This volume describes, lists, and illustrates the several combatant
forces raised in Yugoslavia during World War II.
In March 1941, an anti-German coup in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia prompted
Hitler to order an invasion using allied Italian, Hungarian, Bulgarian.
and Romanian forces. Operation Marita was an invasion of Yugoslavia
and simultaneously Greece. At the same time, the constituent region of
Croatia broke away from Yugoslavia and joined the Axis powers. Royal
Yugoslav armed forces, despite advancing against the Italians in Albania
were forced to surrender after 11 days' fighting and some 1,000
soldiers, airmen, and sailors escaped to British-occupied Egypt to form
Free Yugoslav units. From there, guerrilla resistance to the Axis
occupiers broke out and continued with increasing strength until the end
of the war under Mihailovic's royalist 'Chetniks' and Tito's Communist
'Partisans' (both supported by Britain). However, hostilities between
the two movements eventually led to the Chetniks entering into local
agreements with Italian occupation forces and Britain switching its
support entirely to the Partisans. The advance of the Red Army increased
Partisan strength and, during 1944-45, they created what could be
described as a lightly equipped conventional army.
Using meticulously-drawn illustrations of different insignia, uniforms,
and equipment from each faction to bring the conflict alive, this volume
describes, in detail, both the political and military implications of
the war and how it was fought, setting the scene for the subsequent rise
of Tito to power within Yugoslavia.
