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Pavle Đurišić
Павле Ђуришић
Born(1909-07-09)9 July 1909
Podgorica, Principality of Montenegro
Died12 April 1945(1945-04-12) (aged 35)
Lijevče Field, Independent State of Croatia
Allegiance Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1927–41);
Chetniks (1941–45);
 Italy (1942–43);
 Germany (1943–45)
Government of National Salvation (1943–45)
Service / branchArmy
Years of service1927–45
RankLieutenant Colonel
CommandsChetnik movement in Montenegro
Serbian Volunteer Corps
Montenegrin Volunteer Corps
Battles / warsWorld War II
Awards Order of the Iron Cross (Germany)

Pavle Đurišić (Serbian Cyrillic: Павле Ђуришић; 9 July 1909 – 12 April 1945) was a Montenegrin Serb Chetnik commander who led a significant proportion of the Chetniks of Montenegro during World War II. Beginning in early 1942, he increasingly collaborated with the Italians in actions against the Yugoslav Partisans. In 1943, he carried out several massacres against the Muslim population of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sandžak and participated in the anti-Partisan Operation Weiss alongside Italian troops. He was captured by the Germans in May 1943, then escaped and was re-captured. After the capitulation of Italy, he was released by the Germans and began to collaborate with them and the Serbian puppet government. In 1944, he created the Montenegrin Volunteer Corps with assistance from the Germans, Milan Nedić, and Dimitrije Ljotić. In late 1944 he was decorated with the Iron Cross 2nd Class by the German commander in Montenegro. He was killed by elements of the Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia near Banja Luka after he was captured in an apparent trap set by them and Sekula Drljević.

Early life

Pavle Đurišić was born on 9 July 1909 in Podgorica, Principality of Montenegro, where he was raised until the death of his father. Educated up to lower secondary school, he moved to Berane, where he lived with his uncle, Petar Radović, a judge and Chetnik of the Vuk detachment. In Berane he enrolled and attended a teacher training college for almost two years.[1]

In 1927 Đurišić joined the 55th class of a military academy and in 1930 was commissioned as an infantry lieutenant in the Royal Yugoslav Army. He began his service in Sarajevo as part of the 10th Infantry Regiment, attending infantry officers' school. He remained in Sarajevo until 1934 when, upon his own request, he was relocated to Berane where he served first as a platoon commander and later as a commander of the first company of the 48th Infantry Regiment. On 7 April 1939, after Italian troops entered Albania, Đurišić's troops went to Plav in the immediate vicinity of the Albanian border with the task of gathering intelligence. He established contact with many people in Albania and organized several intelligence points, but ultimately managed to be of little help and returned to Berane.[1]

World War II

In April 1941, Germany and Italy invaded Montenegro, the Germans from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Italians from Albania. The Germans later withdrew, leaving the Italians to occupy the area. The Montenegrins quickly developed grievances against the Italians, particularly regarding the expulsion of Montenegrin people from the Kosovo region and Vojvodina, but also due to loss of territory and revenue.[2]

In mid-July 1941, there was a general uprising against the Italians, led by the communists. The uprising also included large numbers of nationalists, who would organize themselves into the Chetniks, and former Yugoslav Army officers, some of whom had been recently released from prisoner-of-war camps. The rebels seized control of small towns and villages in the early phase of the uprising, but the Italians regained control over all towns and communication routes within six weeks. A split then developed between the communist leaders of the uprising and the nationalists that had participated.[3] As a result, the nationalists, including the then-Captain Đurišić, who was popular in his own Vasojević clan of northern Montenegro, withdrew into the hinterland.[4] The focus of the nationalists such as Đurišić was to avoid provoking the Italians but to protect the mountain villages if they were attacked.[5] Đurišić and his local Chetniks were also impatient to turn on the Muslims and Albanians in the region due to their animosity towards them.[4]

Italian occupation of Montenegro 1941–1943

In October 1941, Draža Mihailović, a prominent Chetnik leader later supported by the Yugoslav government-in-exile, appointed Đurišić as the commander of all regular and reserve troops in central and eastern Montenegro and parts of the Sandžak.[6]

