Serbian Volunteer Corps
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Serbian Volunteer Corps or SDK (Српски Добровољачки Корпус/Srpski Dobrovoljački Korpus, or in German Serbisches Freiwilligen Korps) also known as Ljotićevci by their ideological leader Dimitrije Ljotić was a military formation in Nedić's Serbia, which was the popular name of the Serbian state during World War II. In July 1941 the full scale rebellion communists and Chetniks erupted in Serbia. Germans pushed Milan Nedić's collaboration government to deal with the uprisings or they would let Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria occupy the country and maintain peace and order in it.
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[edit] Formation
On September 15th Nedić already proposed that government should be dismissed and give faith of Serbia to its neighbours but minister Mihailo Olćan proposed that government should call Serbian people to form anti-communist units. Next day already 234 ZBOR members, Ljotić's and Olćan's pre-war party, came to list themselves as first volunteers. On September 17th Serbian Volunteer Command was formed under command of Colonel Konstantin Mušicki who was also Austro-Hungarian officer and Germanophile. The command compromised 12 companies each 120-150 men strong. Many volunteers came from student ZBOR organization and many were refugees from Croatia. The men wore an olive green uniform or, in the case of officers, the uniform of the former Yugoslav armed forces, with the Cross of St. George on the right breast. Rank or grade designation was for all practical purposes that of the former Royal Yugoslav Army. Weapons were mixed; besides the German arms which were eventually supplied, foreign rifles and machine guns, especially those seized as war booty from the defeated Yugoslav forces, were used. Mortars and light artillery were also on hand in varying quantities. The command also had an educational department which task was to educate the fighters ideologically. The chief of educational section was journalist Ratko Parežanin. It also had intelligence section which had its centres all over Serbia. The spiritual needs of the corps were maintained by protojerej Aleksa Todorović.
[edit] Active duty
The volunteers saw their first action already on September 17th in village Dražanj near Grocka. Volunteers cleared terrain from communists leaving 4 dead partisans and only 2 dead volunteers. In November before the offensive on Republic of Užice Milan Nedić ordered that SDK, Serbian State Guard and Chetniks of Kosta Pećanac should be put under joint command. On November 22th the joint military formation called the Šumadija Corps was formed under command of Konstantin Mušicki. Corps was put under command of German 113 Division with which it was fighting between 25th and 29th November after majority of partisan troops escaped to the Italian zone. After defeating partisan troops Germans turned fighting with Chetniks of Draža Mihailović. Konstantin Mušicki informed Draža Mihailović about German plans and Mihailović managed to evade capturing. Because of this Konstantin Mušicki was arrested on 9th December in Čačak and was replaced by Brigadier Ilija Kukić. On intervention of Nedić Mušicki was released and was back in command as soon as Germans that were familiar with the case left Belgrade in the end of 1942.
By 15 February 1942, the corps had reached a strength of 172 officers and 3,513 men, which was very close to the planned strength for the five battalions. During 1942 SDK clashed with partisans in southern Serbia. Although they made considerable loses to partisans they didn't managed to crush them completely in south Serbia. In Western Serbia together with gendarmerie, Germans and Chetniks attacked Kosmaj, Valjevo and Suvobor partisan battalions which came back from Bosnia. They managed to defeat all of them except Valjevo which managed to escape through enemy lines. At the end of 1942 12 companies were formed 5 battalions and Germans to grant it formal recognition on 1 January 1943, by officially changing its designation to the Serbian Volunteer Corps. In 1943 SDK clashed with Partisans near Požarevac, Kruševac, Aranđelovac and in Mačva. They also clashed with Chetniks of Draža Mihailović. On 28 September Chetniks killed commander of fourth volunteer battalion Dušan Marković with 20 of his fellow volunteers and not long after commander of third volunteer battalion Miloš Vojnović Lautner. On May 15th Germans captured 4000 chetniks under major Pavle Đurišić in Montenegro. Đurišić was soon after hearing send to camp Strij in Poland but managed to escape and was already in Belgrade in November that year. Đurišić was soon taken by Gestapo but under guarantees of Nedić and Ljotić was soon released under condition that he will put his troops under command of SDK. Đurišić accepted the offer, formed three SDK regiments and became Mušicki's second in command.
