Pećanac Chetniks

Pećanac Chetniks

Pećanac (second from left) with a German military officer and Kosovo Albanian collaborator Xhafer Deva (third from left) in Podujevo, Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia, 20 October 1941
Active 1941–1943
Allegiance Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Government of National Salvation
Type Irregular forces
Size 3,000–6,000
Nickname Black Chetniks
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Kosta Pećanac

The Pećanac Chetniks, also known as the Black Chetniks were a Chetnik irregular military force which operated in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia under the leadership of vojvoda Kosta Pećanac. They were loyal to the German-backed Serbian puppet government and fought against Yugoslav Partisans and the Chetniks of Draža Mihailović from 1941 to 1943.

Background

Kosta Pećanac was the most prominent figure in the Chetnik movement during the interwar period. He had a leading role in the Association against Bulgarian Bandits, a notorious organisation that arbitrarily terrorised Bulgarians in the Štip region, now part of modern-day Macedonia.[1] He also served as a commander with the Organization of Yugoslav Nationalists (ORJUNA).[2] He was present as a member of parliament at the assassination of Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) leader Stjepan Radić and HSS deputies Pavle Radić and Đuro Basariček on 20 June 1928. Prior to the shooting, he was accused by HSS deputy Ivan Pernar of being responsible for a massacre of 200 Muslims in 1921.[3]

Pećanac became the president of the Chetnik Association in 1932.[4] By opening membership of the Chetnik Association to new younger members that had not served in World War I, he grew the organisation during the 1930s from a nationalist veterans' association focused on protecting veterans' rights to an aggressively partisan Serb political organisation with 500,000 members throughout the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.[5] During this period, Pećanac formed close ties with the far-right Yugoslav Radical Union government of Milan Stojadinović,[6] and was known for his hostility to the Yugoslav Communist Party, which made him popular with conservatives such as those in the Yugoslav Radical Union.[7][8]

Formation

Shortly before the Axis invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in April 1941, Pećanac was requested by the Yugoslav Ministry of the Army and Navy to prepare for guerrilla operations and guard the southern area of Serbia, Macedonia, and Kosovo from pro-Bulgarians and pro-Albanians in the region. He was given arms and money, and managed to arm several hundred men in the Toplica River valley in southern Serbia. Pećanac's force remained intact after the German occupation of Serbia and supplemented its strength from Serb refugees fleeing Macedonia and Kosovo. In the early summer of 1941, Pećanac's detachments fought against Albanian bands.[4] At this time and for a considerable time after, only detachments under Pećanac were identified by the term "Chetnik".[9] With the formation of the communist Yugoslav Partisans, Pećanac gave up any interest in resistance, and by late August came to agreements with both the Serbian puppet government and the German authorities to carry out attacks against the Partisans.[9][10]

Pećanac kept the organizational structure of his detachments simple. All of the commanders were selected personally by Pećanac and consisted of former officers, peasants, Orthodox priests, teachers, and merchants.[9] The Pećanac Chetniks were also known as the "Black Chetniks".[11]

Collaboration with occupation and quisling forces

On 18 August 1941, while he was concluding arrangements with the Germans, Pećanac received a letter from Draža Mihailović requesting an agreement be reached where Pećanac would control the Chetniks south of the Western Morava River while Mihailović would control the Chetniks in all other areas.[12] Pećanac declined his request and suggested that he might offer Mihailović the position as his chief of staff. He also recommended that Mihailović's detachments disband and join his detachments. In the meantime, Pećanac had arranged for the transfer of several thousand of his Chetniks to the Serbian Gendarmerie to act as German auxiliaries.[13]

a copy of the proclamation by Pećanac
Pećanac's "Proclamation to the Dear People"

On 27 August, Pećanac issued an open "Proclamation to the Dear People", in which he portrayed himself as the defender and protector of Serbs and, referring to Mihailović's units, called on "detachments that have been formed without his approval" to come together under his command. He demanded that individuals hiding in the forests return to their homes immediately and that acts of sabotage directed at the occupation authorities cease or suffer the punishment of death.[14]

