Slovenian chetniks

[Crvena zvezda]

Avtor: BRAJKO
SLOVENIAN CHETNIKS
Slovenian Chetniks- Blue Guard
We could divided Slovenian Chetnik movement into 3 periods:


1st Period:

At the end of 1941 and at the beginning of 1942 Slovenian chetniks under Major Karel Novak secretly began to form their units, chetnik units of so called ''Yugoslav Army''. In the middle of May 1942 a group of chetniks ( Styria Battalion- slo. Stajerski bataljon) left from Sv.Urh, near Ljubljana to Gorjanci, Lower Carniola. There they carried out a mobilization, but because they were to weak, they avoided conflicts with the partisans.There were also some other small groups of chetniks, which mostly hid themselves against partisans. Later this ''Styria Battalion'' joined MVAC and operated under the name of ''Legion of Death''. Now chetniks fought as a part of MVAC. Despite that they secretly continued with gatherting volunteers, weapons etc. inside MVAC for a new Chetnik detachments, that they were planning to form in the furture. The kernel of this new Chetnik Army was organized in MVAC village post Zaplana, near Vrhnika. In front of the public or Italian Army they were officially members of MVAC, but secretly they were members of ''Yugoslav Chetnik Army''.



2nd Period:

In September 1942 Slovene Legion, Sokol Legion and National Legion were largely incorporated into MVAC (it. Milizia volontaria anti-comunisti), leaving three to four hundred men organized in early 1943 as four Chetnik detachments (slo. cetniski odredi) who were unofficially named the Blue Guard (slo. Plava Garda). They operated mainly in Eastern Lubiana Province under command of Major Karel Novak. In February 1943 was Slovenian Chetnik movement again revived. Some of the men were released from MVAC in order to form new Chetnik Army. Till June 1943 Chetniks managed to gather about 80 men. This was a unit of Major Karel Novak.
He divided his unit into four detachments:
• Primorski (the Littoral) Chetnik Detachment ( commanding officer was Ratomir Cotic)
• Gorenjski Chetnik ( the upper Carniola) Detachment ( Lt. Joze Hlebec)
• Centralni (eng. Central) Chetnik Detachment ( Major Koprivica)
• Stajerski ( Styria) Chetnik Detachment
After Italian capitulation, Gorenjski and Primorski Chetnik detachments retreated towards Vrhnika, where they later joined the Slovenian Home Defence Force. This chetnik detachments numbered only 10 to 25 men; in fact when Italy capitulated, Slovenian Chetniks numbered only about 400 men. Chetniks ( Major Novak) tried to reinforce their army with members of Slovene legion, but clericals didn't want to loose their army. Before Italian capitulation Major Karel Novak left for Susak and Gorski Kotar (Croatia), where he had talks with some chetnik leaders, operating in that region. In first days of September 1943 ''Central'' Chetnik Detachment arrived in the village Grcarice, near Kocevje. The detachment numbered approximately 200 men. They fortified in the village Grcarice and decided to wait for arriving of 600 Chetniks from Lika under command of Major Bjelajca. Together they would wait than for British and American landings in Istria, so that they could join them and together ''liberated'' Slovenia. No one came. Despite that was this Chetnik detachment on 10 September 1943 attacked and completely destroyed by 14th Partisan Division. The attack of the 14th Division was led by 4th Partisan Brigade Ljubo Sercer. Chetniks had 11 killed, 17 wounded and 171 captured, meanwhile partisans had 11 killed and 18 wounded. Chetnik Commander, Major Koprivica committed a suicide. This defeat really affected Chetnik movement in Slovenia. After Grcarice battle Chetniks in Slovenia never represented any real threat to the partisans.

[Crvena zvezda]

From Večernje Novosti
Slovenian Guards of General Draža
Uroš Šyoušterić is the last living Slovenian member of Ravna Gora Chetnik movement. After the academic Aleksander Bajt shocked Slovenian public with his book “Berman's Files” in which he unveiled the role of many respectable Slovenians who fought on Draža Mihailović's side, above mentioned Uroš Šyoušterić decided to public a memoir book called “From Ljubljana to Ravna Gora”. Šyoušterić has been politically active since before the breakup of Yugoslavia as one of the most influential members of SDS-party of Janez Janša.

