116-767: The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia , commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ , was a deliberative and legislative body that was established in Bihać , Yugoslavia , in November 1942. It was established by Josip Broz Tito , the leader of the Yugoslav Partisans , an armed resistance movement led by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia to resist the Axis occupation of
232-481: A royal free city and placed it under the direct authority of the Hungarian throne, with all rights and privileges pertaining thereto, which ensured its ability to develop completely independent from the political powers of local lords. The following mention in the charter of 1271 confirms that Bihać at that time enjoyed the status of a free city . At the head of the municipality was the town elder or major villae , who
348-576: A 10-day siege and from that time Bihać was the most important forts in Bosnia until the 19th century. Ottoman rule was briefly interrupted by Auguste Marmont , general-governor of Illyrian Provinces on 5 May 1810. He sought to prevent Ottomans from raiding French Croatia and finishing the Ottoman occupation of Cetin . After fulfilling these goals, he withdrew from Bihac. Ottoman rule in Bihac ended de facto after
464-796: A Crown Council to discuss the terms of the Pact and whether Yugoslavia should sign it. The Council's members were willing to agree, but only under the condition that Germany let its concessions be made public. Germany agreed and the Council approved the terms. Three cabinet ministers resigned on 20 March in protest of the impending signing of the Pact. The Germans reacted by imposing an ultimatum to accept by midnight 23 March or forfeit any further chances. Prince Paul and Cvetković obliged and accepted, despite believing German promises were "worthless". On 23 March, Germany's guarantee of Yugoslavia's territorial security and its promise not to use its railroads were publicised. In
580-562: A central political body for all Yugoslavia to direct all these committees [former local authorities] and to relieve the High Command of various political functions which had been constantly piling up through the force of circumstance. It was decided to convene an Antifascist Veće, or assembly, of the People's Liberation Movement of Yugoslavia. It will be remembered that the Veće met on November 26, 1942, in
696-440: A commitment to forming a democratic federation; and recognised the equal standing of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia in the future federation. Only Sandžak was listed with other lower-ranked regional entities, even though its land council was still included among the "seven basic bodies of people's government". Though the position of individual nations and regions were not further elaborated,
812-547: A corresponding body of Vojvodina met on 30 and 31 July; both bodies decided the region they represented would join Serbia. All of these decisions were confirmed at the third session of the AVNOJ in August 1945. By the end of the month, the AVNOJ discussed and decided on changes to the borders of all Yugoslav federal units based on corresponding pre-1941 and pre-1918 borders. The third session of
928-638: A coup but he was non-committal. Yugoslavia's situation worsened in October 1940 when Italy invaded Greece from Albania , and the initial failure of the Italians to make headway only increased Yugoslav apprehension that Germany would be forced to attack Greece in order to help Italy. In September and November 1940 respectively, Germany forced Hungary and Romania to accede to the Tripartite Pact . In early November 1940, Nedić, who believed that Germany would win
1044-544: A declaration of friendship, but Hitler insisted on accession to the Pact. Prince Paul warned that "I fear that if I follow your advice and sign the Tripartite Pact I shall no longer be here in six months." On 17 March, Prince Paul returned to Berchtesgaden and was told by Hitler that it was his last chance for Yugoslavia to join the Pact, renouncing this time the request for the use of Yugoslav railways in order to facilitate their accession. On 19 March, Prince Paul convened
1160-654: A defeat of Serbian nationalism . In the pre-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Serbia was in a dominant position. In comparison to the pre-war situation as well as the territory held by the Kingdom of Serbia before World War I , Serbia lost Macedonia and Montenegro. The AVNOJ established Bosnia and Herzegovina as an equal member of the Yugoslav federation, establishing and confirming borders separating Serbs living in those regions and in Croatia from Serbia. Those borders are sometimes referred to as
1276-532: A lesser extent during the early 1930s, intensified after the Anschluss in 1938. These combined intelligence operations were aimed at strengthening Yugoslavia and keeping her neutral while encouraging covert activities. From the outbreak of war British diplomacy focused on keeping Yugoslavia neutral, which the Ambassador Ronald Campbell apparently still believed possible. In mid-1940, German pressure on
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#17328489028161392-666: A long time, the Četniks were supported by the British , the United States , and the Yugoslavian royal government in exile of King Peter II. However, over the course of the war, effective power changed to the hands of Josip Broz Tito 's Communist Partisans . In 1943, Tito proclaimed the creation of the Democratic Federative Yugoslavia ( Demokratska federativna Jugoslavija ). The Allies gradually recognized Tito's forces as
1508-472: A loose Yugoslav federation where communist parties and bodies established in federal units would be sovereign. In contrast, Tito's vision for the federal units was as administrative divisions only. Hebrang was replaced in late 1944 by Vladimir Bakarić , who aligned the KPH's views on federalism to Tito's. The AVNOJ also denied the legitimacy of the Yugoslav government-in-exile and forbade the return of King Peter II to
1624-530: A military administration of Germany run by military governors, with a Serb civil government led by Milan Nedić . Nedić attempted to gain German recognition of Serbia as a successor state to Yugoslavia and claimed King Peter II as Serbia's monarch. Puppet states were also set up in Montenegro and southern Yugoslavia. Hungary occupied and annexed several northern regions . King Peter II , who had escaped into exile,