The Partisans had meanwhile grown to an army of considerable strength, and by the summer of 1943 were once again active throughout Serbia. This renewed activity greatly worried the responsible German commanders, since the strength of the occupation forces had dwindled considerable during the relatively peaceful months of 1942. Nedić was also aware of this problem, and he decided to go see Hitler at the Obersalzberg in the hope of finding a solution. The meeting occurred on 15 September 1943, and Nedić succeeded in obtaining the Führer's agreement for the reinforcement of the SDK by five additional battalions, with a further five to follow as circumstances permitted. These measures were immediately carried out, and by 20 October each of the five independent battalions had become a regiment with a strength of two battalions. The reorganization was based on the SDK’s "exemplary conduct in battle against the Communist Partisans. Training for the five new battalions took place at the respective regimental garrison locations: SDK. Regiment 1 in Valjevo, Regiment 2 in Kragujevac, 3 in Šabac, 4 in Smederevo, and 5 in Kruševac. Corps headquarters remained in Belgrade.
The SDK fought the Partisans with throughout the spring and summer of 1944, engaging in a number of large operations alongside the more numerous German and Bulgarian forces. In spring 1944 SDK clashed again with Partisans in western Serbia where they attacked 2nd and 5th Partisan Divisions. In summer 1944 they particapated in operations in Toplice and Jablanice. On Juny 21 Milan Nedić ordered the formation of the Iron Regiment in Leskovac but during its formation most of troops escaped to Chetniks. By 21 August 1944 the five regiment SDK had reached a strength of 9,886 officers and men, and from its inception to September 1944 had suffered 700 killed and 1,800 wounded in action.
[edit] Retreat and demise
In September Partisans with the help of Red Army began their final offensive in Serbia. The major battle was staged on 9th September when Partisans totally defeated joint forces of SDK and Chetniks. After this defeat Chetniks deceided to cross Drina river and continue their strugle in Bosnia. Under this circumstances supreme command of SDK decided to withdraw to Slovenia where under idea of Dimitrije Ljotić joint front of national, anti-communist forces should be formed.
The withdrawal began on 8th October during final join assault of Partisans and Red Army on Belgrade when first volunteer regiment under command of major Ilija Mićašević and fourth volunteer regiment under command of major Vojislav Dimitrijević crossed Sava river. Third regiment under command of major Jovan Dobrosavljević delayed crossing of Sava because they were fighting with Partisans in Šabac and met with others later in Ruma. The 2nd Regiment under command of Major Marisav Petrović crossed Sava near Obrenovac. Still 2nd and 3rd Battalion of the 5th Regiment were still on the ground. When they came to Niš they found out that Red Army took Aleksinac and their way to Belgrade was blocked. The commander of 5th Regiment was forced to change the plan of withdrawal and moved across Raška mountains and moved with Germans towards Bosnia. The 1st Battalion of 5th Regiment under the command of Captain Vasa Ogrizović held Zaječar but as soon as Russians crossed Danube they moved to Belgrade and crossed Sava and they became temporarily part of 4th Regiment. Most of the troops met themselves in Sremska Mitrovica where they waited trains to be transferred in Slovenia.
Meanwhile, major changes were occurring in Berlin that had an impact on many of the non-German volunteers who were fighting with the German forces. There was a branch-of-service redistribution by ethnic group, and the Serbian volunteers now found themselves under the authority of the Waffen-SS. The order effecting the transfer was dated 9 November, but not formally recognized until 27 November. At this time the SDK consisted of a corps staff, five regiments each with three battalions, a signal company, a mountain supply detachment and a German liaison staff - at least this was its composition on paper. It is important to point out at this time that the SDK 's relationship with the Waffen-SS was consummated officially, but never organically. The troops never wore the uniform of the Waffen-SS, and it is doubtful whether the relationship ever went beyond the simple exchange of a limited amount of paperwork. The SDK 's situation was quite similar to that of the XV. Kosaken-Kavallerie-Korps, which was also taken into the Waffen-SS at about the same time.
As they arrived in Slovenia troops concetrated themselves in the area around Ilirska Bistrica and Postojna with command being located in Ilirska Bistrica. As soon as he arrived in Slovenia Dimitrije Ljotić got in touch with commander of Slovenian White Guard commander Leon Rupnik and Ljubljana bishop Gregorij Rožman and agreed on mutual help and coorporation. SDK established schools for volunteers in Ilirska Bistrica, one for training of officers and one ideological. The school for officers was directed by Ljotić himself. During the settling in period, the 3,000 able-bodied survivors of the SDK were augmented with some released Serbian POWs, Chetniks, and members of the Serbian State Guard who had been evacuated to Istria. These new additions brought the unit's strength to approximately 8,000. Lika Chetnik Corps and Slovenian Chetniks called Blue Guard was also present in Slovenia and they also joint National front. National formations in Slovenia totally numbered about 40,000 armed men.