In his exclusive interview to “Novosti”, he spoke openly about the days under Ravna Gora flag, Serb-Slovene relations, Mitja RibičIč and OZNA...

"Novosti": There was a dominant opinion in Slovenia that after WWI Serbs have replaced Austrian-Hungarians as occupiers. Until the breakup of (Kingdom) Yugoslavia Serbs have been more hated in Slovenia than in Croatia. How come you became Chetnik instead of Domobran?

Uroš Šyoušterić: I was raised to believe that Serbs are a people with equal rights to Slovenians. In my family, Serbs have always been military and political raw-models. You can't make a parallel between Croats and Slovenes. We have always considered Serbs as our brothers.

I personally knew colonel Draža Mihailović, my father and he were good friends – they were both Solun-Front fighters, awarded by Kara-George's Star medal. Draža was commandant of 38th infantry core in Celj where he made the foundations of territorial units with chetnik squads.

I became Chetnik as early as in 1939. I was arrested by Gestapo on April 14th, 1941 and imprisoned in feared Stari Pisker prison in Celj. At that time, Communists didn't even consider the fight against Germans.

I came to Serbia as a political refugee. In the summer of 1941, I cooperated with Chetnik-Partisan Kosmaj squad. I didn't become a soldier instantly, I worked at intelligence and propaganda first, and then, at the end of 1941, I became a member of Ravna Gora committee, with duties of intelligence-propaganda war. I just couldn't join Domobrans, for they were more like Nedić's forces in Serbia (Nazi collaborators, my remark).

N: You are the last living member of Chetnik movement in Slovenia. Please, tell us more about Slovenian members of Ravna Gora movement.

you.Š.: First, I have to say that Chetnik movement in Slovenia developed at the same time as Chetnik movement in Serbia, and it had two fractions. The first was North-Štajerska Chetnik movement which was active on occupied areas. The commandant was duke Zmagoslav and leutenant of Yugoslav Army in Fatherland Jože Melaher. They have constantly been battling Germans since 1941, and in the end they joined the Allies within Triglav division.

The second fraction was in Ljubljana province, under Italian occupation. Ljubljana, Gorenje and Notranje squads were there, and the movement was led by chetnik duke – major Karlo Novak.

It wasn't surprising that so many Slovenians joined Chetniks, since Mihailović promised in 1941 that after the war Koruška and Primorska areas would be annexed to Slovenia. That way we would have gained more profit under Draža than under Tito. Slovenian Chetniks recognized the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its government which was to bring democratic changes.

In 1943 on Grčarice, Partisans separately crushed the Chetniks and Italian artilleries, with that difference that they killed all the Chetniks, and on the other side, they safely sent Italians over the border, after taking their weaponry. I consider that as real colaboration with the occupiers.

N: Who were the most famous Slovenian Chetniks?

you.Š.: Aleksandar Bajt, who has been pro-monarchy and pro-chetnik oriented since his University times. In that time he received a task from Rome (illegal centre of Y.A.F. Command in Slovenia) to make a memorandum of the Chetnik situation in Slovenia. I haven't met him since only a year before he died. We all worked under utmost conspiracy. Bajt had a very respectful position later in Tito's Yugoslavia.

The great man of Ravna Gora movement was legendary athlete Leon Štukelj, who won many medals in Olympic Games. When I illegally came to Ljubljana in 1945, Leon Štukelj was the first man I met.

I have to say that in Slovenia, intellectuals were divided into two. Some were pro-monarchistic, while the others were pro-communistic, mostly christian socialists and orthodox communists like Kidrič, Kardelj, Krajger, TomšIć, Maček..

[Ostrogorski]

I only know about Leo Rupnik and his forces...there were, also, "blue" and "white" Chetnik units in Slovenia, and Domobrans.

I don't know about others...there were, letter, in 1944/45 Serbian volunteer corps (SDK), together with the Djuic Chetniks and Serbian guard (Nedic's forces) fighting the Communist forces in Slovenia, and the were all shot by Communists in Kocevje...

[Marcus Marulus]

How does a Slovenian cocarde look like? Maybe it has Triglav on it insatead of the eagle?

[Heretik]

We always knew. Sloweenyans are alpine chetniks.