1740-619: A new Yugoslav Supreme Command in Cairo. The remnants of the Royal Yugoslav Army and Navy that had escaped the country were concentrated in Palestine and Egypt under his command. The government also appointed a special representative in the Middle East, Jovan Đonović, who was responsible for propaganda and communication with contacts in occupied Yugoslavia. Although the coup d'état had generated
1856-525: A political body solely to liberate the country and not to oppose the Yugoslav monarchy. The Soviets asked the AVNOJ not to openly advance a communist agenda in order to avoid antagonising the Western Allies, and cautioned against appointing Tito president of the AVNOJ. AVNOJ delegates represented specific parts of Yugoslavia: seventeen for Bosnia and Herzegovina , fifteen for Croatia , fourteen each for Serbia and Montenegro , eight for Slovenia , six for
1972-607: A political settlement with Vladko Maček , the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) leader. In January 1937, Prime Minister Milan Stojadinović met with Maček at Prince Paul's request, but Stojadinović was unable to contain Croat dissatisfaction with a Yugoslavia dominated by the Serbs. In 1938, the German annexation of Austria gave Yugoslavia a common border with Nazi -ruled Germany. That year,
2088-720: A significant amount of goodwill towards the post-coup government in the West, that spirit had evaporated with the ignominious defeat of the government and armed forces during the invasion. Much of the early effort of the Serb members of the cabinet was focussed on fixing the blame for the defeat on the Ustaše or even on Croats more generally. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was soon divided by the Axis into several entities. Germany , Italy , Hungary , and Bulgaria annexed some border areas outright. A Greater Germany
2204-402: A weak position, further eroded by political differences between ministers. The government, an extension of the post-coup government led by Simović, based its legitimacy on the 1931 Yugoslav Constitution , which made it responsible to the king. It lost three Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) ministers including the party's leader and the deputy prime minister Vladko Maček , who resigned and stayed in
2320-519: Is significant, due to the large and fertile soil. Bihać is twinned with: [REDACTED] Una-Sana [REDACTED] Central Bosnia [REDACTED] Posavina [REDACTED] Herzegovina-Neretva [REDACTED] Tuzla [REDACTED] West Herzegovina [REDACTED] Zenica-Doboj [REDACTED] Sarajevo [REDACTED] Bosnian Podrinje [REDACTED] Canton 10 Yugoslav government-in-exile The Government of
2436-605: The Dienststelle Ribbentrop , arrived in Zagreb in preparation for a regime change. Simović named Maček as Deputy Prime Minister once again in the new government, but Maček was reluctant and remained in Zagreb while he decided what to do. While he considered the coup had been an entirely Serbian initiative aimed at both Prince Paul and the Cvetković–Maček Agreement, he decided that he needed to show HSS support for
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#17328489028162552-606: The Bosnian War . According to the 2013 census , the city of Bihać has a population of 56,261 inhabitants. The ethnic composition of the municipality: In the 1991 population census in Bosnia and Herzegovina the ethnic composition of the municipality was 46,737 Bosniaks, 12,689 Serbs, 5,580 Croats, 4,356 Yugoslavs and 1,370 Others. Majority religion in Bihać city is Islam followed by Catholic and then Orthodox . The agricultural sector
2668-669: The Congress of Berlin . During World War II , the town was occupied by Axis troops and was included into the Pavelić's Independent State of Croatia (NDH). The fascist Ustashe regime committed the Genocide of the Serbs and the Holocaust . From July to September 1941, some 15,000 Serbs were massacred along with some Jews and Roma victims at the Garavice , an extermination location near Bihać. The town
2784-681: The Royal Italian Army and subsequently captured by the British. In January 1942, command of this unit passed to Lieutenant Colonel Miloje Dinić, and on 19 February to Lt. Col. Milan Prosen, after Dinić was implicated in the pro-Mirković mutiny. (He and 57 other Guards were interned by the British at the Torah camp in March, along with all 346 of the Yugoslav Air Force's ground personnel.) In late February,
2900-580: The Sandžak , and three for Vojvodina . This distribution reflected the number of Partisans from each part of the country taking part in the armed struggle. Some of the selected delegates, including all of those representing Slovenia and Vojvodina and twelve others, did not arrive. The Slovene delegation informed the AVNOJ of its support by telegram. Macedonia was not represented at all. The AVNOJ elected its presidency with Ivan Ribar as president and Pavle Savić and Nurija Pozderac as vice-presidents. Ribar had been
3016-710: The Supreme Headquarters of the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia with Tito as commander-in-chief on 27 June 1941 and the Partisans waged war against the occupying powers until 1945.d. King Peter II and the government fled Yugoslavia in April 1941 when it became apparent the royal army would not be able to defend the country. The decision to abandon organised armed resistance put the Yugoslav government-in-exile in
3132-743: The Syria and Lebanon campaign , while Nebojša undertook training exercises. Ten floatplanes of the Naval Air Force also escaped. On 3 June 1941, eight Dornier Do 22kj and two Rogožarski SIM-XIV-H formed the 2 (Yugoslav) Squadron of the No. 230 Squadron RAF , based in Aboukir . They participated in the Battle of Crete and patrolled the African coast until the unit was disbanded on 23 April 1942. In late 1943, Commander J. Saksida
3248-933: The Takoradi air route . On 2 July 1942, the interned Yugoslav Air Force personnel and Guards in Alexandria were formed into the 244 Temporary Battalion of the King's Own Royal Regiment , but after a pro-Tito mutiny in November 1943, the unit was disbanded. Its personnel were transferred to the diminished Royal Guards, while 224 of the Air Force men joined the Balkan Air Force in Libya. Joined by Partisan volunteers, these men formed No. 352 Squadron RAF on 22 April 1944 and No. 352 Squadron on 1 July. They mainly flew Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires in operations over Yugoslavia in support of