The part of 5th Regiment that withdrew with Germans came in Bosnia in mid-November and began to move towards Slovenia. It was during the move north that a tragedy befell the SDK which was to cripple the unit's leadership capability in the coming months. 30 to 40 officers were seized in Zagreb by the Croatian Ustasha and executed. The Ustasha considered them dangerous enemies of the Croatian State, and this was the Ustasha response to the German failure to obtain permission prior to transporting these Serbs through their country. Any Serb who supported the "Greater Serbia" concept, as did Ljotić and his followers, was by definition an enemy of the Independent State of Croatia.
First major action of SDK in Slovenia was taking Partisan held Kras village Col on 18th December 1944. From 19 December to the end of the month a major encircle and destroy operation was mounted from the garrison towns of Gorizia, Idrija, Postojna and Sežana with the objective of eliminating the Partisan stronghold in the Trnovska Mountains. Nearly 5,000 men were used, including 500 from the SDK's 1st Regiment in Postojna, the 10th SS-Police Regiment, Italian R.S. I. troops, and Slovene Domobrans (Slovene militia who fought on the German side).
The next campaign organized against the Tito's 9th Corps, and participated in by the SDK, was conducted during the first few days of March 1945 and code named Ruebezahl. Two combat groups were formed to strike against Partisan concentrations near the town of Lokve. The first group was called "Zuschneid", and was composed of three SS-Police battalions, elements of the 1st Slovene Domobran Assault Regiment, two battalions of the SDK. and one Caucasian battalion, with a total force of around 5,000 men. The second group, "Koestermann", consisted of two battalions of the German 730th Infantry Regiment (710th Inf. Div.), a police company and some engineers, with a total of 2,500 men. The attacking forces pushed forward from a south and west direction, and this time the operation was more successful. The Partisans suffered moderate losses, and the concentration was broken up and dispersed to the northeast.
But when Partisans disperse they do not stay dispersed, so the Germans were forced to conduct a supplemental operation between 19 March and 7 April, which proved to be the final operation against Tito's 9th Corps. Four combat groups were organized along the perimeter of the area now occupied by the Partisans, with the task of bringing the 9th Corps to battle by gradually advancing in unison toward the center, and thereby reducing the size of the area under their control. This was the standard German method of cleansing a Partisan-infested area, and it was never significantly changed during the course of the war. To the west, along the line Idrija-Rijeka-Grahovo-Podbrdo, Combat Group Blank was assembled with major elements of the 10th and 15th SS-Police Regiments, II./1. SDK. Rgt., II./4. SDK. Rgt., 21st SS-Police Reconnaissance Co., SS-Police Company "Schmidt" and an artillery battery from the LXXXXVII Army Corps. This force was later joined on 4 April by the 2nd and 3rd SDK. Regiments, and 1,500 men from the Chetnik 502 Lika Corps. The second group, under Police major Dr. Dippelhofer, consisted of the Ljubljana SS NCO School, Slovene Domobrans, Chetniks and a 1,200- man Russian ROA unit. This group was deployed to the southeast along the line Idrija-Škofja Loka. The northern assault group, 4,500 men belonging to the 13th, 17th and 28th SS-Police Regiments, were formed up along the road between Podbrdo and Škofja Loka, while a special assault force from the 14th Ukrainian SS Division was concentrated along the northeastern side of the perimeter.
The area encircled is mountainous, thickly forested, and in March still deep in winter snow. Once off the few roads that circumscribe the area, the attacking forces were faced with extremely difficult terrain that limited their progress to a few kilometers each day, inhibited contact with neighboring units, and greatly restricted the ability to rapidly bring up fresh supplies and heavy weapons. Very soon gaps developed in the line of advance, through which the main body of 9th Corps was able to escape. Although a number of minor skirmishes were fought, and casualties suffered on both sides, the overall result of the operation was disappointing.
On 27 March, General Damjanović replaced General Mušicki as commander of the Serbian Volunteer Corps and the SDK became a component of Draža Mihajlović’s Yugoslav Army in the Homeland, the formal name for the Chetnik forces, although the Corps was still assigned to the HSSuPF Triest, SS-Gruppenführer Odilo Globocnik. Whether this change affected the SDK.’s relationship to the Waffen-SS is unknown, but doubted. Shortly thereafter, Hermann Neubacher, Hitler’s special political representative for the Balkans, paid a visit to Ljotić in Trieste to discuss German fears about what would happen when the SDK and Chetnik forces in Istria came into contact with the British and American units who were expected to move in that direction from Italy. Ljotić reassured Neubacher of the SDK’s loyalty, and that his men believed it improper to even consider raising their weapons against the Wehrmacht, since it was the Germans who had originally provided these weapons.
