National Liberation War of Macedonia
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| National Liberation War of Macedonia | ||||||||||
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| Part of the Yugoslav People's Liberation War (World War II) | ||||||||||
 Macedonian partisans marching through liberated Bitola. |
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| Belligerents | ||||||||||
Allied Powers YNLA |
Axis Powers |
Allies/Axis:
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| Commanders | ||||||||||
Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo Mihajlo Apostoloski Metodija Andonov-Čento |
 Adolf Hitler_crowned.svg/22px-Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946)_crowned.svg.png){kind=small} Benito Mussolini Bogdan Filov.svg/22px-Flag_of_Albania_(1939).svg.png){kind=small} Xhemo Hasa |
Kosta Pećanac Draža Mihailović |
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| Strength | ||||||||||
| 66,000 (1944)[1] | ~60,000 (1944) | 8,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
| 6,724 dead | ||||||||||
| Total casualties: 24,000 By nationality: By kind: Other: |
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The National Liberation War of Macedonia (Macedonian: Народноослободителна Борба на Македонија (НОБ), transliterated Narodnoosloboditelna Borba na Makedonija (NOB)) (also known as the People's Liberation War) was a political and military operation carried out by mainly Macedonian Partisans of the Macedonian National Liberation Army (a division of the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army) from October 11, 1941 until the end of 1944 when the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was established. The operation was a regional conflict of the greater Yugoslav People's Liberation War but combatants developed further aspirations over the geographic region of Macedonia.
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[edit] Background
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
During the Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913, the region of Macedonia which was then an Ottoman province was divided amongst the Kingdom of Greece, the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Serbia.
From 1912 until 1941 the territory of Vardar Macedonia remained within the territory of Yugoslavia. During that time, there were to main autonomist agendas — the one of the right-wing IMRO lead by Ivan Mihailov, and the one of leftist former IMRO (United) who merged with the communists prior to the beginning of the war. The activists of IMRO were followers of the idea for the creation of a pro-Bulgarian Macedonian state under German and Italian protection. Whereas the IMRO (United) option was a creation of an independent "Soviet Macedonia" within a Balkan Federation. The last option was supported by Pavel Shatev, Dimitar Vlahov, Metodi Shatorov, Panko Brashnarov and others.
[edit] Occupation of Macedonia
[edit] Invasion of Yugoslavia
The outbreak of the Second World War on September 1, 1939, inspired the whole Macedonian community, to seek ways for the liberation of Macedonia. The local population in Macedonia met, with joy, the defeat of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It saw this as the end of Serbian rule and it was not surprising that the soldiers from Vardar Macedonia, mobilized in the Yugoslav army in large numbers, refused to fight. The Serbian administration had withdrawn from where it was stationed.
Early in 1941 the British vice-consul at Skopje provided the Foreign Office with an even more extensive and perceptive analysis of the current state of the Macedonian Question. He claimed that the vast majority of the Macedonians belonged to the national movement; indeed, he estimated "that 90 percent of all Slavic Macedonians were autonomists in one sense or another..." Because the movement was wrapped in secrecy, however, it was extremely difficult to gauge the relative strength of its various currents, except that it could be assumed that IMRO had lost ground since it was banned in Bulgaria and its leaders exiled.
[edit] New division of Macedonia
The new division of Macedonia started on 19 and 20 of April. The Bulgarian troops were mainly present in the central and eastern part of Vardar Macedonia and the eastern part of Greek Macedonia, thus creating a "Greater Bulgaria". The prominent force which occupied most of Vardar Macedonia, was the Bulgarian 5th Army. The western-most parts of Vardar Macedonia and Greek Macedonia were occupied by the fascist Kingdom of Italy. The central part of Greek Macedonia was under German occupation, while German garrisons were present in several places in Vardar Macedonia too.
The local population in Macedonia met, with joy, the defeat of Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It saw this as the end of Serbian rule and it was not surprising that the soldiers from Vardar Macedonia, mobilized in the Yugoslav army in large numbers, refused to fight. The Serbian administration had withdrawn from where it was stationed, not due to the Germans or Bulgarians, but due to the revenge of the local population had taken.
[edit] Colaborationist organizations
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Bulgarian action committees - When the Bulgarian occupation administration entered Vardar Macedonia, it started installing Bulgarian state institutions on the new-annexed territories, and organized youth clubs and nationalistic organizations in which Bulgarian history and national revanchist literary was studied. According to the official Macedonian historiography, the aim of these Bulgarian organizations was to assimilate the Macedonian population, while the Bulgarian historiography states that they were organized to enforce the Bulgarian sentiment among the population. They organized field trips, manifestations, parades, and so on. The most important action committees for the Bulgarian authorities were Branik, Otec Paisi, Napreduk na Bulgarshtinata.