3364-748: The United Kingdom , Alexander Cadogan , the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs , penned in his diary that the "Yugoslavs seem to have sold their souls to the Devil. All these Balkan peoples are trash." On 25 March, the pact was signed at the Belvedere palace in Vienna . German radio later announced that "the Axis Powers would not demand the right of passage of troops or war materials," while
3480-617: The United Kingdom . Hence, it is also referred to as the "Government in London" ( Vlada u Londonu , Влада у Лондону ). It was dissolved in March 1945. According to economics professor and historian Jozo Tomasevich , the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was politically weak from the moment of its creation in December 1918, and remained so during the interwar period mainly due to rigid centralism combined with strong ethno-religious identities. In particular,
3596-657: The Western Allies ; Soviet leader Joseph Stalin did not wish to antagonise the Allies by supporting the Partisans. Shortly before the Bihać session, Tito added the expression "Anti-Fascist" to the original name of the AVNOJ to emphasise its temporary and anti-Axis nature. These steps were made in response to Soviet positions expressed in correspondence in July–November 1942 between the KPJ and Moscow. The Comintern urged Tito to establish
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3712-572: The Yalta Conference , Churchill and Stalin discussed the decisions made by the AVNOJ; they agreed to demand ratification of all AVNOJ's decisions by the future Yugoslav Constitutional Assembly. In February 1945, the presidency of the AVNOJ concluded that the Sandžak should not be one of federal units of Yugoslavia. In turn, the Anti-Fascist Council for the People's Liberation of Sandžak divided
3828-399: The breakup of Yugoslavia . Serbian irredentism across the AVNOJ borders was a contributing factor in the 1990 Serb revolt in Croatia and the 1992–1995 Bosnian War . The second session of the AVNOJ was celebrated in post-war Yugoslavia as the birth of the country and the event was commemorated annually on 29 and 30 November as a two-day national holiday. Museums have been established in
3944-423: The "AVNOJ borders". In 1945, this situation caused concerns among Serbs who feared being divided among multiple Yugoslav constituent republics. In response, Tito and the Yugoslav regime employed rhetoric designed to diminish the apparent significance of the intra-Yugoslav borders. Although the AVNOJ borders were originally drawn as administrative boundaries, they gained importance with subsequent decentralisation and
4060-646: The AVNOJ also drew a response from the Chetnik leadership. At the Ba Congress held in January 1944, they proposed an alternative solution for the post-war government. The congress also condemned the AVNOJ in line with the contemporary Chetnik propaganda as a product of collaboration of Communists and Ustaše against Serbs. On 21 November 1944, the presidency of the AVNOJ declared the Germans of Yugoslavia to be collectively guilty for
4176-418: The AVNOJ delegates were non-Communists so the presidency included some non-Communist members of the pre-war HSS and the Independent Democratic Party . The NKOJ was confirmed in the role of the government. Tito was appointed the president of the NKOJ and had three vice-presidents. Two were KPJ members Edvard Kardelj and Vladislav S. Ribnikar [ sr ] , and the remaining one was Božidar Magovac of
4292-423: The AVNOJ determined there would be six units in the federation and defined their borders. It also took over the position of the legitimate ruling body of Yugoslavia from the government-in-exile in dealings with the Allies. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia acceded to the Tripartite Pact on 25 March 1941 under pressure from the Nazi Germany . The latter sought to protect its southern flank before the planned invasion of
4408-412: The AVNOJ proclaimed itself Yugoslavia's new legislative body and decided that it should be a multi-ethnic federal state . By 1944, the Western Allies and the Yugoslav government-in-exile recognised the AVNOJ as the all-Yugoslav legislative body. The third session of the AVNOJ was convened in preparation of the Constituent Assembly when the Yugoslav Parliament was convened again in 1945. Decisions of
4524-413: The AVNOJ was held in Belgrade between 7 and 26 August 1945 as a part of preparation of the Constitutional Assembly. It was again presided over by Ribar, and held in the Yugoslav Parliament building . A parliamentary election was held on 11 November and the Constitutional Assembly convened on 29 November 1945. The Assembly went on to ratify the decisions previously made by the AVNOJ. The AVNOJ resulted in
4640-529: The Army, Navy and Air Forces. At the same time, the government promoted Mihailović to Army General and formally renamed the Chetniks the "Yugoslav Army in the Homeland". In June 1943, Jovanović resigned, unable to reunite the ministers, and his replacement Miloš Trifunović also resigned after less than two months. In August, Božidar Purić was appointed the prime minister of a largely administrative government mostly composed of civil servants, although Mihailović retained his ministerial position. In November 1942,
4756-548: The Axis and prepared to face war with Germany, those who advocated peace with Germany, and those that were uncommitted. The Axis invasion of Yugoslavia began on 6 April. The bombing of Belgrade forced the government to seek shelter outside the city. From there, King Peter and Simović planned to leave for exile. Maček, refusing to leave the country, resigned on 7 April and designated Juraj Krnjević as his successor. Maček returned to Zagreb. Three other ministers also refused to leave Yugoslavia: Ivan Andres and Bariša Smoljan of
Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-403: The Bulgarian-Yugoslav border. On 4 March, Prince Paul secretly met with Hitler in Berchtesgaden and was again pressured to sign the Pact. Hitler did not request troop passage through Yugoslavia and offered the Greek city of Salonika . A time limit for Prince Paul, who was uncommitted and "wavering", wasn't set. Prince Paul, in the middle of a cabinet crisis, offered a nonaggression pact and
4988-407: The Croat leader Maček. While these negotiations were ongoing, Italy invaded Albania . In August 1939, the Cvetković–Maček Agreement was concluded to create the Banovina of Croatia , which was to be a relatively autonomous political unit within Yugoslavia. Separatist Croats considered the Agreement did not go far enough, while many Serbs believed it went too far. The Cvetković-led cabinet formed in
