was signed in Moscow, and on April 13, a trade agreement was signed. In March 1945, the NOLA was renamed the Yugoslav Army (later the Yugoslav People's Army). By May 15, the Yugoslav army (about 800 thousand people) completed the liberation of Yugoslavia from fascist troops and their accomplices.

The peoples of Yugoslavia, through their heroic struggle against the Nazi invaders and their accomplices, made a significant contribution to the common cause of defeating fascism. During the war, the peoples of Yugoslavia suffered heavy losses - 1,700 thousand people died (over 10% of the country's population), including 305 thousand people on the battlefields. Enormous damage was caused to the economy: 2/5 of industry was destroyed or damaged (including 1/2 of enterprises and about 1/3 of power plants were completely disabled); In transport, over 1/2 of the railway lines and most of the rolling stock were destroyed, about 60% of water transport was lost, and about 70% of the roads were damaged. In the countryside, the invaders destroyed 289 thousand agricultural farms, over 1/2 of the livestock; destroyed and damaged over 40% of plows and plows, 2/3 of tractors, and about 70% of threshers. 3.5 million people in Yugoslavia were left homeless. Many schools, hospitals, scientific institutions and cultural centers of Yugoslavia were destroyed and destroyed.

V. K. Volkov

Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 16. ZHANG WE-TIAN - YASHTUKH. 1976.

The day before: initially declared neutrality, in an attempt to maintain good relations with both the Axis countries and their opponents. After the defeat of France in May 1940. changing sympathies of political circles. Pressure from Germany and Italy, Italy attacked Greece. But there is also pressure from the United States - Roosevelt threatens to stop American aid. Even greater polarization of foreign policy views. In March 1941 Bulgaria joined the Axis powers => Yugoslavia is surrounded on all sides by Hitler and his allies. Direct threats. March 25, 1941 Yugoslavia signed the corresponding protocol in Vienna. Mass demonstrations. Movements in the senior officers of the army. March 27, 1941 The military carried out a coup. The heir to the throne, Peter, was proclaimed King. The new government was headed by Dusan Simovic (Air Force command), Macek - deputy prime minister.

March 5, 1941 A treaty of friendship and non-aggression was signed in Moscow between Yugoslavia and the USSR. On April 6, the invasion of Yugoslavia by troops of the Tripartite Pact began. From April 6 to April 17, so-called. "April War" 24-hour raids on Belgrade, an irrational action called “Punishment” because... Belgrade was declared an open city long before the war. The government and Peter II flew to Greece. April 14 order to stop armed resistance. On April 17, in Sarajevo, the chief of staff, the commander-in-chief, General Kalafatovich, and the minister, Cincar-Markovic, signed “a decision on a truce and the cessation of hostilities between the armed forces of Germany and Yugoslavia” - surrender.

The northern part of Slovenia became part of the Third Reich, and its southern part became the Ljubljana province of Italy. A significant part of Dalmatia was also included in Italy. Part of Vojvodina was given to Hungary, the other part to Banat, whose population consisted mainly of Germans. They formed a special territorial unit. Bulgaria annexed Vardar Macedonia up to Lake Ohrid, part of Kosovo and some territories of eastern Serbia.

Plans were hatched to recreate the kingdom of Montenegro under the protectorate of Italy. This, however, was prevented by a massive anti-fascist uprising that began on July 13, 1941. Kosovo and Metohija and part of Macedonia were annexed to Albania, which itself had been occupied by Italy in 1938, and were under Italian protectorate.

Serbia (within the borders before the Balkan Wars) was under the direct control of the commander of the German occupation forces stationed on Serbian territory.

The fascist leaders created the so-called Independent State of Croatia (ISH). There were German and Italian units in Croatia (as well as in “independent” Slovakia, proclaimed in 1939), and the activities of the created government were completely controlled by authorized representatives of the fascist powers.

The organizer of the proclamation of the NGH was the German general Edmund Wenzenmayer, who arrived in Zagreb even before the outbreak of hostilities. He negotiated with V. Macek and the head of the Zagreb Ustasha Slavko Kvaternik. Maczek refused to become the head of the new state, but wrote an appeal in which he called on all members and supporters of the HCP to cooperate with the new authorities. This appeal was read over the Zagreb radio station by S. Kvaternik, a former officer of the Austro-Hungarian army, in the past an ardent supporter of the Frankish party. Macek's appeal contributed to the fact that almost all administrative bodies of Croatia, including the police, switched to the service of the Ustashe state.

The head of the Ustasha himself, Pavelić, arrived in Zagreb later and was proclaimed the leader of the Croatian people. The NGH army was created, soldiers and officers were called “domobrans”, i.e. defenders of the fatherland.