Balli Kombëtar in Macedonia - There were 5,500 fascist Balli Kombëtar militants in Albanian occupied Macedonia, 2,000 of which were Tetovo-based and 500 of which were based in Debar.[3]
Ivan Mihailov's IMRO in Macedonia - After being banned by the new Bulgarian government in 1934 as a terrorist organization Ivan Mihailov's IMRO disintegrated and stopped its activity. Ivan Mihailov fled to Italy and there he made contact with the fascists in Italy and with members of the German secret service Gestapo. After the division of Yugoslavia, Mihailov went to Zagreb and spent the war there in company with Ante Pavelic. He revitalized parts of his old structures and ordered them to enter Vardar Macedonia and infiltrate there in the local Bulgarian administration, waiting for an opportunity to take over the control from Bulgarian in their own hands and create a fascist Macedonian state which will become a Germany's puppet-state. Although Nazi Germany gave Bulgaria the right to annex the greater part of Vardar Macedonia, still Gestapo had contacts with Mihailov and his men in Bulgaria and those that entered Vardar Macedonia together with the Bulgarian army. Gestapo held Mihailov as a reserve card in case things with Bulgaria go wrong.
Serbian Chetnik Movement in Macedonia - There were approximately 8,000 [4][5] Serb Chetniks led by Draža Mihailović operating in Macedonia during the conflict. For a time, they were controlled by rival Chetnik leader, Kosta Pećanac.
Kontračeta - The Kontračete were anti-partisan units organized and equipped by the Bulgarian police in the period between 1942 and 1944 composed of pro-Bulgarian oriented Macedonians. The first kontračeta was formed in Veles in the end of 1942 in order to limit partisan activities in the region. The idea for the formation of these units was introduced by Stefan Simeonov, chief of the Police in Skopje district and was approved by minister Gabrovski. [6]
[edit] 1941 - Beginning of the resistance movement
In 1941 the regional committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (RC of CPY) for Vardar Macedonia was headed by Metodi Shatorov - Sharlo from Prilep. When the directive for the organization of an armed resistance movement in all regions of occupied Yugoslavia was issued, Sharlo disobeyed the order.[7]. Sharlo answered the Central Committee (CC) of the CPY that the situation in Macedonia does not allow an immediate engagement with military action, but rather first propaganda activity, and afterwards formation of military units.
In that time, the Comintern had different agenda for the resolution of the Macedonian Question - an independent Macedonian state governed by a majority population of ethnic Macedonians (this idea was confirmed by the Resolution of the Comintern from 1934, and was supported by the BCP, CPG and CPY). But in 1939 the CPY started imposing the idea of formation of a Macedonian state, but within a Yugoslav federation. Shatorov was opposed to the second option and was a partisan of the Comintern agenda, which proposed a creation of a "Soviet Macedonia".[8] While the Bulgarian Communists avoided organizing mass armed uprising against the Bulgarian authorities, the Yugoslav Communists insisted that no liberation could be achieved without an armed revolt. With the help of the Comintern and of Stalin himself a decision was taken and the Macedonian Communists were attached to CPY.[9]
Because of this conflict within the RC of CPY for Macedonia, in Vardar Macedonia there was no resistance movement. At the start of World War II, the Comintern supported a policy of non-intervention, arguing that the war was an imperialist war between various national ruling classes. But when the USSR was attacked by Nazi Germany, the Comintern issued a directive which ordered beginning of communist resistance movements in all fascist occupied territories in Europe.
After that, and when already months ago Yugoslavia was annexed by Axis Powers, the RC of CPY for Macedonia began organizing the resistance movement.[10] The RC headed by Shatorov immediately ordered the formation of partisan units, the first of which was formed in Skopje region on 22 August 1941 , and attacked Bulgarian guards on September 8, 1941 in Bogomila, near Skopje. But it was too late, Sharlo lost his popularity within the CPY and was discredited. Instead him, people loyal to the CPY were appointed as leaders of the RC - Mirče Acev, Strašo Pindžur, Lazar Koliševski, Stiv Naumov, and Kuzman Josifovski Pitu.[11]
The new leadership began with activities for the formation of new partisan detachments. On 30 August the Kumanovo and Prilep units were formed. The Kumanovo and Prilep partisan detachments attacked the Bulgarian soldiers on October 11, 1941.[11] This date is considered to be the symbolic beginning of the Macedonian Resistance. Armed insurgents from the Prilep Partisan Detachment attacked Axis occupied zones in the city of Prilep, notably a Bulgarian police station. The Prilep detachment was active until December 1941, when it split in three groups – the first went in Skopje, the second in Tikves, and the third in Bitola. The Skopje partisan detachment was active until mid October 1941, when it was destroyed in a battle against the Bulgarian police near Vodno. The Skopje detachment was reassembled in 1942.
