The original Chetniks (from the Serbian word Četnik, meaning "trooper") were Serb paramilitary or guerrilla forces founded to protect the Serbs in Macedonia from Ottoman and Albanian forces in the years after 1903. Later, there were also Chetnik battalions (special forces) in the interwar period of the Royal Yugoslav Army. After the Axis occupied Serbia, General Draža Mihailović (ex-Yugoslav Minister of War) established a new Chetnik movement to resist the German occupation and combat the communist "partisans." Mihailović's forces were known as the "Royal Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland", founded on 13 May 1941.
Later in the war, the Chetniks cooperated tactically with the Germans under some situations, mainly to fight Partisans or protect civilians. The Germans considered them to be useful allies, so much so that they openly favoured the Chetniks over Ustaše units due to the latter being disloyal, unreliable, and traitorous. Most Chetnik forces had withdrawn from central Serbia by 1945 due to suffering heavy losses and effectively collapsing by the end of the war. Their headquarters at Ravna Gora were overrun, and Mihailović, along with his few remaining followers, was sadly captured by the communist authorities in March 1946, brought to Belgrade, and subsequently tried and executed.
Chetnik flag:
Chetniks posing with German soldiers:
Chetniks and German tankmen before launching an attack on the Partisans:
Pretty cool
.
Later in the war, the Chetniks cooperated tactically with the Germans under some situations, mainly to fight Partisans or protect civilians. The Germans considered them to be useful allies, so much so that they openly favoured the Chetniks over Ustaše units due to the latter being disloyal, unreliable, and traitorous. Most Chetnik forces had withdrawn from central Serbia by 1945 due to suffering heavy losses and effectively collapsing by the end of the war. Their headquarters at Ravna Gora were overrun, and Mihailović, along with his few remaining followers, was sadly captured by the communist authorities in March 1946, brought to Belgrade, and subsequently tried and executed.
Chetnik flag:
Chetniks posing with German soldiers:
Chetniks and German tankmen before launching an attack on the Partisans:
Pretty cool
.
