Research On The Chetnik Movement In The Yugoslavian Resistance (1941-1942)

The "Chetnik" is a guerrilla movement that has existed in the southern Slavic region since the 19th century,especially in Serbia,Montenegro,Bosnia and Herzegovina,which against foreign rules and struggle for national independence.On April 17,1941,after the collapse of Yugoslavia Kingdom,Colonel Draza Mihailovic,a former officer,declared that he refused to surrender and will continue to resist in the way of Chetnik,which once again "revived" in the traditional manner.However,due to the acute and complex religious-ethnic conflicts,the different occupation systems of the Axis in various regions of Yugoslavia,and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia's wartime activities,the Chetnik movement had adjust its strategy from resisting fascists enemies both home and foreign into participating in three parallel war:the liberation war which against Axis power,the ethnic-religious war between the Serbs and the Croats and Moslems,and the Civil War against the Partisan which led by CPJ.The complex war environment and limited strategic resources forced the Chetnik to change its strategy and devote its main energy to the civil war with the Partisans and the ethnic-religious wars with the Croats and Moslems.This body can be divided into four parts:The first part:Mainly introduces the background of the Chetnik movement and the compelx occupation system of the Axis in Yugoslavia.The Chetnik movement was stemmed from the Serbian guerrilla movement for national liberation before the First World War,and became the leading patriotic group in Yugoslavia during the interwar.After the outbreak of the Second World War.the Axis Powers partition Yugoslavia and implemented different occupation policies in their respective occupied territories.In addition,Germany and Italy have established a fascist country,Independent State of Croatian,which included the west and central Yugoslavia.The second part:Mainly studies the Chetnik movement in Serbia in 1941-1942.After the April War,Colonel Mihailovic established a Chetnik headquarter in western Serbia,work out a preliminary resistance strategy and expanded the resistance organization actively.During the autumn and winter of 1941,the Chetnik cooperated with the Partisans led by CPJ against the German forces for a short period of time.However,due to irreconcilable differences between the Chetnik and Patisans,in terms of resistance strategies,wartime objectives and conflicts,the relationship between the two gradually deteriorated and escalated into a civil war finally.Meanwhile,the Chetnik movement was also under military pressure from the Germans,Nedic and Ljodic.In the case of desperation,Mihailovic decided to penetrate into the Nadic's government,hide the army under German's nose and use the enemy.In addition,Mihailovic also received strong support from the Yugoslavia Government-in-Exile.In 1942,the Chetnik movement was relatively active in Serbia,and its resistance brought the bloody reprisals of Germans,which caused heavy losses to movement.The third part:Mainly researches the Chetnik movement outside Serbia in 1941-1942.Owing to the complex reality of occupation in Montenegro and the Independent State of Croatia,as well as to the sharp ethnic-religious conflicts,the chetnik movement here arise from the Serb's self-defense uprising against the horrors of the Ustasha regime,and received Mihailovic's support,but ultimately controlled by local Serbian nationalists.In the fall and winter,the Chetnik and the Partisans cooperated for a short time.As the Partisans insisted on taking Communist revolution,and liquidate all non-Communist armed forces,the relationship between Partisans and nationalists gradually broke down and eventually escalated into a full-scale civil war under the influence of the Serbian civil war.The Italians flexibly changed the occupation policies,and actively sought out nationalists and guided them to fight against the Partisans.Nationalists have also developed new strategies to exploit the tension within the Axis camp.In the winter of 1941,the Chetnik from Bosnia,Herzegovina and Montenegro set a primary goal to establish a "Great Serbia",and resistance became a subordinate task.In 1942,Chetnik negotiated and signed agreements with the Italians.The fourth part:Re-evaluate the Chetnik movement.This section attempts to analyze the personality,opinions,abilities and the personal strategies of Mihailovic,and his personal influence on the movement as a whole.Besides,this part also research character of the Chetnik movement in Serbia and other parts of Yugoslavia.Finally,it can be concluded that the Chetnik movement was a Serbian nationalist movement,which was organized by Serbs,with its aim to build a "Great Serbia",and both against Axis and Communist.