The first partisan activity in Skopje, Prilep and Kumanovo, led to the creation of partisan detachments in other regions of Macedonia during the whole of 1942. Partisan detachments were formed also in Greek Macedonia and today's Bulgarian Macedonia under the leadership of Communist Party of Greece and Bulgarian Communist Party. Till the end of 1942 a total of nine partisan detachments were active in Vardar Macedonia and had maintained control of mountainous territories around Prilep, Skopje, Kruševo and Veles, including one free territory in Prespa.[12]
[edit] 1942 - Intensification of the liberation movement
In the beginning of 1942, the RC of CPY for Macedonia and the regional military headquarters worked energetically on the creation of new partisan detachments across Vardar Macedonia. As a result, in spring 1942 several new detachments were formed. In May 1942 in the village of Lisec, the Veles partisan detachment “Pere Toshev” was formed. It had 3 successful battles against the Bulgarian police on mount Lisec, in Kriva Krusha, and Vojnica. In July this detachment merged with the newly formed 2nd Prilep detachment under the common name “Dimitar Vlahov”. The detachment had several successful battles on mount Mukos. In November 1942 in Crveni Steni near Prilep, the 3rd Prilep detachment “Gjorce Petrov” was formed.[13]
On 22 April 1942 in the village of Lavci, near Bitola detachment “Pelister” was formed. It had several battles against the Bulgarians, but in November it was dispersed in a battle against much stronger Bulgarian army and police force near Oreovo, when 2/3 of the fighters were killed. On 6 June 1942 in the village of Zlatari on Bigla mountain, the Bitola-Prespa partisan detachment “Dame Gruev” was formed. This unit engaged a very successful political agitation and had several military successes, like the attack on the troops in the village of Smilevo on 2 August 1942, and the attack on the police station in Kazani. In November 1942, the detachment split in 3 groups – the first remained on Bigla, the second went to northern Prespa, and the third went to southern Prespa. The third grout of the “Dame Gruev” detachment mobilized men from the ethnic Macedonian villages in Mala Prespa and succeeded in creating a free territory composed of villages in Mala Prespa and part of Greek Prespa – this was the first free territory created by Macedonian partisans in the war.[13][8]
On 16 April 1942 the Krushevo detachment “Pitu Guli” was formed which waived several battles against the Bulgarian army and police from which most important are the battles in Pribilci, Kocishte and Cer. In September 1942 the 2nd Bitola detachment “Jane Sandanski” was formed. The fighters of the detachment conducted political speeches in the villages and made sneak attacks on the Bulgarian troops on several locations, especially on the railway station in Beranci on December 1942. In October 1942 the “Shar Planina” partisan detachment was formed near Tetovo out of Macedonian and Albanian communists. The detachment had a great importance in the creation of the Brotherhood and Unity feelings among the people in Tetovo. In 1942 in the village of Mavrovo the “Mavrovo” partisan detachment was formed. In 1942 a group of young communists from Shtip assembled on Plackovica mountain in order to form a detachment, but the group was located and destroyed by the Bulgarian police before they could receive the weapons. Groups of communists that were planning to form partisan detachments were arrested thanks too to informants in Strumica and Kocani. This successful actions of the Bulgarian secret police prevented the creation of partisan units in eastern Macedonia in 1942.
The partisan activity was coordinated by the Head-quarters of the National Liberation Partisan Detachments of Macedonia (HQ of NLPDM) which was established in July 1942 by Macedonian communists of the CPY, and was headed by Mihailo Apostolski.[11]
[edit] 1943
[edit] Support from the CC of the CPY
Although several Macedonian partisan detachments were formed from 1941 till the end of 1942 which were engaged in many battles against the Bulgarian, Italian, German and Albanian occupation forces, and managed to create several free territories, still there was lack of management and organizational-technical skills to conduct a wide-scale struggle against the enemy. That is why, the HQ of the Macedonian National Liberation Movement asked for assistance from the CC of the CPY, for a skilled theoretical and instructor to be send. In the beginning of 1943 the Montenegrin Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo was sent as assinstence to the HQ of the Macedonian partisan forces. After his arrival, he began to organize an energetic struggle against the occupant forces. Tempo served on the Supreme Staff of CPY and became Josip Broz Tito's personal representative in the Vardar Macedonia. Tempo gave great contribution to the Macedonian liberation movement by transferring the experience of the partisans from other parts of Yugoslavia to Vardar Macedonia and by helping with the organizational issues.[8] One of his objectives was to destroy the influence of the BCP in Macedonia and to fight against any form of autonomism.
[edit] Formation of the Communist Party of Macedonia (CPM)
In order to discredit the claims of the IMRO and the fascist occupiers that the Macedonian communist are working for some-kind of a "pro-Serbian" ideal, and also to give a further burst of the Macedonian revolutionary struggle, the leadership of the Regional Committee of the CPY for Macedonia decided to establish a separate Macedonian Communist Party which will be the representative of the will of the Macedonian people and will be the spirit of the anti-fascist struggle for national liberation. The Communist Party of Macedonia (CPM) was formed on 19 March 1943 in Tetovo. The first Central Committee (CC of CPM) was composed of: the IMRO (United) veteran Strahil Gigov, Kuzman Josifovski, Lazar Kolishevski, Cvetko Uzunovski, Mara Naceva and Bane Andreev.[12]
On the first meeting, after making a detailed analysis of the military and political situation in the country, the CC of the CPM decided that together with the HQ from that day on to be directly involved with the fighting and to be stationed side by side with the troops on the battlefield. It was also decided to divide the territory of Vardar Macedonia into 5 operative zones, and to make efforts to make direct contact with the liberation movements in Albania, Bulgaria and Greece.