5104-486: The HSS and Kulenović of the JMO. The government met on Yugoslav soil for the last time on 13 April near Pale . From there they travelled to Nikšić where they were flown out of the country to Athens. King Peter, all the main leaders of the coup d'état, most of Simović's cabinet and a number of government officials flew out of Yugoslavia to Greece on 14–15 April. After a brief stop in Athens, they travelled on to Jerusalem where they were temporarily accommodated. On 21 June,
5220-510: The HSS. Finally, the AVNOJ formally praised and thanked Tito's Supreme Headquarters, and the Partisan forces for their armed struggle. On 15 January 1944, the AVNOJ introduced multilingualism to its proceedings, deciding to publish its official work in Serbian , Croatian , Slovene and Macedonian . In February, the AVNOJ and the NKOJ adopted a new emblem of the future federation at Tito's request. The emblem consisted of five lit torches burning as one flame representing five united nations; this
5336-422: The King was not authorised to return to the country until a plebiscite was held about the monarchy. After Šubašić returned to London, the king rejected the agreement and replaced Šubašić on 23 January 1945. But under British pressure, the king was compelled to call him back six days later and to accept the principle of a regency. Two weeks later, Šubašić and his ministers went to Belgrade. A new coalition government
5452-402: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Exile ( Serbo-Croatian : Vlada Kraljevine Jugoslavije u egzilu , Влада Краљевине Југославије у егзилу ) was an official government-in-exile of Yugoslavia , headed by King Peter II . It evacuated from Belgrade in April 1941, after the Axis invasion of the country , and went first to Greece , then to Palestine , then to Egypt , and finally, in June 1941, to
5568-406: The Liberation of Yugoslavia (NKOJ), an all-Yugoslav executive body, appointed to perform the role of an interim government. The AVNOJ reconvened in Jajce on 29 and 30 November 1943; Ribar chaired the meeting as president of the executive council. The KPJ originally planned for the second session of the AVNOJ to be attended by 250 delegates elected by regional land councils. The number of delegates
5684-411: The Minister of Education, Bogoljub Kujundžić . The five were: the Slovene senate leader, Anton Korošec ; the leader of the Yugoslav Muslim Organization (JMO), Mehmed Spaho ; another JMO politician, Džafer Kulenović ; the Slovene Franc Snoj ; and the Serb Dragiša Cvetković . Prince Paul then dismissed Stojadinović and appointed Cvetković in his place, with a direction that he reach an agreement with
5800-417: The NKOJ and his elevation to the rank of Marshal. He thought that this would signal to the Western Allies that the KPJ was actually fighting for a revolution. Stalin was further angered by the fact that he received no prior notice of the decisions. To Stalin's surprise, the Western Allies did not strongly oppose the AVNOJ's decisions. The flow of British equipment and arms to the Partisans, which had started in
5916-424: The Partisans captured Bihać and secured control over a large part of western Bosnia , Dalmatia and Lika , which they called the Bihać Republic . On 26 and 27 November, the pan-Yugoslav Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ) was established in the town at the initiative of Tito and the KPJ. At its founding session, the AVNOJ adopted the principle of a multi-ethnic federal state as
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#17328489028166032-427: The SOE. The military conspirators brought to power the 17-year-old king, whom they declared to be of age to assume the throne, and a government of national unity was formed with Simović as prime minister and Maček and Slobodan Jovanović as his vice-premiers. In the wake of the coup, Simović's new government refused to ratify Yugoslavia's signing of the Tripartite Pact, but did not openly rule it out. Hitler, angered by
6148-455: The Soviet Union , while ensuring the availability of transport routes and economic resources in the Balkans where the Greco-Italian War was in progress. In response to the pact, Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces generals staged a coup d'état deposing the government and Prince Regent Paul . Royal Yugoslav Air Force General Dušan Simović became the Prime Minister and the regency was abolished by declaring Peter II of Yugoslavia of age and thus
6264-442: The Tripartite Pact, as long as the national interests of the country were protected. Von Heeren returned to his office to discover a message from Berlin instructing that contact with Yugoslav officials was to be avoided, and he was recalled to Berlin. No reply was given to Ninčić. On 2 April orders were issued for the evacuation of the German embassy, and the German chargé d'affaires advised the diplomats of friendly countries to leave
6380-406: The Tripartite Pact. He also pushed for the demobilisation of the Royal Yugoslav Army , and the granting of permission to transport German supplies through Yugoslavia's territory, along with greater economic cooperation. In exchange he offered a port near the Aegean Sea and territorial security. On 1 March, Yugoslavia was further isolated when Bulgaria signed the Pact and the German army arrived at
6496-408: The basis for the country's future government but did not officially determine what system of government would be implemented after the war. There was a degree of ambiguity regarding the number of future federal units and whether they would all have equal status within the federation. The AVNOJ also did not mention the international recognition of the London-based Yugoslav government-in-exile, backed by
6612-557: The battalion was 850 strong and well-trained. It was attached to the 25th Brigade , 10th (Indian) Division . Before the end of the year, monarchist and communist (pro-Tito) factions had appeared in the ranks; numbers dwindled. Barely the size of a company, a rump unit was sent to the Italian theatre with its brigade in March 1944. It was disbanded soon after, despite the recruitment of 2,000 captured Slovene conscripts assembled in Algiers by Prosen. The British refused to ferry these men to Cairo, so they were assigned labour duties. After
6728-455: The buildings which hosted the first and the second sessions of the AVNOJ. Biha%C4%87 Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina , an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina . It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina , in the Bosanska Krajina region. In 2013 its population was 56,261. According to documents and historical sources,