Traveling to Serbia in late December 1941 and early January 1942 to meet with Mihailović, Đurišić returned with detailed instructions which bore Mihailović's signature. These instructions included directives for "cleansing the Muslim population from Sandžak and the Muslim and Croat populations from Bosnia and Herzegovina" amongst other orders.[7] Historians Lucien Karchmar, Stevan K. Pavlowitch and Noel Malcolm believe that the document was a forgery made by Đurišić after he failed to reach Mihailović, who, because German forces in Serbia had mounted an operation targeting Mihailović's forces, had been driven out of Ravna Gora.[8][9][10] However, historians Matteo J. Milazzo and Jozo Tomasevich consider the document to be authentic and attribute the instructions to Mihailović.[11][12]

Despite his possession of these instructions, Đurišić initially had very little influence on the non-communist elements of the Montenegrin resistance and was unable to develop an effective strategy against the Italians or Partisans in the first few months after his return to Montenegro. However, in early 1942, his Chetniks detachment became more active, especially in eastern Montenegro and the Sandžak against local Muslims.[13] Following the Partisan occupation of Kolašin in January and February 1942, during which the Partisans committed atrocities against the population of the town, Đurišić recaptured it and held it as a Chetnik stronghold until May 1943.[14]

Đurišić making a speech to the Chetniks in the presence of General Pirzio Biroli, Italian governor of Montenegro.

In early March 1942, Đurišić arranged one of the first collaboration agreements between the Italians and the Chetniks. During the next three months, about 1,500 Chetniks under Đurišić's command were officially organized and recognised as Italian auxiliary troops for use against the Partisans, and were supplied, armed and paid by the Italians. During the rest of 1942, Italian operations in conjunction with their Chetnik auxiliaries forced the remaining Partisans out of Montenegro,[15] after which the Chetnik auxiliaries were used by the Italians to police the countryside.[16] For most of this time, Đurišić operated fairly independently in northern Montenegro and was described as "a law unto himself".[17]

In June 1942, as the Italians and Chetniks were fighting the Partisans, Mihailović arrived in Montenegro having been forced out of Serbia by the Germans. Mihailović was accompanied by his staff and a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) liaison officer, and after moving around for a while, he established his base at the village of Gornje Lipovo, a few miles from Đurišić's headquarters at Kolašin. Mihailović and his staff had few troops and relied on Đurišić for protection. Not long after Mihailović arrived in Montenegro, Đurišić told Mihailović's SOE liaison officer that he was available to act independently and in defiance of Mihailović. While Đurišić and the other Chetnik commanders in Montenegro nominally recognised Mihailović as their supreme commander, they rarely obeyed him.[18]

In December 1942, at the village of Šahovići near Bijelo Polje, a conference of Chetniks from Montenegro and Sandžak met. The conference was dominated by Đurišić and its resolutions expressed extremism and intolerance, as well as an agenda which focused on restoring the pre-war status quo in Yugoslavia implemented in its initial stages by a Chetnik dictatorship. It also laid claim to parts of the territory of Yugoslavia's neighbors.[19]

Operation Weiss and cleansing actions

In December 1942, concerned about the possibility of an Allied landing in the Balkans, the Germans began planning an anti-Partisan offensive codenamed "Operation Weiss" in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The size of the planned offensive required the involvement of both the Croatian Home Guard and the Italians. Late in the planning, the Italians began to prepare and equip Chetnik detachments, including that of Đurišić, for involvement in the operation.[20]

In early January 1943, the Chetnik Supreme Command ordered Montenegrin Chetnik units to carry out "cleansing actions" against Muslims in the Bijelo Polje county in the Sandžak region of north-eastern Montenegro. On 10 January 1943, Đurišić reported that Chetniks under his command had burned down 33 Muslim villages, killed 400 Muslim fighters (members of the Muslim self-protection militia supported by the Italians), and had also killed about 1,000 Muslim women and children.[21]

As Italian auxiliaries, Đurišić's detachment was so dependent on the Italians for arms and transport that it had not left Montenegro until 18 January 1943, only two days before the first phase of Operation Weiss was to begin.[22]

Đurišić's report of 13 February 1943 informing Mihailović of the massacres of Muslims in the counties of Čajniče and Foča in southeastern Bosnia and in the county of Pljevlja in the Sandžak.