Meanwhile in the summer of 1943 besides the existing eleven, eight new Macedonian partisan detachments were formed. More and more people started entering the ranks of the partisans. After several battles with the enemy, managed to create strongholds in the regions of Debarca, Prespa, Kumanovo, Tikvesh and Gevgelija. This created conditions for expanding of the National Liberation Committees and creation of larger military units. This is why, the CC of CPM on the free territory in Prespa held the famous Prespa conference on 2 August 1944. It was decided to create regular large military units (battalions and brigades) which will lead to the creation of the Macedonian National Liberation Army (MNOV, or in Macedonian NOV), and it was ordered to start the preparations for the organizing of the Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia.
[edit] Formation of the National Liberation Army of Macedonia
Immediately after the Prespa conference of the Communist Party of Macedonia, the creation of larger Macedonian military unit started. The first one to be created was the "Mirče Acev" Battalion, which was formed on August 18, 1943 on Mount Slavej. "Mirče Acev" battalion ignited the formation of the Macedonian National Liberation Army (MNLA) (Македонска Народно Ослободителна Војска - МНОВ). On 24 September 1943 on mount Kozuv the battalion "Straso Pindzur" was formed, on 30 September the "Debar youth battalion", on 11 November near Bitola the "Stiv Naumov" battalion, and on 1 December the Kumanovo battalion "Orce Nikolov".[13]
The creation of the larger units came in right time for the Macedonian national Liberation Army, because on 8 September Italy capitulated. Unlike Struga and Tetovo, where the Italians were disarmed by the German army, the Gostivar, Debar, Kicevo and Ljubojno Italian garrisons were disarmed by the NOV. They were attacked by units of the NOV while they were trying to reach the Albanian border and flee Macedonia. The arms and ammunition that was captured gave the opportunity to create new battalions and even brigades. After the disarming of the Italians, a vast free territory was established which stretched from Gostivar to the north of Struga and Ohrid. The free territory included the towns Debar and Kicevo.[14]
On the free territories a provisional People's authority was established, led by the National Liberation Committees. Meetings were being held in every village and in Kicevo and Debar propagating the causes of the National Liberation Struggle and the right of the Macedonian people and the other nationalities for self-determination. The first schools in which the Macedonian language was being taught were created in this free territory in 1943. The whole population, both male and female was included in the struggle - the men were mobilized in militias and were given short military training and the women were organized in the AFZ (Anti-fascist Front of the Women).[14][15] In October 1943 the HQ of the Macedonian NOV issued a manifest towards the Macedonian people and all the nationalities in Macedonia (as stated in the manifest: Aromanians, Albanians and Turks) to join the fight of the Macedonian National Liberation Army and win their freedom and help liberate and create a free Macedonian state. The manifest also calls for struggle against the reactionary Serbian, Albanian and Bulgarian elements (Chetniks, Balists and IMRO agents).[16]
During the Summer of 1943, Svetozar Vukmanovic-Tempo at meetings with representatives of EAM and the Albanian resistance put forward the idea of a joint Balkan Headquarters to exercise supreme control over the partisan movements of Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece. Moreover, with the professed aim of combating Bulgarian propaganda, Tempo asked for the recognition to the ethnic Macedonian people of the right to self-determination, as well as permission for the partisans from Vardar Macedonia to extend their activity among the Slavic-speaking population in Greek Macedonia. As a result the Slavic-Macedonian National Liberation Front (SNOF) was established in 1943 in Greek Macedonia by ethnic Macedonian communists, members of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).
A lot of illegal activists and young people from other parts of Vardar Macedonia came to the free territory to participate in the creation of the provisional authority. On 11 November 1943 in the village of Slivovo, the First Macedonian-Kosovo Brigade was formed out of three Macedonian battalions and one battalions from fascist Italian occupied Kosovo. Among the controlled from the Partisans regions were Debarca, Mavrovo, Rostuša, within Italy's occupational territory.
Immediately after the establishment of the free territory in western Vardar Macedonia, the German command started assembling troops to make an incursion and crush the provisional authority. The problem for the Germans was in the fact that the free territory was cutting of the communications between Skopje and northeastern Greece. After assembling 2 divisions and numbered balist units, the occupations forces started the operation for re-capturing the free territory one week after its formation. The struggle for the free territory lasted more than two months, with the most important battles being at Bukovic, Debarca, Kicevo and Slivovo. The town of Kicevo was re-captured by the Germans in the beginning of November, but three days later it once again fell in Macedonian partisan hands, to be later re-captured for the second time by the German troops.
The High Command of the Macedonian National Liberation Army together with the CC of the Communist Party of Macedonia decided to take evasive maneuvers in order to avoid total destruction of the Macedonian forces because of the overwhelming number of enemy troops engaged. Only few small units were left behind. After more than two months constant battles, in December 1943 the Macedonian NOV together with the CC of CPM started a massive retreat through Prespa and after a 13 day march entered Greek Macedonia.