The April War and occupation led to even greater differentiation of both political groups and military circles. The emigrant royal government announced that the war against the occupiers would continue. The former Minister of Defense of Yugoslavia, General Milan Nedic, headed the collaborationist government in Serbia in the fall of 1941. The occupiers were openly supported by the fascist group Zbor, led by Dmitry Letich.

The leader of the HKP, V. Maczek, pursued a unique policy. calling for cooperation with the new Ustashe government. He and some people around him took a wait-and-see attitude. The Ustashe leadership accused him of allowing some members of the HKP to join the exile government in London.

After the surrender of the Yugoslav army, some of the officers and soldiers who managed to avoid captivity hid in the forests and mountains of Serbia and Eastern Bosnia. Here they united around Dragoljub (Draza) Mikhailovich.

At the beginning of May 1941, D. Mihailovich moved with a group of military personnel to the Ravna Gora mountain range in Western Serbia. Subsequently, this name became a symbol of the Serbian Chetniks, their military units and organizations of Anglo-American political orientation.

The German attack on the USSR intensified the activities of all Yugoslav anti-fascists and, above all, communists and Komsomol members. Armed resistance to the “new order” began in late April - early May 1941. It was especially strong in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which became part of the NDH. Organized resistance in the summer of 1941 was typical for most national regions of the country, but it was most widespread in Montenegro. A massive uprising and expulsion of occupiers and collaborators in June-July covered Serbia, a number of regions of Dalmatia, Lika, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia. In October, armed uprisings began in Macedonia. In June-July, almost the entire territory of Montenegro came under the control of the rebels, with the exception of some cities, and the garrisons of the Italian army units located in them were blocked.

The massive armed uprising in Yugoslavia in the summer and autumn of 1941 occupies a special place in the history of the people's liberation war and social revolution. organized performances of detachments of communist partisans and Chetniks of D. Mikhailovich are observed, contacts are established between them. Meetings took place between the head of the Serbian Chetniks and Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980), who at that time headed the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yulia and the supreme headquarters of the people's liberation partisan detachments. However, this cooperation was short-lived. The struggle between the Chetniks and Broz Tito's partisans. The reason was deep differences in ideology and foreign policy orientation. The struggle bore the horror of a civil war. From the end of 1941 to the end of 1943, the partisans, after a series of failures, managed to create a strong and mobile military organization, more effective than that of the Chetniks. A number of events took place that largely determined the course of the people's liberation struggle and social revolution. On December 21, 1941, the first proletarian brigade was created, marking the beginning of the creation of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOLA). The People's Liberation Committees (PLCs), created in the summer of 1941, began to receive significant support from the peasants in the liberated territories. In February 1942, in the city of Foca, the Supreme Headquarters and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, taking into account the obvious revolutionary excesses, issued the so-called “Foča Provisions”, which especially emphasized that the NOC are non-party organizations, elected democratically, without regard to class, national or religious affiliation . On November 26-27, 1942, representatives of most national regions of the country gathered in the Bosnian city of Bihac, and a pan-Yugoslav political body was created - the Anti-Fascist Assembly of People's Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ). The armed forces of the Yugoslav communists achieved significant successes after the capitulation of Italy in September 1943. On November 29-30, 1943, the 2nd session of AVNOJ was held in the Bosnian city of Jajce. The Declaration defined the foundations of the new Yugoslavia. AVNOYA was proclaimed the highest legislative and executive body. The National Committee of Yugoslavia (NKJU) was also created, which took over the functions of the government. Its head was Josip Broz Tito. The declaration condemned the activities of the exile government. King Peter II was forbidden to return to the country until the end of the war. It was proclaimed that the new Yugoslavia would be built on the principles of federalism, brotherhood and unity of all peoples.

The cessation of assistance to Mikhailovich's Chetniks from England due to the significant advance of the Red Army troops. In the fall of 1944, Soviet troops approached the borders of Yugoslavia. After negotiations between the delegation of the Supreme Headquarters and representatives of the Soviet command, it was officially announced that with the approval of AVNOJ and NKJU, the Red Army was entering the territory of Yugoslavia for joint military actions against the occupiers. On October 20, 1944, Soviet troops, together with units of the NOAU and partisan detachments, liberated the capital of Yugoslavia, completing the Belgrade operation. During this operation, Macedonia, most of Montenegro and Serbia were liberated.

