The 3rd Army of the
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
was a Partisan army that operated in
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
during the last months of the Second World War.
The Army was created on 1 January 1945, when Chief Commander Marshal
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
converted the guerilla
in a more regular ''Yugoslav Army''.
History
As commander was named General lieutenant
Kosta Nađ
Konstantin "Kosta" Nađ (; 13 May 1911 – 19 November 1986) was a Yugoslav Partisan army general who commanded Partisan units during World War II in Yugoslavia, primarily in and around the Vojvodina region.
Biography
Born on 13 May 1911 in Petr ...
, as Political Commissioner Branko Petričević, and as Chief of staff, Vukašin Subotić.
The Army was formed from the units of the General Staff Vojvodina and the
12th Corps (
16th,
36th and 51st Vojvodina divisions). Later the 12th Slavonian, 17th Eastern Bosnian, 32nd Zagorje, 33rd Croatian and 40th Slavonian divisions were added.
Vojska.net
/ref>
Until April 1945, the 3rd Army held positions on the Syrmian Front
The Syrmian Front () was an Axis powers, Axis line of defense during World War II. It was established as part of the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front in late October 1944 in Syrmia and east Slavonia, northwest of Belgrade.
After the ...
from Drava to Vukovar and fought on the Virovitica
Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungary, Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). I ...
bridgehead, on the left bank of the Drava River, in the vicinity of Slavonski Požega, near Daruvar
Daruvar is a spa town and municipality in Slavonia, northeastern Croatia, with a population of 8,567. The area including the surrounding villages (Daruvarski Vinogradi, Doljani, Donji Daruvar, Gornji Daruvar, Lipovac Majur, Ljudevit Selo, Marko ...
and on other places.
In the final offensive for the liberation of Yugoslavia in April-May 1945, it liberated a large part of Slavonia, Croatia, Hrvatsko Zagorje
Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian language, Croatian for 'backland' or 'behind the hills') is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica mount ...
and Slovenia.
By the end of the war, it was operating in the northeastern part of Slovenia (Ptuj
Ptuj (; , ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, eighth-largest town of Slovenia, located in the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria (northeastern Slovenia). It is the seat of the City Municipality of Ptuj, Municipality of Pt ...
, Maribor
Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...
). Its units, together with forces from the 4th Army, surrounded a 30,000 strong mixed Axis column containing Germans, Ustashi, Home Guard and Montenegrin Chetniks, and forced it to capitulate after fierce fighting in the Battle of Poljana
The Battle of Poljana took place outside of Poljana, near the town of Prevalje in Yugoslavia (modern-day Slovenia) between the Yugoslav Army and a column of 30,000 retreating Axis soldiers, which consisted of the German Wehrmacht, the Croatian ...
on May 14-15, a week after the armistice.
References
Sources
* This is a translation of the article in the Slovenian Wikipedia
The Slovene Wikipedia () is the Slovene-language edition of the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia. It has been active since 26 February 2002. On 15 August 2010, it reached 100,000 articles. As of , it has articles and is the -largest Wikipedia ...
, '' 3. armada (NOVJ).''
{{Yugoslav Partisans military units
3rd Army
Military units and formations established in 1945
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
1945 disestablishments in Yugoslavia
Partisans
Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to:
Military
* Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line
** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII
** Itali ...
Military units and formations of the Yugoslav Partisans