[edit] Bulgarian actions in 1943
Meanwhile the Bulgarian government was responsible for the round-up and deportation of over 7,000 Jews in Skopje and Bitola. It refused to deport the Jews from Bulgarian proper but later under German pressure those Jews from the new annexed territories, without a Bulgarian citizenship were deported, as these from Vardar Macedonia and Western Thrace.[17] The Bulgarian authorities created a special Gendarmerie forces which received almost unlimited power to pursue the Communist partisans on the whole territory of the kingdom. The gendarmes became notorious for carrying out atrocities against captured partisans and their supporters. Harsh rule by the occupying forces and a number of Allied victories indicated that the Axis might lose the war and that encouraged more Macedonians to support the Communist Partisan resistance movement of Josip Broz Tito. Many former IMRO members assisted the Bulgarian authorities in fighting Tempo's partisans. With the help of Bulgarian government and former IMRO members, several pro-Bulgarian and anti-Greek detachments - Uhrana were organized in occupied Greek Macedonia in 1943. These were led by Bulgarian officers originally from Greek Macedonia and served for protection of the local population in the zone under German and Italian control. After the capitulation of Fascist Italy in September 1943, the Italian zone in Macedonia was taken over by the Germans. Uhrana was supported from Ivan Mihailov. It was apparent that Mihailov had broader plans which envisaged the creation of a Macedonian state under a German control. He was follower of the idea about an United Macedonian state with prevailing Bulgarian element.[18] It was also anticipated that the IMRO volunteers would form the core of the armed forces of a future Independent Macedonia in addition to providing administration and education in the Florina, Kastoria and Edessa districts.
[edit] 1944 and aftermath
[edit] February Campaign
After passing through the whole western Greek Macedonia, the main forces of the Macedonian National Liberation Army were stationed in the Meglena region. The partisan detachments that were active in Gevgelia and Tikvesh also passed the border into northern Greece and met with the main forces of the NOV. Several meetings were held with members of ELAS and the Greek Communist Party. One of the decisions was the creation of wider partisan detachments composed of ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece. On 20 December 1943 in the village of Fustani in the Pella district of Greece, out of the 3 battalions of the 3rd operative zone the Second Macedonian Shock Brigade was formed. Also out of captured Bulgarian soldiers and Bulgarian soldiers that escaped into the ranks of the NOV of Macedonia, the Bulgarian "Hristo Botev" partisan battalion was formed, which was under the command of the HQ of NOV. The rest of the fighters that were not included in The First Macedonian-Kosovo Shock Brigade and The Second Macedonian Shock Brigade (the “Hristo Botev” and “Stiv Naumov” battalion together with several smaller partisan detachments), were organized into the so-called “Third Group of Battalions”. The provisional HQ of the reorganized NOV was stationed in the slavophone village of Fustani in the Pella district. Because of the fact that the massive concentration of NOV in the Meglena district was jeopardizing the Axis communication to Thesaloniki, the Bulgarian and German forces launched an incursion in Meglena and mount Kozuv against the NOV of Macedonia. The fighting lasted from 26 December till 18 January and after all Axis attackes were repealed mount Kozuf remained a free terotry of the NOV.[19][20]
After the fight for Kozuf, the Head-Quarters of the NOV decided to launch a three-phase offensive in central and eastern Vardar Macedonia against the fascist occupation forces – known as the “February March”. In accordance with the February March plan, on 31 January 1944 the First Macedonian-Kosovo Shock Brigade started marching towards Veles and Porech region, but immediately after crossing the border, the Brigade was attacked by two Bulgarian divisions. After constant fighting in cold weather on 14 February the brigade returned to Greek Macedonia. Although it did not fulfill its mission because of the energetic counter-action of the Bulgarians, still the First Brigade engaged two divisions of the Bulgarian 5th Army in that region, which opened the space for the Third Group of Brigades together with CPM and the HQ of NOV to pass through eastern Macedonia. The Second Macedonian Shock Brigade from 31 January till mid 1944 was conducting incursions from Kozuf to Gevgelia and Demir Kapija region disrupting the Bulgarian authority in the villages and closing Bulgarian schools. Third Group of Brigades together with the HQ of the NOV and the CC of the CPM on 31 January started marching from the village of Zborsko to eastern Vardar Macedonia. After passing 5 mountains and 400 km through terrible weather conditions and having constant struggles with Bulgarian army units 23 days later the Third Group of Battalions was in partisan held territory near Kumanovo where it made contacts with the forces in South-East Serbia and the Bulgarian Resistance.[12]
The Third Group of Battalions merged with the two existing Macedonian battalions in Kumanovo region and formed the famous Third Macedonian Shock Brigade in the Kumanovo village of Zegljane on 26 February 1944[20]. After contacting the Bulgarian resistance, the “Hristo Botev” battalion which was till then under the command of the NOV of Macedonia, was then given to the Bulgarian resistance command. After its formation, the Third Macedonian Shock Brigade became the biggest partisan formation in Macedonia and Southern Serbia. In the Southern Serbian Morava region the masters of the terrain were the Serbian Chetniks who supported by the Germans did not give the communist a chance to organize their own liberation movement. That is why the after the meeting in Prohor Pčinjski monastery it was decided the command of the South-Moravian and Kosovo partisan detachments to be given to the HQ of NOV of Macedonia – as it was most organized and most experienced. The first objective of the HQ of NOV after the expanding of its command region was the destruction of the chetnik movement in Macedonia and Southern Serbia, starting with the chetniks stationed in Vardar Macedonia.
