June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina

June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina

In June 1941, Serbs in eastern Herzegovina rebelled against the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia. The NDH was an Axis puppet state established during World War II on the territory of the defeated and occupied Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As the NDH imposed its authority, members of the fascist Ustaše ruling party began a genocidal campaign against Serbs throughout the country.

About June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina in brief

Summary June 1941 uprising in eastern HerzegovinaIn June 1941, Serbs in eastern Herzegovina rebelled against the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia. The NDH was an Axis puppet state established during World War II on the territory of the defeated and occupied Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As the NDH imposed its authority, members of the fascist Ustaše ruling party began a genocidal campaign against Serbs throughout the country. In the first few days, the rebels captured gendarmerie posts in several villages, set up roadblocks on the major roads and ambushed several military vehicles. The rebels mounted a sustained attack on the town of Nevesinje in an attempt to capture it, but the garrison held out until the morning of 28 June when NDH troops broke through the rebel roadblocks. The rebel forces did not put up any significant opposition to the clearing operation, and either retreated into nearby Montenegro, or hid their weapons in the mountains and went home. By 7 July, NDH forces had regained full control of all towns and major transport routes in the region. In May 1941, a committee of Serbs and Montenegrins urged the Italians to annex the neighboring Italian-occupied territory of Montenegro to the neighboring NDH. A delegation from eastern HerzEGovina arrived in eastern Montenegro in June 1941 to discuss the possibility of an independent Montenegrin state. The committee was advocating the establishment of an ‘independent’ state, similar to that of Montenegrin separatists.

In July 1941, an Italian column cleared the rebels from Avtovac and relieved the hard-pressed NDH garrison in Gacko. The following day, an NDH force of over 2,000 fanned out from Neves inje, clearing towns, villages and routes of rebels. In April 1941, former Royal Yugoslav Army troops returned to their homes with their weapons. This was a significant security concern for the fledgling NDH government due to the proximity of the border with Montenegro and the close relationship between the people of eastern Herzegaovina and Montenegro. On the day after the surrender, the commander of theNDH armed forces, Vojskovođa Slavko Kvaternik issued a proclamation demanding the surrender of all weapons to NDH authorities by 24 April. On 24 April, the NDh created five military command areas, including Bosnia Command and Adriatic Command, both of which were initially headquartered in Sarajevo. On 20 May, six battalions were mobilised from areas of eastern Bosnia and Herzega to be ready for the fifth column during the Axis invasion. The battalions identified as Adriatics Command were ready by 20 May. The fifth column made an aggressive move during the fifth Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, and made Serb civilian leaders in eastern Bosnia apprehensive about the ND hinterland. In August 1941, the Croatian Home Guard began to mobilise soldiers for the Home Guard, with the battalions being identified as Adriatic. Command.