6844-419: The commander of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force , Lieutenant General Dušan Simović , was involved in three coup plots—two early in the year driven by Serb opposition to the concordat with the Vatican and a later one sparked by dissatisfaction with results of the December elections . On the evening of 3 February 1939, five ministers resigned from the government in response to a Serb nationalist speech made by
6960-487: The country during World War II . The AVNOJ reconvened in Jajce in 1943 and in Belgrade in 1945, shortly after the war in Europe ended . Between the sessions, it operated through its presidency, its executive council, and the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia . The committee was granted authority normally wielded by cabinets . While Tito presided over the committee, the AVNOJ sessions and its presidency were chaired by Ivan Ribar . The second session of
7076-417: The country until its people could decide on the future of the monarchy after the war. It also declared all agreements previously concluded by the government-in-exile to be subject to review and approval, renegotiation or cancellation while declaring any further agreements concluded by the government-in-exile void. Furthermore, the AVNOJ declared that Yugoslavia had never accepted the 1941 partition. Finally, Tito
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#17328489028167192-497: The country. On 3 April, Führer Directive 26 was issued, detailing the plan of attack and command structure for the invasion. Hungary and Bulgaria were promised the Bačka and Yugoslav Macedonia respectively and the Romanian army was asked not to take part, holding its position at the countries' border. Internal conflict in Hungary over the invasion plans between the army and Teleki led to the Prime Minister's suicide that same evening. Also on 3 April, Edmund Veesenmayer , representing
7308-426: The country. He was a positivist , non-romantic liberal who was opposed to both fascism and communism, but was not directly connected to any political party. Simović was dropped from the cabinet, as was Ilić, who had been Minister of the Army. The latter was replaced by Mihailović, but because he was in Yugoslavia, the government in London was now in the hands of civilians. Ivan Šubašić took office on 1 June 1944. He
7424-464: The country. The HSS thus split and lost influence. Džafer Kulenović , the only minister drawn from the Yugoslav Muslim Organization , also resigned. The government-in-exile was split along an ethnic line separating the HSS from a bloc of Serb ministers drawn from several disunited parties. The divisions deepened because the HSS ministers were reluctant to publicly discuss and condemn Ustaše atrocities against Serbs in late 1941. In January 1942, Simović
7540-441: The coup and anti-German incidents in Belgrade, gathered his senior officers and ordered that Yugoslavia be crushed without delay. On the same day as the coup he issued Führer Directive 25 which called for Yugoslavia to be treated as a hostile state. Italy was to be included in the operations and the directive made specific mention that "[e]fforts will be made to induce Hungary and Bulgaria to take part in operations by offering them
7656-401: The coup, although it made a significant contribution to the mass street protests in many cities that signalled popular support for the coup after it occurred. The coup was successful and overthrew the three-member regency as well as the government of Cvetković. The coup had been planned for several months, but the signing of the Tripartite Pact spurred the organisers to carry it out, encouraged by
7772-457: The democratic system of government. In 1929, democracy was abandoned and a royal dictatorship was established by King Alexander . The king attempted to weaken the ethnic divisions in the country by creating administrative divisions ( Serbo-Croatian Latin : banovine ) based on rivers rather than traditional regions. By 1933, however, discontent in the largely Croat -populated Sava Banovina had developed into full-blown civil disorder, which
7888-400: The end of 1941, the armed resistance spread to all areas of the country except Macedonia . Building experience in clandestine operation across the country, the KPJ proceeded to organise the Yugoslav Partisans as resistance fighters led by Josip Broz Tito . The KPJ believed that the German invasion of the Soviet Union had created favourable conditions for an uprising. The KPJ politburo founded
8004-403: The enemy. After Italy defected to the Allies and Western Allied forces advanced towards Yugoslavia, Tito announced another session of the AVNOJ. Since the previous session, the Western Allies began to support the Partisans, and Tito considered a British landing in Yugoslavia likely. In October 1943, just before the second session, the KPJ central committee established the National Committee for
8120-459: The executive council of the AVNOJ announced the "People's Liberation Loan", an attempt to raise half a billion kuna for the Partisan cause. The NDH's Ustaše regime launched a propaganda campaign in November 1942 to discredit the AVNOJ and portray the Partisans' struggle as pro-Serb and anti-Croat. The campaign, which declined after March 1943, involved the publication of brochures and newspaper articles as well as several rallies. Serb participation in
8236-419: The fall of Yugoslavia, 105 personnel of the Royal Yugoslav Navy , under Commander Z. V. Adamić , joined the Mediterranean Fleet at Alexandria in Egypt. Two motor torpedo boats (MTBs), Durmitor and Kajmakčalan , and a submarine, Nebojša , ran the gauntlet of the Adriatic, evading the Italian Navy , and arrived in Suda Bay on 22–23 April before proceeding to Alexandria. The MTBs participated in
8352-647: The first President of the Constitutional Assembly of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , which was later renamed Yugoslavia. The AVNOJ also appointed an executive council presided by Ribar. It had three vice-presidents— Edvard Kocbek , Nurija Pozderac , and Pavle Savić —and six other members: Mladen Iveković (social affairs), Veselin Masleša (propaganda), Simo Milošević (health), Ivan Milutinović (economy), Mile Peruničić (internal affairs), and Vlada Zečević (religious affairs). The executive council
8468-509: The first medieval urban settlements and towns around the Una river , began to appear in the middle of the 13th century. Bihać, as the centre of Pounje, was first mentioned on 26 February 1260, in the charter of Hungarian King Bela IV , and was described as a town built on the river's Island of St. Ladislav, owned by the Benedictine abbey of Topusko . Just two years later, in 1262, Bela proclaimed Bihać