[edit] Destruction of the Vardar Chetnik Corps
As of 1941, attempts were made to create a Serbian loyalist movement in different parts of Vardar Macedonia. Few bands were formed in Veles, Prilep and Strumica, mainly by war veterans and by former Chetnik leaders. But these groups were few in numbers, decentralized, self-initiative or influenced by Kosta Pecanac, and till mid 1942 all of them were destroyed by units of the Bulgarian army. In the beginning of 1943 in order to organize a strong chetnik force in Vardar Macedonia, and in order to destroy the Pecanac group, Draža Mihailović sent in Macedonia lieutenant Milivoje Trbic. He quickly organized local committees in Skopje, Veles, Kicevo and Gostivar, who started recruiting volunteers among the ethnic Macedonians with pro-Serbian sentiments. Soon the Vardar Chetnic Corps (VCC) was formed headed by Stojan Krstić (a native of Prilep), which had about 1 000 fighters in whole of Vardar Macedonia.[8]
After the formation of the first battalions of the Macedonian National Liberation Army, the VCC directed all of its effort to destroy the liberation movement of the Macedonian people. The Porech Chetnik brigade was terrorizing the villages that supported the partisans and started conducting forced mobilization. This further more stimulated the anger against the chetnics and more and more volunteers entered the ranks of the partisan army. In December 1943 the High Command gave Hristijan Todorovski Karposh the task to destroy the Chetnik bands in the Skopska Crna Gora region in Skopje and Kozjak in Kumanovo. With detachments from Kumanovo and Skopje he attacked the chetniks in three battles of which the most important occurred near the village of Dragomanci in the end of 1943 - this battle brought the end of the chetnik presence in the Kumanovo region. Till the end of January the chetniks in Kicevo and Skopska Crna Gora are disarmed by the Macedonian NOV and final hits were made upon the Porech chetnik brigade which capitulated and entered the ranks of the Porech partisan battalion.[21] After being defeated in Dragomanci and Porech, the remaining chetniks from different dispersed brigades merged and concentrated in the Kozjak area on the border with Serbia, where they managed to occupy all of the villages.
In the struggle of the Macedonian NOV against the Bulgarian occupation army, the Serbian chetniks that were holding the mountain villages in Kozjak, presented a real obstacle for the NOV depriving her of the strategic mountain area. Also, after deploying in Kozjak, the Vardar Chetniks Corp started a massive attack on the partisans, which made the situation ever worse. That's why, in the end of January 1944, the High Command of the NOV decided to lunch an offensive for the final destruction of the VCC. Burdened with this assignment was the Third Macedonian Shock Brigade, and some detachments of the Hristo Botev battalion. On 29 February 1944 the partisans of the Third Macedonian Shock Brigade attacked the chetnik flanges from north, west and south, while the Hristo Botev detachment hit the chetniks from the east. In the battle for the village of Sejac, the Vardar Chetnik Corps was totally destroyed giving 53 casualties (46 shot by partisans and 7 drowned in the river Pčinja in panic escape). 97 chetniks including 5 officers were captured in the action. Four days later, on 3 March 1944 in the village of Novo Selo, fighters of the NOV destroyed the remaining enemy force, capturing 30 chetniks and more than 100 rifles and ammunition. The Serbian chetniks gave 12 dead including Stojan Krstić - the commander of the Vardar Chetnik Core. After these decisive battles Draža Mihailović's Chetnik organization ceased to exist in Macedonia.[8]
The vast majority of the soldiers of the VCC were ethnic Macedonians, and after being captured by the partisans they were given the choice to join the ranks of the NOV or to be imprisoned. Those who were deceived by the propaganda and those that were forcedly mobilized by the chetniks, volunteered to join the Macedonian NOV and they continued the struggle as Macedonian partisans. [6]
[edit] Tendencies
Then in the resistance movement in Vardar Macedonia were clearly visible two political tendencies. The first one was represented by Tempo and the newly-established Macedonian Communist Party, gave priority to battling against any form of manifest or latent pro-Bulgarian sentiment and to bringing the region into the new projected Communist Yugoslav Federation. Veterans of the pro - Bulgarian IMRO who had accepted the solution of the Macedonian Question as an ethnic preference, now regarded the main objective as being the unification of Macedonia into a single state, whose postwar future was to involve not necessarily inclusion in a Yugoslav Federation. They foresaw in it a new form of Serbian dominance over Macedonia, and prefere rather membership of a Balkan Federation or else independence.[22] These two tendencies would have stroken in the next few years.
