Retreat and demise Serbian Volunteer Corps (World War II)

in september partisans red army support began final offensive in serbia. in mid-september 1944, corps unit saved draža mihailović , chetnik supreme command in northwest serbia capture partisans.

the major battle on 9 september when partisans totally defeated joint sdk , chetnik forces. sdk in october given task defend Šabac bridgehead , sava river against partisans, german units , under command of colonel jungenfeld, commander of 5th police regiment. on 14 october battle belgrade started, , germans decided evacuate sdk place can used in guarding duties , anti-partisan actions, since sdk considered unsuitable full frontal combat. hitler ordered move sdk operational zone of adriatic littoral, , put under higher ss , police leader of ozak, under commander in chief south-west. army group f commander ordered boarding of sdk evacuation on 17 october on railway station ruma, clearance high command of south-west received transport on 19–21 october. on new position sdk participated in anti-partisan operations.

the withdrawal began on 8 october during final joint partisan , soviet assault on belgrade when 1st volunteer regiment under major ilija mićašević , 4th volunteer regiment under major vojislav dimitrijević crossed sava river. 3rd regiment under major jovan dobrosavljević delayed crossing sava fighting partisans in Šabac , met others later in ruma. 2nd regiment under major marisav petrović crossed sava near obrenovac. 2nd , 3rd battalions of 5th regiment still on ground. when reached niš learned red army had taken aleksinac , way belgrade blocked. commander of 5th regiment forced change withdrawal plan , moved across raška mountains wehrmacht towards bosnia. 1st battalion of 5th regiment under captain vasa ogrizović held zaječar russians crossed danube moved belgrade , crossed sava , became temporary part of 4th regiment. troops met each other @ sremska mitrovica awaited trains transfer slovenia.

meanwhile, major changes in berlin affected many non-german volunteers fighting german forces. there branch-of-service redistribution ethnic group, , serbian volunteers found under authority of waffen-ss. order effecting transfer dated 9 november, not formally recognized until 27 november. @ time sdk composition on paper corps staff, 5 regiments each 3 battalions, signal company, mountain supply detachment , german liaison staff. important point out @ time sdk s relationship waffen-ss official, not on ground. troops never wore ss uniforms, , doubtful whether relationship ever went beyond simple exchange of limited amount of paperwork. sdk s situation quite similar of xv. kosaken-kavallerie-korps, absorbed waffen-ss @ same time.

as reached slovenia sdk troops concentrated in area around ilirska bistrica , postojna command being set in ilirska bistrica. arrived in slovenia dimitrije ljotić got in touch pro-nazi slovenian domobranci commander leon rupnik , bishop of ljubljana gregorij rožman , agreed on mutual , co-operation. sdk established volunteer schools in ilirska bistrica, 1 officer training , 1 ideological. school officers directed ljotić himself. during settling in period, 3,000 able-bodied survivors of sdk augmented released serbian pows, chetniks, , members of serbian state guard had been evacuated istria. these new additions brought unit s strength approximately 8,000. lika chetnik corps , slovenian chetniks called plava garda ( blue guard ) present in slovenia , joined nationalist front. nationalist formations in slovenia numbered 40,000 armed men in total.

the part of 5th regiment withdrew reached bosnia in mid-november , began move towards slovenia. during move north event befell sdk cripple unit s leadership capability in coming months. 30 40 officers seized in zagreb croatian ustaše , executed. ustaše considered them dangerous enemies of ndh, , ustaše response german failure obtain permission prior transporting these serbs through country. serb supported greater serbia concept, did ljotić , followers, definition enemy of pavelić s croatia.

sdk s first major action in slovenia take partisan-held kras village of col on 18 december 1944. 19 december end of month major encircle-and-destroy operation mounted garrison towns of gorizia, idrija, postojna , sežana aiming eliminate partisan stronghold in trnovska mountains. 5,000 men used, including 500 sdk s 1st regiment in postojna, 10th ss-police regiment, italian r.s.i. troops, slovenian domobranci (pro-nazi slovenian militia).

the next campaign participated in sdk against josip broz tito s 9th corps during first few days of march 1945 , codenamed ruebezahl. 2 combat groups formed strike against partisan concentrations near lokve. first group called zuschneid , , comprised 3 ss-police battalions, elements of 1st slovenian domobranci assault regiment, 2 sdk battalions , 1 caucasian battalion, total force of around 5,000 men. second group, koestermann , consisted of 2 battalions of german 730th infantry regiment (710th inf. div.), police company , engineers, total of 2,500 men. attacking forces pushed forward south , west direction, , time operation more successful. partisans suffered moderate losses, , concentration broken , dispersed northeast.