In March 1945, a unified government was formed, headed by I. Broz Tito. I. Subasic, who headed the government in London, became the Minister of Foreign Affairs (even earlier, before the war, he was the ban of Croatia). The unified government soon gained international recognition. On May 15, 1945, the liberation of Yugoslavia was completely completed

The guerrilla war in Yugoslavia has a more violent and original character than other guerrilla wars. This war is unique in that there were several partisan movements in it, and these movements saw their main enemy not in the German troops, but in someone else’s movement (in fact, during the war with the Germans in Yugoslavia there was a civil war between the communists and the Chetniks (with whom they were allied there was an escaped government) and at first they were supported by the allies). The Chetniks and Communists treated the Germans as a temporary phenomenon and sometimes even collaborated with the Germans against another movement.

After the defeat and occupation of Yugoslavia, the communist movements led by Josip Broz Tito began to carry out extensive underground work among the population to prepare for war. Already in April 1941, the communists were leading throughout Yugoslavia. They collected weapons, organized detachments, conducted military training among patriots, inspired people with faith in victory, although at first it was not easy to raise the people with their heads held high to defend their homeland. Seeing how the fascists win victory after victory, you inevitably begin to doubt. But when Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the latter showed restraint, tenacity, perseverance, and repulsed the enemy. Seeing this, the Yugoslavs REALIZED that the Soviet Union is the only country that truly strives to eradicate and defeat fascism. It is appropriate to consider this moment when the Yugoslavs REALIZED as key: in the entire guerrilla war, because it was with him that active hostilities began, it was then that the Yugoslavs acquired and felt hope, faith in victory on which they relied throughout the war. This was well spoken about on the day of the attack on the country of Soviets by the decree of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia: the precious blood of the heroic Soviet people is shed not only in the name of defending the country of socialism, but also in the name of the social and national liberation of other enslaved peoples. On June 27, the central committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia created the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army, and on June 4, a decision was made to move from acts of sabotage and sabotage to open armed struggle against the occupiers and their local henchmen. Yosiv Brostito became the head of the headquarters; the initial composition of his army was 8,000 people. The army was divided into detachments. The main thing in them was the commissar, the detachments were armed

In addition to the communists, there was also the Chetnik movement led by Colonel Dragoljub Mikhailovich, who adhered to nationalism. And at the same time they tried to fight against the one-party dictatorship. Unlike the communists, the Chetniks recognized the government that fled the country. And even later, their allies helped them with supplies. In addition, the Chetniks spread rumors about massacres of Serbs in Croatia by Croats. And this only aroused the hatred of the population against the Germans and the Nedich government, and rumors were also spread that there was a royal Chetnik army in the forests, which represented a powerful force and was waiting in the wings to take revenge on the Nazis.

The beginning of the uprising is considered to be July 7, on this day the White Church, a partisan detachment led by Zhikitsa Jovanovic. He killed two gendarmes, Bogdan Uluncar and Milan Dragovich, who were trying to disperse a gathering of peasants. After this, an uprising broke out in Montenegro against the Italians, then spread to Slavia, Bosnia and then to Serbia. The Chetniks, under the command of Colonel Misit, attacked the city of Loznica on August 31 and liberated it. By the way, the first German captured soldiers appeared there. In parallel with the Chetniks, the communists captured quite a few territories around Belgrade, reaching a certain result, Tito formed a high command and divided the Balkans into tactical zones. By the way, in 10 days in August the partisans made quite a few raids, the Germans recorded 30 cases of shelling of trains, 9 cases of shelling of German troops, 14 attacks on Serbian gendarmerie stations, 16 damaged telegraph poles and telephone cables, 3 sabotage on bridges and railways , 4 attacks on industrial facilities, 53 attacks on Serbian administrative and public institutions and 5 attempted attacks on industrial and mining enterprises. In this case, 21 Germans were killed, 34 were wounded, and 4 were missing, for a total of 59.

