The Croatian Naval Legion () was a contingent of volunteers from the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

that served with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's navy ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'', on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Formation

The legion was formed in July 1941, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June. It was initially comprised some 350 officers and ratings in German uniform, but this eventually swelled to 900–1,000. Their first commander was Commander Andro Vrkljan, who was commissioned as a ''

Fregattenkapitän () is the middle ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany , short: FKpt / in lists: FK, is the middle Senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. It is the equivalent o ...

'' (frigate captain) in the German navy. Vrkljan was later replaced by Captain Stjepan Rumenović. The Croats purpose in posting a naval contingent to the Black Sea was to evade the prohibition on an Adriatic navy imposed by the

Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...

(18 May 1941) with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. This prohibition effectively limited the

Croatian Navy The Croatian Navy (HRM; ) is the naval force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1991 from what Croatian forces managed to capture from the Yugoslav Navy during the breakup of Yugoslavia and Croatian War of Independence. In ad ...

(RMNDH) to a riverine flotilla.

Operational history

The Croatian Naval Legion arrived at Varna in Bulgaria on 17 July 1941. It trained on minesweepers and submarines. On 30 September it was moved to Henichesk in Ukraine, where it was activated as the 23rd Minesweeper Flotilla (''23. Minensuchflottille''). The unit did not have any ships upon its arrival in the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

. It managed to scrounge up 47 damaged or abandoned fishing vessels, mostly sailing ships, and to man them with hired local Russian and Ukrainian sailors, many of them deserters from the Soviet Red Navy. Over the winter of 1941–42, the legionnaires dug trenches and fought as infantry in defence of the town. They only put to sea in April 1942. In May 1942 while placing mines around the harbour entrance 25 Croatians were killed and 2 boats destroyed. The legion patrolled a coastal sector of the Sea of Azov. On 24 September 1942, the '' Poglavnik''

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 was dictator of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a fasc ...

visited the naval headquarters, where he reached an agreement with German authorities to train and equip a

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a type of small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. They encompass designs that are now largely obsolete, but which played an important role in the wars of the first half of th ...

flotilla the Legion became . At the end of 1942, the legion returned to Croatia to recuperate, and in the new year returned to Varna. In 1943, the legion was expanded with a Croatian volunteer coastal artillery unit, bringing the total manpower to more than 1,000 men. With the capitulation of Italy in September 1943, there was no impediment to a Croatian navy on the Adriatic Sea anymore. The Croatian Naval Legion returned to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

on 21 May 1944. It was then posted to

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, where it operated as a torpedo-boat flotilla ''

Schnellboot E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat"; plural ''Schnellboote'') of the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a pa ...

'' under the German 11th Escort Flotilla (''11. Sicherungsdivision''), it was disbanded in December 1944.

Aftermath

Its crews were incorporated into the Navy of the Independent State of Croatia. The coastal artillery batteries remained stationed in Split as part of the Kriegsmarine, from February 1944.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Croatian Naval Legion Navy of the Independent State of Croatia Military units and formations of the Kriegsmarine Foreign volunteer units of the Wehrmacht Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 Independent State of Croatia Military units and formations of Germany in Yugoslavia in World War II Foreign volunteer units of the Kriegsmarine Military units and formations of the Croatian Legion

Formation

Operational history

Aftermath

See also

Notes

References