In mid-February, during their advance north-west into Herzegovina in preparation for their involvement in Operation Weiss, Đurišić's Lim-Sandžak detachment received further orders for "cleansing actions" against Muslims. It committed further atrocities against the Muslim population, this time in part of the Pljevlja county in Sandžak, and Čajniče county and part of the Foča county in Bosnia. In a report to Mihailović dated 13 February 1943, Đurišić reported that his forces had killed about 1,200 Muslim fighters and about 8,000 women, children and elderly people, and destroyed all property that they had seized except for livestock, grain and hay.[21] A further massacre of about 500 Muslim, mostly women, children and old people, was carried out in Goražde in March. Several women were raped.[23]

The total number of deaths caused by the anti-Muslim operations commanded by Đurišić between January and February 1943 is estimated at 10,000. The casualty rate would have been higher had a great number of Muslims not already fled the area, most to Sarajevo, when the February action began.[21]

By the end of February 1943, Đurišić's Chetniks were resisting Partisan attempts to move east from the Neretva river.[24][25] After the Battle of Neretva, during which the Partisans forced a crossing of the river against faltering Chetnik opposition, Đurišić's detachment, numbering about 2,000 fighters, fell back to Kalinovik where they were badly mauled by the Partisan Second Proletarian Division in late March. Falling back further towards the Drina river, Đurišić had assembled about 4,500 Bosnian and Montenegrin Chetniks around Foča by the end of the first week in April, but was in desperate need of supplies. Shortly after this, the Italians withdrew most of their troops from Foča and abandoned most of the Sandžak. For the rest of April 1943, Đurišić fought a holding action against the Partisans along the Drina river with his 3,000 remaining fighters.[26]

Capture and release

The Germans decided to follow up Operation Weiss with a further offensive, codenamed "Operation Schwarz". In early May 1943, the Germans entered the Sandžak and eastern Montenegro area. Đurišić withdrew to Kolašin with about 500 fighters and joined forces with Serbian Chetniks commanded by Dragutin Keserović.[27] On 14 May 1943, a forward detachment of the German 1st Mountain Division entered Kolašin. Đurišić and the Chetniks did not resist their capture, and there were no casualties. The Italians vigorously protested Đurišić's capture but were overruled by the Germans.[28] He was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Galicia from which he later escaped, reportedly in August 1943, and after some time reached Serbia.[29]

However, Đurišić was caught by Serbian quisling government authorities and handed over to the Germans.[30] Soon after, the German Special Envoy in Belgrade Hermann Neubacher, Milan Nedić, and the German Military Commander in south-east Europe General Hans Felber arranged for him to be released from prison.[31] In November 1943, Đurišić returned to Montenegro where he received supplies including arms and ammunition from the Germans with which to fight the Partisans.[31] At this time he established closer ties with Dimitrije Ljotić, whose Serbian Volunteer Corps provided him with weapons, food, typewriters, and other supplies. He also worked with Nedić, who promoted him to the rank of lieutenant colonel and appointed him assistant to the commander of the Serbian Volunteer Corps, Colonel Kosta Mušicki.[32]

German occupation of Montenegro 1943–1944

In spring of 1944, Đurišić, with assistance from the Germans, Nedić, and Ljotić, established the Montenegrin Volunteer Corps, which was formally a part of the Serbian Volunteer Corps.[33] The Corps consisted of some of Đurišić's former soldiers who had been released from German captivity, but the majority were Chetniks that had remained in Montenegro and were gathered under the umbrella term "national forces". By this time, although he still formally owed allegiance to Yugoslavia through Mihailović,[34] he also owed some allegiance to the Germans and to Nedić[35] who had released, promoted and supported him. Đurišić developed the Montenegrin Volunteer Corps in Montenegro and Sandžak to a strength of between 7,000 and 8,000 men.[36] Lieutenant Heusz, former German liaison officer for Sandžak Chetnik commander Vojislav Lukačević, was assigned to watch Đurišić. On 30 May 1944, Heusz sent a detailed briefing with instructions that Đurišić was responsible "for control and assuring of the execution of the directives issued by the German command posts" and "liaison between the staffs and units of the Montenegrin Volunteer Corps on the one hand and the German command posts on the other, especially in the course of operations against the bands [the Partisans]." Collaboration between the Đurišić's forces and the Germans continued through the summer and on into autumn of 1944.[29]

