Dinara Division
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The Dinara Division ( sr, Динарска дивизија / Dinarska divizija) was an irregular Chetnik
formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
that existed during the
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
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occupation of Yugoslavia that largely operated as
auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, ...
of the occupying forces and fought the
Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
. Organized in 1942 with assistance from
Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin ( sr-cyr, Илија Трифуновић-Бирчанин; 1877 – 3 February 1943) was a Serbian Chetnik military commander (''vojvoda'', војвода). He took part in the Balkan Wars and World War I and af ...
and headed by
Momčilo Đujić Momčilo Đujić ( sh-Cyrl, Момчилo Ђујић, ; 27 February 1907 – 11 September 1999) was a Serbian Orthodox priest and Chetnik . He led a significant proportion of the Chetniks within the northern Dalmatia and western Bosnia r ...
, the division incorporated commanders in Bosnia and Herzegovina, northern Dalmatia, and the Lika region. The division was under the control of supreme Chetnik commander Draža Mihailović and received aid from
Dimitrije Ljotić Dimitrije Ljotić ( sr-cyr, Димитрије Љотић; 12 August 1891 – 23 April 1945) was a Serbian and Yugoslav fascist politician and ideologue who established the Yugoslav National Movement (Zbor) in 1935 and collaborated with Ge ...
, leader of the Serbian Volunteer Corps, and
Milan Nedić Milan Nedić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Недић; 2 September 1878 – 4 February 1946) was a Yugoslav and Serbian army general and politician who served as the chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army and minister of war in the R ...
, head of the Serbian puppet
Government of National Salvation The Government of National Salvation ( sr, Влада народног спаса, Vlada narodnog spasa, (VNS); german: Regierung der nationalen Rettung), also referred to as Nedić's government (, ) and Nedić's regime (, ), was the colloquial na ...
. In late 1944 the division began withdrawing towards Slovenia. Afterwards, it joined
Dobroslav Jevđević Dobroslav Jevđević ( sr-Cyrl, Доброслав Јевђевић, ; 28 December 1895 – October 1962) was a Bosnian Serb politician and self-appointed Chetnik commander (, војвода) in the Herzegovina region of the Axis-occupied Ki ...
's Chetniks, Ljotić's Serbian Volunteer Corps, and the remnants of Nedić's Serbian Shock Corps in forming a single unit that was under the command of
Odilo Globocnik Odilo Lothar Ludwig Globocnik (21 April 1904 – 31 May 1945) was an Austrian Nazi and a perpetrator of the Holocaust. He was an official of the Nazi Party and later a high-ranking leader of the SS. Globocnik had a leading role in Operation Re ...
of the Higher SS and Police Leader in the Adriatic Littoral. In May 1945 Đujić surrendered the division to Allied forces, who took its members to southern Italy, from where they were taken to
displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peop ...
s in Germany and then dispersed. Đujić emigrated to the
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in 1949. Many members of the Dinara division are believed to have followed him there, while others emigrated to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Đujić lived in the United States until his death in September 1999.


Background

On 6 April 1941,
Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
forces invaded the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...
. Poorly equipped and poorly trained, the
Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the land warfare military service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (originally Kingdom of Serbs, ...
was quickly defeated. After the invasion, the country was dismembered. The extreme
Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...
nationalist and fascist
Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and served as dictator of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, l ...
, who had been in exile in Benito Mussolini's
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, was then appointed ''
Poglavnik () was the title used by Ante Pavelić, leader of the World War II Croatian movement Ustaše and of the Independent State of Croatia between 1941 and 1945. Etymology and usage The word was first recorded in a 16th-century dictionary compiled ...
'' (leader) of an
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...
-led Croatian state – the
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...
(often called the NDH, from the hr, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska). The NDH combined almost all of modern-day
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, all of modern-day
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
and parts of modern-day
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
into an "Italian-German quasi-protectorate." NDH authorities, led by the
Ustaše militia The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...
, subsequently implemented genocidal policies against the
Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
,
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and Romani population living within the borders of the new state. Serbs in particular were targeted for incarcerations, massacres, forced emigration, and murder. As a result, two resistance movements emerged – the royalist and Serb Chetniks, led by
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
Draža Mihailović, and the multi-ethnic, Communist
Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
, led by Josip Broz Tito.
Momčilo Đujić Momčilo Đujić ( sh-Cyrl, Момчилo Ђујић, ; 27 February 1907 – 11 September 1999) was a Serbian Orthodox priest and Chetnik . He led a significant proportion of the Chetniks within the northern Dalmatia and western Bosnia r ...
, a
Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
priest, appointed himself ''vojvoda'' (commander) of Chetnik forces in northern Dalmatia. Chetnik movement in Croatia was developed among the Serbs of the Kninska Krajina, central Dalmatia and southern Lika region. These Chetnik groups were formed during separation of the
Greater Serbia The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia ( sr, Велика Србија, Velika Srbija) describes the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology of the creation of a Serb state which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to S ...
n and pro-Chetnik elements which arose from insurgent Serb groups whose actions were against the military and civilian authorities of the NDH and Ustasha repressive measures against the Serb population. Some of the Greater Serbian and the pro-Chetnik groups were under protection of the Italian occupation army and they gradually became part of their service. After the Zagreb agreement between the NDH authorities and the Italian military authorities from the middle of 1942 these Chetnik groups became part of voluntary anti-communist militias (Milizia volontaria anticomunista) where they were properly supplied with weapons, food, and in time of combat activities against the Partisans paid with money and war loot. During March-April 1942 all these Chetnik groups from the Kninska Krajina, northern Dalmatia and southern Lika area will be united to the ''Dinara Chetniks Division'' and placed under the command of the West Bosnian, Lika-Dalmatian and
Herzegovinia Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geograp ...
n military Chetnik detachments where they were even better connected to the movement of Draža Mihailović.