The Germans, seeing what was happening, decided to act as follows; On September 16, an order was issued: “For every killed German soldier, shoot 100 partisans, and for every wounded 50. The so-called Keitel order” (Keitel said that this order should be accepted as a general rule), but when it became clear that there was little use, they simply decided conduct punitive expeditions. At the same time, on September 19, Tito and Mikhailovich met for the first time in the village of Strugannik, although there was no special friendship between them, they had different goals, ideologies, each saw in each other more of an enemy than a brother in war. At this meeting, for which no small hopes were pinned, only a superficial agreement was reached, an agreement on non-attack, on the division of trophies, but the most important thing “unification of movements and the creation of a joint command” could not be achieved. After 3 days, a turning point came in favor of the Germans. The 342nd Infantry Division with Ustasha units approached the city of Sabatz (84 kilometers from Belgrade), which was besieged by Chetniks and partisans and lifted the siege. The rebels retreated to the mountains in the southeast, for which the defeat began, and the city of Shabatz paid with about 2,400 killed among the population, so the city of Shabatz became the first victim of the autumn uprising of 1941. Later, the Germans launched a counter-offensive and began to recapture city after city. At the same time, relations between the communists and the Chetniks began to wane. The officers of both movements could not tolerate each other, and later it often came to clashes. Even meetings of the leaders of the partisan movements did not help. On October 27, at the next meeting, once again it was not possible to reach an agreement. Although at the meeting on November 17, Tito achieved the creation of an investigative commission, which should find out and further prevent the causes of clashes between the Chetniks and communists, and also punish and judge those who violated the truce. In the city of Cha-chak, on November 18-20, a meeting of the investigative commission took place for the first time, but while the partisans and Chetniks were busy with the traditional question: “Who is to blame and what to do?” On November 29, the Germans showed in all their glory an example of a frontal clash between German troops and partisans, as a result of which the Germans lost 2 people killed and 2 people wounded, and the partisans, unfortunately, lost 572 partisans. Having defeated the partisans, the Germans took on the Chetniks. Having surrounded with the forces of the 342nd Infantry Division the city where Mikhailovich was located with 500 people at his headquarters, the German artillery general Paul Bader began hostilities, as a result of which 12 Chetniks were killed and the rest were captured. Mikhailovich himself, Major Ostoich and 5 colleagues fled, but then were surrounded. In order to improve the situation and save the head of the movement, Major Mishin and his Slavic friend Major Fregl came out to the Germans with their hands raised, Major Mishin pretended to be Mikhailovich, and Fregl confirmed his words. After which the satisfied Germans took away the two majors and stopped combing the forest, thereby giving Mikhailovich the opportunity to leave. Of course, later the Germans saw through the deception and shot two majors on December 17.

After the autumn defeat in Serbia, both militarily and politically, Tito retreated to eastern Bosnia and began to replenish his thinned ranks with local partisans. It is worth noting the creation of the first proletarian brigade in Bosnia on December 22, and later in March the 2nd proletarian and three territorial brigades appeared (each brigade has 1000 people and three battalions, 300-400 people each). In addition to replenishing the fighting strength, Tito decided to cancel open hostilities and switch to guerrilla tactics, at the same time the defeated Chetniks switched to wait-and-see tactics, i.e. building up a network of agents in the Nedic apparatus, accumulating combat units throughout Serbia in anticipation of the arrival of the allies. They also divided their headquarters into several parts, so that the headquarters would not be an attractive target for spies and saboteurs. Another important point: “The runaway government appointed Mihailovich as an army general and minister of the army, navy and aeronautics.” To lift the spirits of the soldiers, Mikhailovich joked: “It’s good that now they will send us a limousine, and we will no longer have to suffer from walking.” The soldiers immediately intercepted the joke and wrote in charcoal on the wall of the hut - the Ministry of the Army, Navy and Aeronautics.

1942 was a difficult year for both the rebels and the Germans. The Germans planned to strike strong pockets of resistance in eastern Bosnia, the Bosnian extreme and in Harvatia. The Italians decided to attack the rebels in Montenegro and Herzegovina. It should be noted that there were Chetniks in the punitive units, and this act of Mikhailovich subsequently greatly alienated him from the people. In total, the Nazis had 15 divisions.

Not far from the Italians, at the junction of Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, a strong group of partisans was concentrated in the amount of 5 proletarian brigades. According to the main plan, some of the partisans were distracted by large Italian troops located in Bosnia. At the same time, another large part of the partisans were liberating territories where the Italians had previously been located (a kind of diversionary maneuver). The partisans' plan was a success. In the area of ​​​​Kozar, the Titovitsy were blocked by superior enemy troops, but the partisans detained him until mid-July, and this was more than enough for the successful liberation of western Bosnia. As a result, the partisans advanced 250 km, liberating the cities of Kolnitz, Livno, Prazor, Posushje, Duvno, Mrkonich grad, Jajce, Bihac, Bosanska, Slunj, Krupa, Cazin, Velika Kladusa, Kotor Varos, Teslic, Pronyavor . They liberated a number of cities and destroyed 70 kilometers of railways. In November, in the city of Bihac, Tito decided to create the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia. In which there were already 38 brigades (well-established as operational units), with a total number of 150 thousand people. A little later, the brigades were reduced to 9 divisions, 2 corps, and there were still 36 partisan detachments left. These forces weakened and pinned down 32 occupying divisions throughout Yugoslavia.