Entitlement document for the award to Đurišić of the Iron Cross – 2nd Class. (left) Front page of Lovćen reporting on the award. (right)

On 11 October 1944 the German Plenipotentiary General in Montenegro, General-Major Wilhem Keiper, awarded Đurišić the Iron Cross (2nd Class) in the name of the Führer and the German High Command.[32]

Withdrawal from Montenegro and destruction

With the fall of Grahovo, Partisans from Herzegovina had a way into Montenegro and Đurišić had to withdraw.[37] In early December 1944, the Germans and Đurišić's forces left, part of the way together, with the Germans going to Austria and Đurišić's forces to northeastern Bosnia to join Mihailović.[29] From the time Đurišić joined Mihailović in northeastern Bosnia, he was very critical of Mihailović's leadership and argued strongly for all remaining Chetnik troops to move to Slovenia. When Mihailović remained unconvinced, Đurišić decided to move to Slovenia independently of Mihailović, and arranged for Ljotic's forces already in Slovenia to meet him near Bihać in western Bosnia to assist his movement. When he left Mihailović, he was joined by Chetnik ideologue Dragiša Vasić and the detachments commanded by Zaharije Ostojić and Petar Baćović as well as a large number of refugees.[38]

In order to get to Bihać, Đurišić made a safe-conduct agreement with elements of the Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) and with the Montenegrin separatist Sekula Drljević. The details of the agreement are not known, but it appears he and his troops were meant to cross the Sava river into Slavonia where they would be aligned with Drljević as the "Montenegrin National Army" with Đurišić retaining operational command. Đurišić apparently tried to outsmart them and sent only his sick and wounded across the river, keeping his fit troops south of the river. He began moving his command westwards and, harassed by both the NDH troops and Partisans, reached the Vrbas river. In the Battle of Lijevče Field, north of Banja Luka, the combined Chetnik force was badly beaten by a strong NDH force which included German-supplied tanks.[38]

Following this defeat and the defection of one of his sub-units to Drljević, Đurišić was induced to negotiate directly with the leaders of the NDH forces about the further movement of his Chetniks towards Slovenia. However, this appears to have been a trap, as he was attacked and captured by them on his way to the meeting. Following this, Đurišić, Vasić, Ostojić and Baćović were killed, along with some Serbian Orthodox priests and others.[38]

Both the NDH forces and Drljević had reasons for ensnaring Đurišić. The NDH forces were motivated by the mass terror committed by Đurišić on the Muslim population in Sandžak and southeastern Bosnia while Drljević was opposed to Đurišić's support of a union of Serbia and Montenegro which ran counter to Drljević's separatism.[38]

Aftermath

A small part of Đurišić's troops escaped and went west. The majority, left without a leader, were integrated into Drljević's forces and were dispatched towards the Austrian border. A portion of both groups were later caught by the Partisans in Slovenia. Most of those who successfully crossed into Austria were returned to Slovenia, where, alongside other collaborationist forces, they met their downfall in May 1945. Of the entire force that began with Đurišić in Montenegro and other Chetniks that joined him for the trek, less than a quarter survived. A few weeks later, Drljević, who had fled to Austria, was discovered by followers of Đurišić and killed.[38]