[edit] Spring Offensive
In Spring of 1944 the Macedonian National Liberation Army launched an operation called "The Spring Offensive" engaging German and Bulgarian Armies, which had over 60,000 military and administrative personnel in the area.[23] In Strumica, approximately 3,800 fighters took part in the formation of military movements of the region; The 4th, 14th and 20th Macedonian Action Brigades, the Strumica Partisan Detachment and the 50th and 51st Macedonian Divisions were formed.[9] Since the formation of an army in 1943, Macedonian Communist partisans were aspiring to create an autonomous government.
[edit] ASNOM
On August 2, 1944, on the 41st anniversary of the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising, the first session of the newly created Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) was held at the St. Prohor Pčinjski monastery. А manifesto was written outlining the future plans of ASNOM for an independent Macedonian state and for creation of the Macedonian language as the official language of the Macedonian state. However, a decision was later reached that Vardar Macedonia will become a part of new Communist Yugoslavia.
[edit] Ivan Mihajlov's plans for Macedonia
In the summer of 1944 Ivan Mihailov transported in a German convoy, arrived in German occupied Skopje, where the Germans hoped that he could form a Macedonian state with their support on the base of IMRO. Seeing that the war is lost to Germany, and that the wider Macedonian masses are loyal to the Macedonian National Liberation Movement led by the CPM, he refused. Seeing that the Macedonian sentiment has triumphed during the several years of struggle, Mihailov's last words were "Let Macedonia without Bulgarians burn in hell" ("Македония без българи, огън да я гори"). After the meeting in Skopje, Mihajlov escaped in Italy where he died in 1991.
[edit] Capitulation of Fascist Bulgaria
At this time the new Bulgarian government of Ivan Bagrianov began secret negotiations with the Allies aiming to find separate peace with repudiating any alliance with Nazi Germany and declaring neutrality, ending all anti-Jewish laws and ordering the withdrawal of the Bulgarian troops from Macedonia. Trough its in Macedonia born minister of Internal Affairs Alexander Stanishev, the government tried to negotiate with the Macedonian partisans promising that after Bulgarian army withdrawal from Vardar Macedonia its arms would be given up to the partisans. It would be possible by condition that partisans guaranteed the establishment of pro - Bulgarian Macedonian state without the frame of future Yugoslavia.[24] The negotiations failed and on September 9th 1944 the Fatherland Front in Sofia made a coup d'état and deposed the government.
After the declaration of war by Bulgaria on Nazi Germany, the withdrawing Bulgarian troops in Macedonia surrounded by German forces, fought their way back to the old borders of Bulgaria. Under the leadership of a new Bulgarian pro-Communist government, three Bulgarian armies, 455,000 strong in total, entered occupied Yugoslavia in late September, 1944 and moved from Sofia to Niš and Skopje with the strategic task of blocking the German forces withdrawing from Greece. In eastern Macedonia they operated in interaction with the fighters of the Macedonian National Liberation Army. Southern and eastern Serbia and most of Vardar Macedonia were liberated within an end of November.[25] Toward the end of November and during early December, the main Bulgarian forces were assembled in liberated Serbia prior to their return home, while the liberation of the rest of Vardar Macedonia from the Germans was conducted sole by the Macedonian NOV. The 135,000-strong Bulgarian First Army continued to Hungary, aided by Yugoslav Partisans.
[edit] Final operations for the liberation of Macedonia
On November 7, 1944 Ohrid was entirely liberated from Axis occupation trough 48th. Macedonian People's Liberation Division.[26] After the liberation of a majority of towns in Vardar Macedonia at the end of 1944, the Macedonian National Liberation Army aided Yugoslav Partisans in conclusive operations for the liberation of Yugoslavia from Axis occupation. On November 19, 1944, with the liberation of Tetovo and Gostivar, the Vardar region of Macedonia was completely liberated and as intended by ASNOM, joined Yugoslavia. Nedić's Serbia along with a liberated Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia became the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[27][28] At the beginning of 1945 the Macedonian Army turned into a great military power with approximately 100.000 combatants.
The number of total Macedonian casualties in WWII was approximately 24,000 as follows: 7,000 Jews, 6,000 Serbians, 6,000 ethnic Macedonians, 4,000 Albanians and 1,000 Bulgarians.[29] This number of victims includes around 3,000 "collaborationists", "counter-revolutionaries" and civil victims in places, separately 7,000 Jews exterminated in concetration camps. The rest were around 14,000 resistance movement fighters and soldiers from the Yugoslav Army, from which 5,000 were Macedonians. So Macedonia has developed its contribution to the victory over the Nazis and has gained the Anti-Fascist Coalition reputation. Also the indispensable conditions concerning the recognition of the newly established Macedonian Republic by the Allies have been provided, even though within the frames of the Yugoslavian Federation.
