Royal Yugoslav Army in Slovenia Blue Guard | |
---|---|
![]() Chetnik flag inscription reads: "For king and fatherland; freedom/death" | |
Active | 1941ā1945 |
Country | Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Type | Guerilla organization |
Size | 300ā600 |
Part of | Yugoslav Army in the: Homeland (Chetniks) |
Motto(s) | Svoboda ali smrt |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
1941 | Jaka AvÅ”iÄ |
1941ā44 | Karl Novak |
1944ā45 | Ivan Prezelj |
The Blue Guard (Slovene: Plava garda), also known as theāāSlovene Chetniks (Slovene: Slovenski Äetniki, Serbo-Croatian: SlovenaÄki Äetnici), was a Slovenian anti-communist militia, initially under the leadership of Major Karl Novak and later Ivan Prezelj. Their official name was the Royal Yugoslav Army in Slovenia (Serbo-Croatian: Kraljevska jugoslovenska vojska u Sloveniji).
The detachments under Novak's command were part of the wider "Yugoslav Army in the Homeland" (JVuO) that included units from all over Yugoslavia that swore allegianceāāto Chetnik leader Draža MihailoviÄ. The ranks were drawn from Slovene officers in the pre-war Royal Yugoslav Army (JV). At first, the JV units in Slovenia that offered resistance were under the command of Jaka AvÅ”iÄ until his mid-1941 transferāāto the Yugoslav Partisans. Based on direct appointment of Draža MihailoviÄ, the commander of Slovenian Chetniks was Karel Novak. Slovenian Chetnik units included Styrian Chetnik detachment that was, "according to some estimates," the only anti-Communist military unit that consistently attacked Axis occupiers throughout the "war." The detachment under Melaher's command had 200 men.
In 1942, the bulk of members joined the Legion of Death.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Slovenski_%C4%8Detniki.jpg/220px-Slovenski_%C4%8Detniki.jpg)
When Karel Novak resigned in 1944, because the defeat in the Battle of GrÄarice, MihailoviÄ appointed Ivan Prezelj as commander of the Royal Yugoslav Army in Slovenia. His headquarter was with the Inner Carniola Detachment. And SoÄa Detachments, and the Royal Yugoslav Army in Slovenia also included the Lower Carniola Detachment and "the Styria Detachment," commanded by, Jože Melaher.
Referencesā»
- ^ LjubiÄiÄ, SaÅ”a (11 February 2014). "Slovenski 'plavi Äetnici' dobivaju mirovine, a voÄa oporbe Janez JanÅ”a im pohodi skupove". Slobodna Dalmacija. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
Grupa slovenskih Äetnika uz zastavu 'Svoboda ali smrt'
- ^ Vojno-istoriski glasnik. 1983. p. 183.
...dužnosti komandanta Komande āKraljevske jugoslovenske vojske u Sloveniji" (Äiji je komandant tada bio pukovnik Ivan Prezelj).
- ^ (Kranjc 2013, p. 191): " the Styrian formation led by Joze Melaher (alias Zmagoslav), which by some estimates was 'the only anti-revolutionary military unit that attacked occupiers with arms on a consistent basis"
- ^ (Plut-Pregelj, Kranjc & LazareviÄ 2018, p. 473)
- ^ (Plut-Pregelj, Kranjc & LazareviÄ 2018, p. 86)
- ^ (RebiÄ 1987, p. 81)
Sourcesā»
- Antonio J. Munoz (1998). Slovenian Axis Forces in World War II, 1941-1945. Axis Europa. ISBN 978-1-891227-12-7.
- Kranjc, Gregor Joseph (2013). To Walk with the Devil: Slovene Collaboration and Axis Occupation, 1941-1945. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4426-1330-0.
- Plut-Pregelj, Leopoldina; Kranjc, Gregor; LazareviÄ, Žarko (22 February 2018). Historical Dictionary of Slovenia. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-1106-2.
- RebiÄ, Äuro (1987). Å pijuni, "diverzanti," teroristi: ostaci kontrarevolucije u Jugoslaviji. Centar za informacije i publicitet. ISBN 978-86-7125-009-2.
- Tomasevich, Jozo (2001). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941ā1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-3615-2.
Further readingā»
- Slovenia in World War II
- Military units and formations of the Chetniks in World War II
- SerbiaāSlovenia relations
- Yugoslav Slovenia
- 1940s establishments in Slovenia
- Defunct organizations based in Slovenia
- Military units and formations established in 1941
- Military units and formations disestablished in 1944
- Anti-communist organizations