Meanwhile, Tito’s 4th Army was advancing north along the coastal road from Novi Vinodolski, Croatia, posing a grave threat to Istria, Trieste, and for that matter all of central and western Slovenia. German Army Group E immediately issued orders to the LXXXXVII Army Corps to build a perimeter around the port city of Rijeka, and hopefully block the 4th Army's westward advance. In early April the 237th Infantry Division was rushed to the area, and within a few days defensive positions were established in a 21 kilometers arc to the east and north of the city. The 4th Army began its attack on Rijeka around 20 April with the Partisan 13th, 19th and 43rd Divisions. Although the outnumbered German 237th Infantry Division offered stiff resistance and held its positions, General Kuebler ordered the 188th Reserve Mountain Division to launch an immediate attack on Partisan concentrations in the vicinity of Grobnik Airfield, 16 kilometers northeast of Rijeka. To support this attack, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th SDK. Regiments were moved up from the Postojna area. But the regiments of the Serbian Volunteer Corps arrived too late and never made contact with the 188th Mountain Division. The attack on the airfield was unsuccessful, and by 23 April it was clear to General Kuebler that his Corps was threatened with total envelopment. Kuebler's appreciation of the situation was entirely correct, for on 22 April the general staff of Tito's 4th Army ordered a flanking movement to bypass the city. While the LXXXXVII Corps continued to be pressed by three divisions, the Partisan 20th Division was brought up from Ogulin along with one additional brigade, three tank battalions and two artillery battalions. This force moved to the north, around the German defensive perimeter, and advanced on Trieste via Ilirska Bistrica with the intention of linking up with the Partisan 9th Corps which was pushing south on Trieste.
As the battle for Rijeka moved toward its inevitable conclusion, SDK Regiments 2, 3, and 4 were sent to Ljubljana and transferred to the authority of SS-Obergruppenführer Roesner, HSSuPF for Carinthia, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of Army Group E's rear area. Roesner's task was to open up and keep open the road and rail routes in northern Slovenia to facilitate the Army Group's withdrawal from Croatia north into Austria. SDK Regiments 1 and 5 remained assigned to Globočnik, who had meanwhile transferred his headquarters from Trieste to Udine, across the Isonzo River in Italy. The SDK was therefore split into two groups: one group was in central Slovenia under Roesner and moving toward the Austrian border, while the other group was in the extreme western part of Slovenia under Globočnik and moving toward Italy.
At about this time, the 22nd of April, Neubacher paid his final visit to Ljotić. A total collapse of German forces in the Balkans and in Italy was recognized as being only a matter of weeks if not days away, and Neubacher wanted to know Ljotić's plans for withdrawing and surrendering the SDK. The next day, during the hours of darkness, Ljotić drove his car through a hole that had been blown in a bridge by Allied fighter-bombers. His neck was broken and he died shortly thereafter.
On 29 April, as Tito's forces were closing on the Trieste area, General Damjanović issued orders to the 1st and 5th Regiments to cross into Italy, where on 5 May in the town of Palmanova (50 km northwest of Trieste) between 2,400 and 2,800 SDK men surrendered to the British.
The men belonging to the other three regiments experienced a less agreeable fate. They moved north from the Ljubljana area into Austria and surrendered to the British at Unterbergen on the Drava River on 12 May 1945. 20 days later these 2,418 men were turned over to Tito's Partisans. Some were executed almost immediately in the Kočevski Rog, while the others were carted off along with 10,000 Slovene Domobrans to the infamous camp at St. Vid, near Ljubljana. Subsequently, after a period of brutalization, these too were executed.
The group that surrendered in Italy was eventually transported to a camp at Munster, Germany, where they were released in July, 1947. These men made their way to various countries around the world, including the United States. General Mušicki was arrested by the Allied authorities, returned to Yugoslavia, and executed in 1946 as a result of sentences passed at the same war crimes trial that pronounced the death sentence on Draža Mihajlović and a number of others.
[edit] Order of Battle
Order of Battle (Jan 1943) 1. Battalion 3 x Companies 2. Battalion 3 x Companies 3. Battalion 3 x Companies 4. Battalion 3 x Companies 5. Battalion 3 x Companies
Order of Battle (1944) 1. Regiment 3 x Battalions 2. Regiment 3 x Battalions 3. Regiment 3 x Battalions 4. Regiment
[edit] References
- History of Serbian Volunteer Corps
- Dobrich, Momcilo, Belgrade's Best: The Serbian Volunteer Corps, 1941-1945, Axis Europa Books , 2001, ISBN 1-891227-38-6