[edit] Monuments
 Monument of Stevan (Stiv) Naumov in Bitola. |
 A National Liberation War commemoration sign in Markov Manastir near Skopje. |
 A commemoration sign on the saat-kula in Bitola. |
 Monument of the woman fighter in NOV, in Tetovo. |
 Monument of the fallen for liberty in Skopje. |
 The "Liberators of Skopje" monument in the center of Skopje. |
 Fragment of the "Monument of the People's Revolution" in Kumanovo. |
 Statue of Čede Filipovski Dame in Gostivar. |
 Main statue of the "Monument of the People's Revolution" in Kumanovo |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Strugar, V. (1969). Jugoslavija 1941–1945, Belgrade: Vojnoizdavački zavod.
- ^ Vladimir Zerjavic - YUGOSLAVIA MANIPULATIONS WITH THE NUMBER OF SECOND WORLD WAR VICTIMS, Publisher:Croatian Information Centre, ISBN 0-919817-32-7 [1]
- ^ Carl Savich (10-4-2005). Macedonia in World War II: Debar and the Skanderbeg Division.
- ^ Thomas, N. Abbot, P. (1983). Partisan Warfare 1941–1945. Osprey Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 0850455138. Google Book Search. Retrieved on March 28, 2008.
- ^ Cohen, P. J. Riesman, D. (February, 1997). Serbia's Secret War: Propaganda and the Deceit of History. Texas A&M University Press. p. 100. ISBN 0890967601. Google Book Search. Retrieved on March 28, 2008
- ^ a b "Профашистичките и колаборационистичките организации и групи во Македонија 1941-1944 година" Ѓорѓи Малковски. Скопје, 1995
- ^ "По врвулиците на македонската историја" Иван Катарџиев. Скопје, 1986
- ^ a b c d e “НОБ на Македонија“ Јован Поповски. Скопје, 1962
- ^ Open Society Archives - FOLDER-REPORT: 79-4-361 Vukmanovic Describes Conflict with Bulgarians, Slobodan Stankovic, 1971-2-11 [2]
- ^ Кои беа партизаните во Македонија Никола Петров, Скопје, 1998
- ^ a b c "Вчера и денес: Македонија" Јован Павловски, Мишел Павловски. Скопје, 2000
- ^ a b c "Историја на Македонскиот Народ" Александар Стојановски, Иван Катарџиев, Данчо Зографски. Скопје, 1988
- ^ a b c “Партизанските одреди на Народноослободителната војска на Македонија во ослободителната војна и револуцијата 1941-1944“ Миле Тодоровски. Скопје, 1972
- ^ a b "Историја на Македонскиот народ" том.3
- ^ "Ослободителната војна на Македонскиот народ (1941-1944)" Михајло Апостолски. Скопје, 1965
- ^ "Документи за борбата на Македонскиот народ за независност", том II. Универзитетска Библиотека „Св. Кирил и Методиј“, Скопје, 1985
- ^ THE HOLOCAUST IN MACEDONIA: DEPORTATION OF MONASTIR JEWRY United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- ^ Beсник "Вест", Година:1 Број:215 Сабота 3/24/2001 [3]
- ^ "Мегленската област во народноослоодителното движење на Егејска Македонија", Христо Андоновски. Скопје, 1960
- ^ a b Зимските операции на Македонска војска 1943/44 - Раде Гогов, носител на "Партизанска споменица 1941" [4]
- ^ “Четничката организација на Дража Михајловиќ во Прилеп и Прилепско“ (Зборник: Прилеп и Прилепско во НОВ 1944-1945, I/2) Фиданова Славка. Скопје, 1985
- ^ Spyridon Sfetas -Autonomist Movements of the Slavophones in 1944. The Attitude of the Communist Party of Greece and the Protection of the Greek-Yugoslav Border, pg. 2 [5]
- ^ Narodnooslobodilachka vojska Jugoslavije. Pregled Razvoja oruzhanih snaga narodnooslobodilachkog pokreta, 1941-45, Belgrade, 1982, 590-815
- ^ Във и извън Македония - спомени на Пандо Младенов, стр. 276, Македонска Трибуна.
- ^ Dr. Ivan Yanev BULGARIA’S FOREIGN POLICY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR AS REFLECTED IN BULGARIAN HISTORIC LITERATURE 1938 - 1944 Варна, 2006 Издателство "Литернет" [6]
- ^ OHRID DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR[7]
- ^ World Investment News Macedonia, Historical Events
- ^ Unet.com.mk Uprising!
- ^ Vladimir Zerjavic - YUGOSLAVIA MANIPULATIONS WITH THE NUMBER OF SECOND WORLD WAR VICTIMS, Publisher:Croatian Information Centre, ISBN0-919817-32-7 [8]
[edit] External links
[edit] Comprehensive historic overview
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Im Schatten des Krieges. Besatzung oder Anschluss - Befreiung oder Unterdrückung?. Eine komparative Untersuchung über die bulgarische Herrschaft in Vardar-Makedonien 1915-1918 und 1941-1944 Reihe: Studien zur Geschichte, Kultur und Gesellschaft Südosteuropas Jahr: 2005 ISBN 3-8258-7997-6
- "Ko čelik sme nie" - Battle March of the Third Macedonian Schock Brigade (composed by Panče Pešev and written by Aco Sopov)]
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