8584-513: The government over his Radio Velebit program based in Italy. On 5 April the new cabinet met for the first time. While the first two conditions set by Maček were met, the appointment of regents was impracticable given Prince Peter had been declared to be of age. Involving representatives from across the political spectrum, Simović's cabinet was "extremely disunited and weak". It included members who fell into three groups; those who were strongly opposed to
8700-568: The government resulted in the resignation of the Minister of the Interior , Dr. Stanoje Mihaldžić, who had been organising covert anti-Axis activities. In mid to late 1940, British intelligence became aware of coup plotting, but managed to side-track the plans, preferring to continue working through Prince Paul. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) office in Belgrade went to significant lengths to support
8816-548: The government-in-exile recognised the AVNOJ in return for the NKOJ's pledge to postpone the decision on the constitution of Yugoslavia until after the war. Tito and Šubašić concluded another agreement on 1 November in Belgrade ; Šubašić confirmed AVNOJ as Yugoslavia's legislative body and agreed to form a new 18-person government. Six of the members would come from the government-in-exile and twelve would be NKOJ members. The second session of
8932-593: The handover to Tito's forces, which occurred in August. The negotiations for the transfer of the vessels under British command took place on Vis . The royal representative was Captain Ivan Kern , whom Tito later promoted to rear admiral. The eleven aircraft of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force to make it to Alexandria were requisitioned by the British. Several Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s piloted by Yugoslavs joined No. 117 Squadron RAF and flew transport missions along
9048-572: The island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea in order to meet with Tito and try to form a coalition government. Tito agreed to postpone a decision on the form of government until the end of the war, and Šubašić, for his part, recognised that only the partisan administration of the Yugoslav territory would receive support. He also promised that the government would include only people who had not previously opposed Tito and his organisation, and that it would concentrate on securing international support. The agreement
9164-603: The king and most of the cabinet arrived in London. Several members of the cabinet that left Yugoslavia did not travel to London, and ended up in the United States or Canada. Some politicians and government officials travelled to Cape Town, South Africa, where they constituted a reserve government of sorts. Bogoljub Ilić , who remained Minister of the Army and Navy and also became Chief of the General Staff in place of Simović, established
9280-507: The king dismissed the prime minister, Ilić and Mirković, provoking a mutiny by officers supportive of the Air Force general. The king then appointed Colonel Dragoljub Mihailović , leader of the Četniks in Yugoslavia, as minister and chief of staff to replace Ilić in absentia ; he then appointed General Petar Živković to act as Mihailović's deputy in London and Cairo. Mihailović was dismissed in August 1944 as Allied support shifted away from
9396-504: The king even though he was only seventeen. On 6 April 1941, the Axis powers invaded and quickly occupied Yugoslavia . Parts of the country were annexed by its neighbours, and the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was carved out as a Ustaše -ruled Axis puppet state . With the country's defeat imminent, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) instructed its 8,000 members to stockpile weapons in anticipation of armed resistance. By
9512-602: The new government and that joining it was necessary. On 4 April he travelled to Belgrade and accepted the post, on several conditions; that the new government respect the Cvetković–Maček Agreement and expand the autonomy of the Banovina Croatia in some respects, that the new government respect the country's accession to the Tripartite Pact, and that one Serb and one Croat temporarily assume the role of regents. That same day exiled Croatian politician and Ustaše leader Ante Pavelić called for Croats to start an uprising against
9628-451: The official document mentioned only troops and omitted mention of war materials. Likewise the pledge to give Salonika to Yugoslavia does not appear on the document. On the following day, Serb demonstrators gathered on the streets of Belgrade shouting "Better the grave than a slave, better a war than the pact" (Serbo-Croatian Latin: Bolje grob nego rob, Bolje rat nego pakt ). A coup d'état occurred on 27 March 1941 in Belgrade . The coup
9744-431: The opposition to the anti-Axis Cvetković government, which undermined the hard-won balance in Yugoslav politics that government represented. SOE Belgrade was entangled with pro-Serb policies and interests, and disregarded or underestimated warnings from SOE Zagreb and British diplomats in that city, who better understood the situation in Yugoslavia as a whole. In October 1940, Simović was again approached by plotters planning
9860-473: The prospect of regaining Bačka and Macedonia". Furthermore, the directive stated that "[i]nternal tensions in Yugoslavia will be encouraged by giving political assurances to the Croats". On 30 March, Foreign Minister Momčilo Ninčić summoned the German ambassador Viktor von Heeren and handed him a statement which declared that the new government would accept all its international obligations, including accession to
9976-609: The regime countered with a series of assassinations and arrests of key Croatian opposition figures. When Alexander was assassinated in Marseille in 1934 by the Croatian nationalists, his cousin Prince Paul took over the regency , ruling on behalf of Alexander's 11-year-old son, Peter II . In the aftermath of Alexander's assassination, Yugoslavia was isolated both militarily and diplomatically. Prince Paul repeatedly attempted to negotiate
10092-474: The region along the pre-1912 Serbia – Montenegro border and dissolved itself. The Anti-Fascist Parliament for the People's Liberation of Serbia (ASNOS) held its first regular session between 7 and 9 April, and voted in favour of annexation of Vojvodina, Kosovo and a part of Sandžak. The People's Liberation Council for the Kosovo-Metohija Oblasts held its first regular session between 8 and 10 July, and