In September 1941, some of Pećanac's subordinates broke ranks to join the Partisans in fighting the Germans and their Serbian auxiliaries. In the Kopoanik region, a previously loyal subordinate of Pećanac began attacking local gendarmerie stations and clashing with armed bands of Albanian Muslims. By the end of October the Germans decided to stop arming the "unreliable" elements within Pećanac's Chetniks, and attached the remainder to their other Serbian auxiliary forces.[15]

On 7 October 1941, Pećanac sent a request to the head of the Serbian puppet government, Milan Nedić for trained officers, supplies, arms, salary funds, and more. Over time his requests were fulfilled, and a German liaison officer was appointed at Pećanac's headquarters to help coordinate actions. On 17 January 1942, according to German data, 72 Chetnik officers and 7,963 men were being paid and supplied by the Serbian Gendarmerie Command. This fell short of their maximum authorized strength of 8,745 men, and included two or three thousand of Mihailović's Chetniks who had been "legalized" in November 1941.[9] In the same month, Pećanac sought permission from the Italians for his forces to move into eastern Montenegro, but was refused due to Italian concerns that the Chetniks would move into the Sandžak.[16]

In April 1942, the German Commanding General in Serbia, General der Artillerie[lower-alpha 1] Paul Bader, issued orders giving the unit numbers C–39 to C–101 to the Pećanac Chetnik detachments, which were placed under the command of the local German division or area command post. These orders required the deployment of a German liaison officer with all detachments engaged in operations, and also limited their movement outside their assigned area. Supplies of arms and ammunition were also controlled by the Germans.[18] In July 1942, Mihailović arranged for the Yugoslav government-in-exile to denounce Pećanac as a traitor,[19] and his continuing collaboration ruined what remained of the reputation he had developed in the Balkan Wars and World War I.[11]

Dissolution

The Germans found that Pećanac's units were inefficient, unreliable, and of little military aid to them. Pećanac's Chetniks regularly clashed and had rivalries with other German auxiliaries such as the Serbian State Guard and Serbian Volunteer Command and also with Mihailović's Chetniks.[20] The Germans and the puppet government commenced disbanding them in September 1942, and all but one had been dissolved by the end of 1942. The last detachment was disbanded in March 1943. His followers were dispersed to other German auxiliary forces, German labour units, or were interned in prisoner-of-war camps. Many deserted to join Mihailović. Nothing is known of Pećanac's activities in the months that followed except that he was interned for some time by the Serbian puppet government.[21] Accounts of Pećanac's capture and death vary. According to one account, Pećanac, four of his leaders and 40 of their followers were captured by forces loyal to Mihailović in February 1944. All were killed within days except Pećanac, who remained in custody to write his war memoirs before being executed on 5 May 1944.[20] Another source states he was assassinated on 6 June 1944 by Chetniks loyal to Mihailović.[22]

Notes

  1. ↑ Equivalent to a U.S. Army lieutenant general[17]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Ramet 2006, p. 47.
  2. ↑ Newman 2012, p. 158.
  3. ↑ Glenny 2012, p. 410.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tomasevich 1975, p. 126.
  5. ↑ Singleton 1985, p. 188.
  6. ↑ Pavlowitch 2007, p. 52.
  7. ↑ Milazzo 1975, p. 19.
  8. ↑ Tomasevich 1975, p. 120.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Tomasevich 1975, p. 127.
  10. ↑ Roberts 1973, p. 21.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Pavlowitch 2007, p. 59.
  12. ↑ Tomasevich 1975, pp. 127–128.
  13. ↑ Tomasevich 2001, p. 183.
  14. ↑ Tomasevich 1975, p. 128.
  15. ↑ Milazzo 1975, pp. 28–29.
  16. ↑ Milazzo 1975, pp. 44–45.
  17. ↑ Stein 1984, p. 295.
  18. ↑ Tomasevich 1975, p. 195.
  19. ↑ Roberts 1973, p. 63.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lazić 2011, pp. 29–30.
  21. ↑ Tomasevich 1975, pp. 128, 195.
  22. ↑ Tomasevich 1975, p. 260.

References