In addition to the creation of the NOAU, the AVNOJ also created the “anti-fascist branch of the people’s liberation movement of Yugoslavia”, its main task was: “to present to the world as the supreme political representative of the partisans of Yugoslavia fighting against the German occupiers and internal enemies”, at the AVNOJ session the communists were completely branded activities of the Chetniks. The government of Nedić and other collaborators called on the people of Yugoslavia to fight even more decisively against the fascist invaders and local traitors. The welcoming telegram to the Soviet people said: “By the formation of the anti-fascist branch of the people’s liberation of Yugoslavia, the people of our country further confirm their unyielding will and determination, shoulder to shoulder with the peoples of the Soviet Union, to fight until the final victory over the common enemy.” Even at the AVNOJ session, the organic connection between the destinies of the peoples of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and the enormous importance of the heroic struggle of the Soviet people and their armed forces for the development of the anti-fascist movement in Yugoslavia were emphasized with all force. In a speech at the AVNOJ session, I. Brustito said that “Only faith, deep faith in the strength and power of the Soviet Union, in the strength and power of the Red Army, supported us at a time when we overcame all the difficulties that we went through during these 18 months.” .

1943 was a turning point in all respects,

In January of the same year, the 7th SS Division Prince Eugene, the 369th Division (Croatian Legion) and the Italian 5th Corps attacked Tito Grad (renamed Bihac). Tito's army retreated into central Bosnia with refugees and wounded, and in February launched a counter-offensive. It is worth noting the fact that, at the same time, Soviet troops defeated the Nazis at Stalingrad. Yugoslav partisans recalled that when the Nazis hung their noses after the Battle of Stalingrad, we grew wings.

Tito, going on the offensive in the area of ​​the Neretva River, threw out the Italians. But when they retreated, the Germans came to their aid and forced Tito to cross the Neretva. The whole piquancy of the situation was that when the partisans crossed to the other side, they ended up in the territory of the Chetniks, who subsequently threw them into the territory of Montenegro. The Allies, seeing what Tito’s movement was doing, decided to stop supplying the Chetniks and began to help the Titoites.

In May 1943, the Germans transferred the SS Brandenburg division, 1 rifle division and 2 Bulgarian infantry regiments to Yugoslavia and immediately put them into action. In Montenegro, the Germans surrounded 19 thousand partisans with a 120 thousand strong group, among whom was Tito. Having suffered heavy losses, the partisans were able to escape from the encirclement, but with very heavy fighting, and escape to eastern Bosnia. In July, the Nazis lost the Battle of Kursk, which subsequently had a positive effect on the morale of the partisans. The Allied landing on an island in Sicily also had a good influence on the spirit of the partisans. In August, the NOLA forces consisted of 57 brigades, 18 divisions, 4 corps and 70 partisan detachments.

After the surrender of Italy in September 1943, many weapons depots remained in the Italian occupation zone. Which immediately came under Tito's control. In addition to weapons, 18 thousand Yugoslav soldiers interported in Italy went over to the communist side, and Italian soldiers, from whom they later formed the Gribaldi brigades, later created 5 foreign brigades, with a total number of 250 thousand people.

In the fall of 1943, almost half of Yugoslavia was liberated by Tito's forces. The Germans, realizing the complexity of the situation, transferred a second tank army to the Balkans, after which there were 13 German divisions. At the end of October, the 5th SS Mountain Rifle Corps attacked the partisans in eastern Bosnia. The partisans defeated the Germans to smithereens, but it cost 11 thousand soldiers. Later, the Germans captured the Dalmatian island of Karchula, defeating 2 foreign brigades. The loss was very noticeable, since Allied transport ships passed through this island, supplying the partisans with weapons, ammunition and provisions.

In 1944, the Germans were in a difficult situation, resources were running out, and Soviet troops were advancing in the east. At the same time, the Germans fought defensive battles in Yugoslavia, just like everywhere else. The Germans made their last decisive attempt in the hope of turning the fighting in their favor in May 1944. According to the plan, the second tank army was supposed to distract the ground forces of the enemy troops, while the landing force captured the headquarters in Tito-Grad and eliminated the leaders of the NOAI. On May 25, heavy bombing began in the headquarters area. The tanks approached Tito-Grad, and a massive landing was dropped directly on the headquarters, but fortunately Tito knew in advance about the impending operation and took precautions to prevent the death of the leaders of the NOAU. Tito managed to escape to the island of Vis. A few hours after the evacuation of the supreme headquarters, between 4 and 5 o’clock in the morning on June 4, the Kupreshko field was occupied by enemy tank and motorized troops.

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