10208-468: The religious primacy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in national affairs and discrimination against Roman Catholics and Muslims compounded the dissatisfaction of the non- Serb population. The kingdom's internal politics became ethnically polarised, a phenomenon that has been referred to as the "national question" in Yugoslavia. Until 1929, this state of affairs was maintained by subverting
10324-695: The second half of 1943 on the basis of the Churchill's Mediterranean strategy , continued. Only days after the AVNOJ's second session, the Allies recognised the Partisans as an Allied force at the Tehran Conference , and cut off further aid to the Chetniks. On British Prime Minister Winston Churchill 's urging, the government-in-exile led by Ivan Šubašić and the Tito-led NKOJ signed the Treaty of Vis on 16 June 1944;
10440-532: The second session of the AVNOJ determined the type of federal system to be introduced in Yugoslavia, modelling it on the Soviet Union. Tito's views prevailed over the model adopted by the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia and the Communist Party of Croatia (KPH), a nominally independent part of the KPJ established in Croatia. The KPH leader Andrija Hebrang advocated
10556-604: The stronger opposition to the German occupation. They began to send most of their aid to Tito's Partisans, rather than to the Royalist Četniks . On 16 June 1944, the Tito–Šubašić agreement was signed, merging the de facto and the de jure governments of Yugoslavia. During his exile, King Peter II was educated at Cambridge University , served in the Royal Air Force and married Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark , who
10672-679: The threat of an attack by the Germans from Bulgarian territory, and the unwillingness of the British to promise practical military support. By late 1940, British policy towards the government of Yugoslavia had shifted from acceptance of Yugoslav neutrality to pressuring the country for support in the war against Germany. In January 1941, the US placed additional pressure on Prince Paul, urging non-cooperation with Germany. On 14 February, Adolf Hitler met with Cvetković and Yugoslav foreign minister Aleksandar Cincar-Marković , and requested Yugoslavia's accession to
10788-514: The town of Bihać and was attended by delegates representing all the peoples of Yugoslavia. Far-reaching historical decisions were adopted and an executive committee was elected. The Veće represented all anti-fascist parties and united all political trends, regardless of religion and nationality. The Veće was charged with mobilizing all means for helping the People's Liberation Army and with continuing to organize People's Liberation Committees, not only in liberated sectors but in territory still occupied by
10904-531: The unit was ordered to relieve the Czechoslovak contingent at the siege of Tobruk , but was diverted to join the 11th Brigade , 4th (Indian) Division in Libya. In April, it retreated to Halfaya Pass and then to Mersa Matruh . In July, it was reassigned to the 9th (British) Army in Mandatory Palestine to guard the oil refinery at Haifa . In January 1943, when Lt. Col. Franc Stropnik assumed command,
11020-424: The uprisings was highlighted while Croat or Bosnian Muslim AVNOJ participants were either not mentioned, labelled traitors, or misnamed. Ribar's name was misrepresented as Slovene -sounding "Janez Ribar". Tito describes the purpose of AVNOJ in his work The Yugoslav peoples fight for freedom in 1944: In the autumn of 1942, when the greater part of Yugoslavia had been liberated, the necessity arose for establishing
11136-569: The wake of the agreement was resolutely anti-Axis, and included five members of the HSS, with Maček as deputy Prime Minister. By the time of the German invasion of Poland and subsequent outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the Yugoslav Intelligence Service was cooperating with British intelligence agencies on a large scale across the country. This cooperation, which had existed to
11252-660: The war and enemies of Yugoslavia. Germans in Partisan-controlled areas were interned. Prior to 1944, about half a million Germans lived in Yugoslavia. About 240,000 were evacuated before the arrival of the Red Army , another 150,000 were later deported to the USSR to work as forced labour, 50,000 died in Yugoslav-run labor camps and 15,000 were killed by the Partisans. Most of the others were expelled from Yugoslavia and German property
11368-505: The war, proposed to the government that it abandon its neutral stance and join the Axis as soon as possible in the hope that Germany would protect Yugoslavia against its "greedy neighbors". A few days later Prince Paul, having realised the impossibility of following Nedić's advice, replaced him. Germany's planned invasion of Greece would be simplified if Yugoslavia could be neutralised. Over the next few months, Prince Paul and his ministers laboured under overwhelming German diplomatic pressure,
11484-554: The Četniks. On 7 March 1945, the king dissolved the government and disbanded the armed forces, proclaiming Tito's Partisans on the ground to be the sole legitimate government and military. The first unit of the Royal Yugoslav Army to be formed in exile was the 1st Battalion, Royal Yugoslav Guards, under Major Živan Knežević. It comprised a headquarters and four rifle companies (A, B, C and D). Of its original complement of 505 men, 411 were Slovenes who had been conscripted into
11600-552: Was appointed to negotiate with Tito because of his special position in the Croatian Peasant Party, his loyalty to the Karađorđević dynasty , his moderation in comparison with other Croatian politicians, and his experience in difficult situations. Nevertheless, his nomination after months of British pressure on the king depended on the elimination of Mihailovich from the cabinet. Ten days after his nomination, Šubašić fled to
11716-406: Was awarded the rank of Marshal of Yugoslavia . The AVNOJ elected a new presidency consisting of sixty-three members, chaired by Ribar. Five vice-presidents were appointed: Antun Augustinčić , Moša Pijade , Josip Rus [ sl ] , Dimitar Vlahov , and Marko Vujačić [ sr ] . Radonja Golubović and Rodoljub Čolaković were appointed secretaries of the presidency. Some of
