Karl Novak (October 19, 1905 – 1975) was a Yugoslav Slovene military officer best known as commander of the
Slovene Chetniks in the Italian-annexed
Province of Ljubljana
The Province of Ljubljana (, , ) was the central-southern area of Slovenia. In 1941, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy, and after 1943 occupied by Nazi Germany. Created on May 3, 1941, it was abolished on May 9, 1945, when the Slovene Parti ...
(part of modern-day
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
) 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 ...
.
Early life
Novak was born in
Pula
Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...
in 1905. After he graduated from high school in Maribor, he attended the military academy.
Before World War II, Novak was a major in the
Yugoslav Royal Army.
World War II
After the
Axis invasion of Yugoslavia
The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in "Fü ...
in April, 1941 Novak went to headquarters of
Draža Mihailović
Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб "Дража" Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...
at
Ravna Gora together with
Jaka Avšič. Novak was instructed by Mihailović to infiltrate the headquarters of the communist forces in Slovenia, but this attempt failed because the Slovenian communists were warned by the communist headquarters from Užice.
In February 1943, Novak,
Draža Mihailović
Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб "Дража" Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...
's chief representative in the province, having tried for many months to get the Slovene Alliance to place some of their forces under his command, formed his own militia, known as the
Blue Guard (also known as the "Slovene Chetniks"). All major resistance factions in Slovenia had their representatives in Novak's headquarters, including Slovenian Legion, National Legion and Sokol Legion. Novak was the only Chetnik commander who exercised complete political and military control over units under his nominal command. However, this unit never grew larger than 400 troops, and because Novak had no political base in Slovenia, it was never a significant military or political force. After the war, Novak claimed that the Royal Yugoslav Army in Slovenia had armed encounters with Italian troops and gathered intelligence on the Italians for Mihailović, but according to the historian
Jozo Tomasevich
Josip "Jozo" Tomasevich (1908October 15, 1994; ) was an American economist and historian whose speciality was the economic and social history of Yugoslavia. Tomasevich was born in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, then part of Austria-Hungary, and after ...
the first claim is groundless as the Italians allocated an operational zone to Novak's principal unit and indirectly provided it with supplies, and its size and restrictions on its movement precluded the gathering of much useful intelligence.
Near
Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto (; ; also known by #Name, alternative names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, seventh-largest city of Slovenia. It is the economic and cultural centre of the traditional region of Lower Carniola (southeastern Slovenia) and ...
, in August 1943 Novak established the Ljubljana Chetnik Detachment. Major Novak was in
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ljubljana
, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = {{multiple image
, border = infobox
, perrow = 1/2/2/1
, total_widt ...
during the
Battle of Grčarice and commanded his units through radio connection. After the defeat of his units in this battle, Major Novak went to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
to avoid German attempts to arrest him in Ljubljana. On December 25, 1943, Mihailović promoted Novak to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In January 1944 Novak and
Dobrosav Jevđević, head of Mihailović's intelligence service in Italy, established a Chetnik military unit in the Slovenian Littoral and established its first detachment in the
Gorizia Hills
The Gorizia Hills ( or ''Collio''; or ''Brda''; ) is a hilly microregion in western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies on the right bank of the Soča (''Isonzo'') River, north of the Italian town of Gorizia, after which it is named. The r ...
. Novak was some kind of envoy for Mihailović with the Allies in Italy and had the intention of using this new Chetnik unit as the nucleus for new Chetnik action in Slovenia, and so he requested that Mihailovic's headquarters obtain financial support from the Yugoslav embassy in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
Novak died in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
in 1975.
References
Sources
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Further reading
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* KOROŠEC, I., MIHAILOVIĆ, D., & NOVAK, K. I. (2007). V spomin:
rža Mihailović in Karel Novak Vestnik Zveze Slovencev V Inozemstvu. 28–32.
CIA archive document about activity of Karl Novak 1941-1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novak, Karl
1905 births
1975 deaths
People from Pula
People from the Margraviate of Istria
Slovenian Chetnik personnel of World War II
Slovenian anti-communists
Slovenian collaborators with Fascist Italy