Formation and objectives

The division was formed in early January 1942 after Đujić was contacted by Mihailović via a courier.
Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin ( sr-cyr, Илија Трифуновић-Бирчанин; 1877 – 3 February 1943) was a Serbian Chetnik military commander (''vojvoda'', војвода). He took part in the Balkan Wars and World War I and af ...
played a central role in organizing the units of Chetnik leaders in western Bosnia, Lika, and northern Dalmatia into the Dinara Division and dispatched former Royal Yugoslav Army officers to help. Đujić was designated the commander of the division and its goal was for the "establishment of a Serb national state" in which "an exclusively Orthodox population is to live". According to Đujić: "We were under Draža's command, but we received news and supplies for our struggle from imitrijeLjotić and
ilan Ilan may refer to: Organization * ILAN, Israeli umbrella organization for the treatment of disabled children Given name * Ilan (name), a Hebrew/Israeli name * Ilan Bakhar, a retired Israeli footballer * Ilan Araújo Dall'Igna, a Brazilian footbal ...
Nedić. ..Nedić's couriers reached me in Dinara and mine reached him in Belgrade. He sent me military uniforms for the guardists of the Dinara Chetnik Division; he sent me ten million dinars to obtain for the fighters whatever was needed and whatever could be obtained." In March 1942 the division prepared a programmatic statement that concerned the "specific conditions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, northern Dalmatia, and southwestern Croatia ( Lika)." The statement was accepted by commanders of these areas during a conference at Strmica near
Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...
a month later. The statement echoed the tone of Mihailović's
instructions Instruction or instructions may refer to: Computing * Instruction, one operation of a processor within a computer architecture instruction set * Computer program, a collection of instructions Music * Instruction (band), a 2002 rock band from Ne ...
issued in December 1941 to Chetnik commanders Major
Đorđije Lašić Đorđije Lašić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ђорђије Лашић; 5 May 1906 – 5 May 1944) was a Montenegrin Serb military officer of the Royal Yugoslav Army. During the Second World War he participated in the 1941 Uprising in Montenegro, but h ...
and Captain
Pavle Đurišić Pavle Đurišić ( sr-cyr, Павле Ђуришић, ; 9 July 1909 – April 1945) was a Montenegrin Serb regular officer of the Royal Yugoslav Army who became a Chetnik commander ('' vojvoda'') and led a significant proportion of the Chetniks ...
in pursuing a
Greater Serbia The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia ( sr, Велика Србија, Velika Srbija) describes the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology of the creation of a Serb state which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to S ...
that was to be inhabited solely by Serbs, the establishment of a corridor through the linkage of the territories Herzegovina, northern Dalmatia, Bosnia, and Lika to
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
; the mobilization of all Serb nationalists for the ethnic cleansing of other nationalities that existed in Herzegovina, Dalmatia, Bosnia, and Lika. It also elaborated on the division's wartime strategy: "collaboration with the Italians on a live-and-let-live principle, determined struggle against Ustaša formations and the Domobrans, as well as against the Partisans; it is task of the Chetnik movement to prevent increasing number of Croats and Muslims who join the Partisan movement and the main focus must be towards "national Croats", though later they can be eliminated; and the formation of separate Croatian Chetnik units for pro-Yugoslav, anti-Partisan Croats." While towards Muslims "should be patient, not to kill them and plunder ie undertake such methods that Muslims really gain belief that military-Chetnik detachments are their friends", in this regard it is concluded "any premature action against the Muslim population would strengthen the Partisans because they have to sit at their houses so that we destroy them in their homes" In the area of the Sassari division according to a report of the Italian 18. Army Corps from 11 August 1942 exist nine Chetnik detachments with total of 12,440 persons under command of Momčilo Đujić, however according to same record only about 2600 persons were armed. While command of 18. Army Corps in mid-September 1942 talks about 4269 people armed with 4197 rifles, 35 light machine guns and 7 machine guns. In order to strengthen the Chetnik positions in the area of the Kninska Krajina and southern Lika at the end of 1942 were transferred about 3,200 Herzegovinian and east Bosnian Chetniks, among whom was and the Zlatibor Chetnik detachment from Serbia which remained there until March 1943. In the late summer of 1944 Dinara Division has about 6500 of Chetniks.Fikreta Jelić Butić; (1986) ''Četnici u Hrvatskoj, 1941-1945'' p. 120-121 ; Globus,