11832-545: Was confiscated. By the time of 1948 census , fewer than 56,000 ethnic Germans remained. At Allied suggestion, in February 1945 the AVNOJ was expanded to include members drawn from Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo - Metohija , which had not been represented at its second session. The AVNOJ was expanded again in late March to include 54 members of the pre-war Yugoslav Parliament as required by the Tito–Šubašić Agreement. At
11948-587: Was expanded to include most of Drava Banovina . Italy added the Governorship of Dalmatia and more than a third of western Drava Banovina to the Italian Empire . An expanded Croatia was recognized by the Axis as the Independent State of Croatia ( Nezavisna Država Hrvatska , NDH). On paper, the NDH was a kingdom, and the 4th Duke of Aosta was crowned as King Tomislav II of Croatia. The rump Serbian territory became
12064-536: Was formed on 7 March, in which Tito controlled 20 ministers of 28. This ended the government in exile. In exile, the Royal Yugoslav Forces were initially under the command of General Bogoljub Ilić as minister of the Army, Navy and Air Force and chief of the General Staff, and General Borivoje Mirković as commander of the Air Force. There were initially about 1,000 men in these forces in Cairo . On 12 January 1942,
12180-403: Was framed by sheaves, topped by a red five-pointed star, and crossed by a blue stripe bearing the name of the country, Democratic Federal Yugoslavia . Stalin was enraged by the AVNOJ's rejection of Soviet advice in its establishment of the NKOJ as an interim government and explicit repudiation of the government-in-exile. Stalin was specifically worried about Tito's assumption of the presidency of
12296-515: Was given command of a torpedo boat flotilla based at Malta , which included some former Yugoslav MTBs that had been captured by Italy in 1941 and then surrendered to the Allies after Italy's armistice , as well as three minelayers: Melinje , Miljet and Villa . The Yugoslav Navy was also operating eight former American PT boats and, after 11 January 1944, the ex- HMS Mallow (renamed Nada ), out of Livorno in Italy. In March 1945, all Royal Yugoslav vessels assembled at Ancona in preparation for
12412-421: Was not formally considered a government, and Tito told the Bihać session of the AVNOJ that a government could not be formed for international reasons. Instead, he described the executive council as a political instrument to mobilise people. After the Bihać meeting, land councils were established as political bodies representative of what was expected to be individual parts of the future federation. In January 1943,
12528-428: Was often called a judge, and whose decision could only be changed by the king. Bihać also had a curia or magistrates , an assembly of local citizens who took the oath of office for this duty, and notaries who kept court and other civil records. In 1530 Austria sent troops to defend seven key strongholds in Croatia, one of them was Bihać and another the nearby Ripač. The Ottomans occupied Bihać in 1592 after
12644-457: Was planned and conducted by a group of pro-Western Serb -nationalist Royal Yugoslav Air Force and Royal Guard officers formally led by Simović. For practical purposes several others performed leadership roles in the conduct of the coup. Some other civilian leaders were probably aware of the coup before it was launched and moved to support it once it occurred, but they were not among the organisers. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia played no part in
12760-510: Was replaced by Slobodan Jovanović and his decision to support the Chetniks widened the rift with the HSS ministers. Jovanović saw the Chetniks as a guerrilla force promising the restoration of the monarchy after the war. In combination with fear of communism, this led him to ignore information about Chetnik collaboration with the Axis powers, and appoint their leader Draža Mihailović the Minister of
12876-467: Was signed on 16 June with no consultation by Šubašić or with the king. After his return, Šubašić formed a government of five ministers, with two of them proposed by Tito. Mihailovich lost his position as war minister. He refused to recognise the new government and continued to proclaim his loyalty to the king. On 12 September, the king went on the radio to ask people to support Tito. Šubašić met with Tito in Belgrade on 1 November. Under their agreement,
12992-582: Was still recognized as king of the whole state of Yugoslavia by the Allies . Starting on 13 May 1941, the largely Serbian " Yugoslav Army of the Fatherland " ( Jugoslovenska vojska u otadžbini , or JVUO, or Četniks ) resisted the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia (the Chetniks later collaborated with the Axis). This anti-German and anti-communist resistance movement was commanded by Royalist General Draža Mihailović . For
13108-773: Was subsequently increased by 53 to include delegates from Macedonia and the Sandžak. In total, 78 delegates were to be elected in Croatia, 53 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 53 in Serbia, 42 in Slovenia, 42 in Macedonia, 16 in Montenegro, 11 in Sandžak, and 8 in Vojvodina. Of the planned 303, 142 delegates arrived by the start of the session and 163 deputy delegates also attended the session. No deputies from Sandžak or Macedonia were present. The Main National Liberation Committee for Serbia
13224-577: Was the capital of a short-lived territory, the Bihać Republic , for two months in late 1942 and early 1943, until it was recaptured by German forces. From 1943 Judita Alargić served near to Bihać as an instructor of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Bihać returned to Bosnian territory on 28 March 1945. Bihać was besieged for three years from 1992 to 1995 during
13340-463: Was the only child of the late King Alexander I of Greece and Princess Aspasia of Greece and Denmark . Jovanović took office as prime minister on 11 January 1942 with the dismissal of Simović. His original appointment as vice-premier in the Simović government had been in recognition of the respect he engendered, and because he was seen as a Serb counterpart to Maček as an overall leader of the Serbs across
13456-490: Was unable to hold elections because of the German occupation of Serbia . Instead, the Serbian delegates were appointed by individual Partisan units originally from Serbia; as a result, eastern Yugoslavia was underrepresented. The AVNOJ made several decisions of the highest political and constitutional significance. It declared itself the supreme legislative body in the country and the representation of Yugoslav sovereignty; affirmed
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