Commemoration controversy

In May 2002, plans were prepared for a "Montenegrin Ravna Gora" memorial complex to be located near Berane. The complex was to be dedicated to Đurišić, who not only spent some of his youth at Berane but had also established his wartime headquarters there.[39] In June 2003, Vesna Kilibarda, the Montenegrin Minister of Culture, banned the construction of the monument saying that the Ministry of Culture had not applied for approval to erect it.[40] The Association of War Veterans of the National Liberation Army (SUBNOR) objected to the construction of the monument saying that Đurišić was a war criminal who was responsible for the deaths of many colleagues of the veterans association and 7,000 Muslims.[41] The following month the Montenegrin government forbade the unveiling of the monument stating that it "caused public concern, encouraged division among the citizens of Montenegro, and incited national and religious hatred and intolerance."[42] A press release from the committee in charge of the construction of the monument stated that the actions taken by the government were "absolutely illegal and inappropriate".[43] The stand that was prepared for the erection of the monument was later removed by the police.[44]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Pajović (1987), pp. 12–13
  2. ^ Tomasevich (2001), pp. 138–139
  3. ^ Tomasevich (2001), pp. 140–142
  4. ^ a b Pavlowitch (2007), p. 78
  5. ^ Karchmar (1987), p. 386
  6. ^ Milazzo (1975), p. 46
  7. ^ Tomasevich (1975), p. 170
  8. ^ Karchmar (1987), p. 397
  9. ^ Pavlowitch (2007), pp. 79–80
  10. ^ Malcolm (1994), p. 179
  11. ^ Milazzo (1975), p. 64
  12. ^ Tomasevich (1975), pp. 256–261
  13. ^ Milazzo (1975), p. 47
  14. ^ Pavlowitch (2007), pp. 105–106
  15. ^ Pavlowitch (2007), p. 106
  16. ^ Tomasevich (2001), pp. 142–143
  17. ^ Pavlowitch (2007), p. 109
  18. ^ Pavlowitch (2007), pp. 109–113
  19. ^ Pavlowitch (2007), p. 112
  20. ^ Milazzo (1975), pp. 113–116
  21. ^ a b c Tomasevich (1975), pp. 258–259
  22. ^ Milazzo (1975), pp. 115–116
  23. ^ Hoare (2006), pp. 331-332
  24. ^ Milazzo (1975), pp. 124–125
  25. ^ Tomasevich (1975), p. 239
  26. ^ Milazzo (1975), pp. 135–136
  27. ^ Milazzo (1975), p. 144
  28. ^ Tomasevich (1975), pp. 252–253
  29. ^ a b c Tomasevich (1975), pp. 349–351
  30. ^ Tomasevich (1975), pp. 349–350
  31. ^ a b Ramet (2006), pp. 134–135
  32. ^ a b Cohen (1996), p. 45
  33. ^ Tomasevich (1975), p. 441
  34. ^ Tomasevich (1975), p. 351
  35. ^ Tomasevich (2001), p. 222
  36. ^ Tomasevich (1975), p. 350
  37. ^ Pavlowitch (2007), p. 255
  38. ^ a b c d e Tomasevich (1975), pp. 447–448 Cite error: The named reference "Tomasevich447–448" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  39. ^ Prijović (2002)
  40. ^ B92 (11 June 2003)
  41. ^ Sekulović (2003)
  42. ^ B92 (4 July 2003)
  43. ^ Prijović (2003)
  44. ^ B92 (7 July 2003)

References

Books

  • Cohen, Philip J. (1996). Serbia's Secret War: Propaganda and the Deceit of History. College Station: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0-89096-760-1.
  • Hoare, Marko Attila (2006). Genocide and Resistance in Hitler's Bosnia: The Partisans and the Chetniks 1941-1943. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19726-380-1.
  • Karchmar, Lucien (1987). Draza Mihailović and the Rise of the Cetnik Movement, 1941–1945. New York: Garland Publishing. ISBN 0-8240-8027-0.
  • Malcolm, Noel (1994). Bosnia: A Short History. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-5520-8.
  • Milazzo, Matteo J. (1975). The Chetnik Movement & the Yugoslav Resistance. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-1589-4.
  • Pajović, Radoje (1987). Pavle Đurišić (in Serbo-Croatian). Zagreb: Centar za informacije i publicitet.
  • Pavlowitch, Stevan K. (2007). Hitler's New Disorder: The Second World War in Yugoslavia. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 1-85065-895-1.
  • Ramet, Sabrina P. (2006). The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building and Legitimation, 1918–2005. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34656-8.
  • Tomasevich, Jozo (1975). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: The Chetniks. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0857-6.
  • Tomasevich, Jozo (2001). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3615-4.

Websites

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