however, partisans regrouped, germans forced conduct supplementary operation (19 march-7 april), proved final operation against tito s 9th corps. 4 combat groups organized along perimeter of area occupied partisans, task of bringing 9th corps battle gradually advancing in unison toward centre, , thereby reducing size of area under control. standard german method of cleansing partisan-controlled area, never changed during course of war.

to west, along line idrija-rijeka-grahovo-podbrdo, combat group blank assembled major elements of 10th , 15th ss-police regiments, ii./1. sdk rgt, ii./4. sdk rgt, 21st ss-police reconnaissance co., ss-police company schmidt , artillery battery lxxxxvii army corps. force later joined on 4 april 2nd , 3rd sdk regiments, , 1,500 men chetnik 502 lika corps. second group, under police major dr dippelhofer, consisted of ljubljana ss nco school, slovenian domobranci, chetniks , 1,200-man russian roa unit. group deployed southeast along line idrija-Škofja loka. northern assault group, 4,500 men 13th, 17th , 28th ss-police regiments formed along road between podbrdo , Škofja loka, while special assault force 14th ukrainian ss division concentrated along north-eastern side of perimeter.

the area encircled mountainous, thickly forested, , still deep in winter snow. once off few roads encircle area, attacking forces faced extremely difficult terrain limited progress few kilometres each day, inhibited contact neighbouring units, , restricted ability rapidly bring fresh supplies , heavy weapons. gaps developed in line of advance, through main body of 9th corps escaped. although number of minor skirmishes fought, , casualties suffered on both sides, overall result of operation disappointing.

on 27 march, general damjanović replaced general mušicki commander of serbian volunteer corps , sdk became component of draža mihailović’s yugoslav army in homeland, formal name chetnik forces, although corps still assigned hssupf trieste under ss-gruppenführer odilo globocnik. whether change affected sdk’s relationship waffen-ss unknown, doubtful. shortly thereafter, hermann neubacher, hitler’s special political representative balkans, paid visit ljotić in trieste discuss german fears happen when sdk , chetnik forces in istria came contact british , american units expected move in direction italy. ljotić reassured neubacher of sdk’s loyalty.

meanwhile, tito’s 4th army advancing north along coastal road novi vinodolski, croatia liberate istria, trieste , of central , western slovenia. german army group e issued orders lxxxxvii army corps build perimeter around port city of rijeka, try block 4th army s westward advance. in april 237th infantry division rushed area, , within few days defensive positions established in 21-kilometre arc east , north of city. 4th army began attack on rijeka around 20 april partisan 13th, 19th , 43rd divisions. although outnumbered german 237th infantry division offered stiff resistance , held positions, general kuebler ordered 188th reserve mountain division launch immediate attack on partisan concentrations in vicinity of grobnik airfield, 16 kilometres north east of rijeka.

to support attack, 2nd, 3rd , 4th sdk regiments moved postojna area. regiments of serbian volunteer corps arrived late , never made contact 188th mountain division. attack on airfield unsuccessful, , 23 april clear general kuebler corps threatened total encirclement. kuebler s appreciation of situation entirely correct, on 22 april general staff of tito s 4th army ordered flanking movement bypass city. while lxxxxvii corps continued pressed 3 divisions, partisan 20th division brought ogulin along 1 additional brigade, 3 tank battalions , 2 artillery battalions. force moved north, around german defensive perimeter, , advanced on trieste via ilirska bistrica intention of linking partisan 9th corps pushing south on trieste.

as battle rijeka moved toward inevitable conclusion, sdk regiments 2, 3, , 4 sent ljubljana , transferred authority of ss-obergruppenführer erwin rösener, hssupf carinthia, had been appointed commander-in-chief of army group e s rear area. rösener s task open , keep open road , rail routes in northern slovenia facilitate army group s withdrawal croatia north austria. sdk regiments 1 , 5 remained assigned globocnik, had meanwhile transferred headquarters trieste udine, across isonzo river in italy. sdk therefore split 2 groups, 1 in central slovenia under rösener , moving toward austrian border, while other in extreme western part of slovenia under globočnik moving toward italy.