The Rasina Corps was a corps of the
Yugoslav Army in the Homeland (JVuO) that operated in the region of
Kruševac
Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...
county of
Axis occupied Kingdom of Yugoslavia (modern-day
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
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, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
) under command of
Dragutin Keserović.
History
On 11 May 1944 the Rasina Corps was merged with Toplica Corps to establish Rasina-Toplica Corps Group, an elite Chetnik unit that would receive the biggest burden of defence from
Tito's communist forces and together with the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
liberated Kruševac from Axis occupation.
Rasina Corps evolved from Rasina Detachment. According to postwar Communist sources Rasina Corps had 3,000 soldiers. Its zone of activity was territory of former Kruševac county. It had five brigades:
* 1st Trstenik Brigade
* 2nd Trstenik Brigade
* Studenica Brigade
* Kruševac Brigade
* Župa Brigade
Initially, the headquarters was in
Kupci village between Kruševac and
Brus
Brus ( sr-cyr, Брус, ) is a town and municipality located in the Rasina District of southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the population of the town is 4,183, while the population of the municipality is 13,594. It is located at above ...
, and later in
Kriva Reka village on Kopaonik. The Rasina Corps had a military court and published journals including ''Freedom or Death'' () and ''Youth'' ().
A British mission was attached to HQ of the Rasina Corps. One of its members was Captain Robert Wade. Wade emphasized in his later testimonies that the Chetniks he contacted were convinced that the British would help them to win the war and had no indication that the British support to Chetniks would end. On 23 May 1943 another British mission joined Rasina Corps with airplane which , a mission headed by Major Neil Selby arrived to Rasina Corps after being parachuted to
Kopaonik
Kopaonik ( sr-Cyrl, Копаоник; ) is a mountain range located in Kosovo and Central Serbia. The highest point of this mountain range is the Pančić's Peak with an altitude of . The central part of the Kopaonik plateau was declared a nation ...
. When Selby arrived to HQ of Keserović , he took over the command of group of British officers led by Captain Wade who were already there. Selby arrived on Kopaonik together with Yugoslav officer Petar Fereštetski, while airplane which carried them also delivered 10 machine guns and 4,000 bullets to Chetniks.
On 24 December 1943 Mihailović ordered destruction of one railway bridge on
Južna Morava
The South Morava (; Macedonian and Serbian: Јужна Морава, ''Južna Morava'', ) is a river in eastern Kosovo and in southern Serbia, which represents the shorter headwater of Great Morava. Today, it is long, including its source riv ...
river in the first half of January 1944 by Rasina and Deligrad Corps.
Rasina-Toplica Corps
Rasina-Toplica Corps Group commanded by Lt. Colonel Keserović took the biggest burden of defence from advancing Titos communist forces. This unit was established on 11 May 1944 by Chetnik Supreme Command. Together with Red Army, Rasina-Toplica Corps Group liberated Kruševac on 14 October 1944.
References
Sources
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasina Corps
Military units and formations of the Chetniks in World War II