Decline and retreat to the Adriatic Littoral

During early February 1943, as the Partisans began to prevail over the Chetniks as part of Case White, Đujić and
Petar Baćović Petar Baćović ( sh-Cyrl, Петар Баћовић; 1898 – April 1945) was a Bosnian Serb Chetnik commander ( sh-Latn, vojvoda, sh-Cyrl, војвода) within occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. From the summer of 1941 until April ...
attempted to mount a counteroffensive around
Bosansko Grahovo Bosansko Grahovo ( sr-cyr, Босанско Грахово) is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in western Bosnia and Herzegovina along ...
in western Bosnia preliminary to re-capturing Drvar. This was opposed by the Germans and made no headway. By early August, the Dinara Division was "poorly formed, badly armed and disciplined", lacked accurate rolls of its members, and consisted of no more than 3,000 effectives. Lieutenant Colonel
Mladen Žujović Mladen Žujović (1895—1969) was Serbian and Yugoslav attorney and professor of Law at Belgrade University. He was known as member of British-supported secret society Konspiracija and during the World War II as a member of the Central National ...
, one of Mihailović's few remaining delegates in the area, concluded that the division was "a pure figment of the imagination." On 21 December 1944, after Đujić requested a written guarantee from Ante Pavelić to afford him and his forces refuge in German-occupied Slovenia, Pavelić ordered the military forces of the Independent State of Croatia to give Đujić's division free passage. However, Đujić went through an alternate route towards the
Istrian peninsula Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwee ...
, as the routes offered by Pavelić were not secure from Partisan attacks, and killed the Croatian population along the way. When Đujić reached Slovenia, his forces joined
Dobroslav Jevđević Dobroslav Jevđević ( sr-Cyrl, Доброслав Јевђевић, ; 28 December 1895 – October 1962) was a Bosnian Serb politician and self-appointed Chetnik commander (, војвода) in the Herzegovina region of the Axis-occupied Ki ...
's Chetniks,
Dimitrije Ljotić Dimitrije Ljotić ( sr-cyr, Димитрије Љотић; 12 August 1891 – 23 April 1945) was a Serbian and Yugoslav fascist politician and ideologue who established the Yugoslav National Movement (Zbor) in 1935 and collaborated with Ge ...
's Serbian Volunteer Corps, and the remnants of
Milan Nedić Milan Nedić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Недић; 2 September 1878 – 4 February 1946) was a Yugoslav and Serbian army general and politician who served as the chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army and minister of war in the R ...
's Serbian Shock Corps in forming a single unit that was under the command of
Odilo Globocnik Odilo Lothar Ludwig Globocnik (21 April 1904 – 31 May 1945) was an Austrian Nazi and a perpetrator of the Holocaust. He was an official of the Nazi Party and later a high-ranking leader of the SS. Globocnik had a leading role in Operation Re ...
of the Higher SS and Police Leader in the Adriatic Littoral.


Aftermath

In May 1945, Đujić surrendered the Dinara division to Allied forces. Its members were then taken to southern Italy. From there, they were taken to
displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peop ...
s in Germany and then dispersed. After staying in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
from 1947 to 1949, Đujić emigrated to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, where many members of the Dinara division are believed to have followed him. Other members of the division emigrated to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and settled there. Đujić lived in the United States until his death in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
in September 1999.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinara Division Eastern European theatre of World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations of the Chetniks in World War II Croatia in World War II Bosnia and Herzegovina in World War II