The Montenegrin Volunteer Corps ( sr, Crnogorski dobrovoljački korpus, script=Latn, ; german: Montenegrinisches Freiwilligenkorps) was a collaborationist military formation that was created in the spring of 1944 under Chetnik leader

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 ...

with assistance from the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. It was formally a part of the Serbian Volunteer Corps. The Corps consisted of some of Đurišić's former troopers that were released from German captivity, but the majority were Chetniks that remained in Montenegro under the name of "national forces". Đurišić developed the force in

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

and

Sandžak Sandžak (; sh, / , ; sq, Sanxhaku; ota, سنجاق, Sancak), also known as Sanjak, is a historical geo-political region in Serbia and Montenegro. The name Sandžak derives from the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a former Ottoman administrative dis ...

and it consisted of between 7,000 and 8,000 men. Tomasevich (1975), p. 350 In April 1945, negotiations were launched between Đurišić,

Sekula Drljević Sekula Drljević (; 7 September 1884 – 10 November 1945) was a Montenegrin nationalist, Yugoslav jurist, politician, orator, and theoretician. During World War II, he was a collaborator with the Ustaše in the German puppet state of t ...

, and the Ustaša for safe passage to German-occupied Slovenia and a safe-conduct agreement was formed. Tomasevich (1975), pp. 447-448 The details of the agreement are not known, but it appears Đurišić and his troops were meant to cross the Sava River into

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...

where they would be aligned with Drljević as the "

Montenegrin National Army Montenegrin National Army ( sr, Црногорска народна војска / Crnogorska narodna vojska) was an army whose supreme commander was Montenegrin collaborationist politician and separatist Sekula Drljević. When Pavle Đurišić ret ...

" with Đurišić retaining operational command. Đurišić, however, along with some other Chetnik commanders, including

Zaharije Ostojić Lieutenant Colonel Zaharije Ostojić ( sr-cyr, Захарије Остојић; 1907 – April 1945) was a Montenegrin Serb and Yugoslav military officer who served as the chief of the operational, organisational and intelligence branches o ...

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 ...

, some political leaders, and a number of Orthodox priests were killed in apparent trap set by Drljević and the Ustaša. A small part of Đurišić's troops escaped and went west; however a larger part of them, left without a leader, were integrated into Drljević's forces and were dispatched towards the Austrian border. A portion of both groups were later caught by 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� ...

in Slovenia. The majority of those who successfully crossed into Austria were returned by the Partisans to Slovenia, where, alongside other collaborationist forces, they met their doom in May. Of the entire force that began with Đurišić in Montenegro and other Chetniks that joined him for the trek less than a fourth survived.

Notes

References

* {{Factions in the Yugoslav Front Military units and formations of the Chetniks in World War II Montenegrin collaborators with Nazi Germany Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945