Black Legion (Ustasha)
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Black Legion |
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|---|---|
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| active | September 3, 1941 to May 8, 1945 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} Croatia
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| Armed forces | Croatian armed forces |
| militia |
Ustaška vojnica ( Ustasha militia) |
| Branch of service |
Sarajevske ustaške pukovnije (Sarajevo Ustasha Regiment) |
| Strength | 1,200-1,500 |
| Garrisons | Sarajevo |
| Nickname | Crnci (The Blacks) |
| motto |
Za poglavnika i za dom spremni ! ( Ready for the Führer and the home!) |
| Colours | black |
| march |
Evo zore, evo dana (Here is the dawn, here is the day) |
| Butcher | Operation Ozren Operation Trio Battle of the Kozara Battle of Kupres Operation Vlasenica Operation Dinara |
| commander | |
| Important commanders |
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| insignia | |
| Headgear | black field cap |
| clothing | black uniform |
The Black Legion ( Croatian Crna Legija ) was an elite unit of the fascist Ustasha founded in Croatia in 1929, existing between 1941 and 1945 . Their official name was Sarajevo Ustasha Regiment ( Sarajevske ustaške pukovnije ).
The legion that emerged from the I and II Sarajevo Ustasha Battalions ( Ustaška sarajevska bojna ) was founded by Jure Francetić and taken over by Rafael Boban after his death . The members of the Black Legion were called Crnci (the blacks).
history
Beginnings
The Black Legion had its beginnings in the area around Sarajevo , with a force of about 800 men under the command of Bećir Lokmica . First of all, she was supposed to fight against Serbian Chetnik militias.
Under the command of Jure Francetić
The first Chetnik attack took place in the village of Blažuj, 15 km from Sarajevo. The Ustasha functionary Ilija Trogrlić was killed in this attack . Afterwards, the Chetniks attacked the village of Sjetina (under Mount Jahorina ) and killed 60 villagers. Further attacks followed on the villages of Varcar Vakuf , Derventa and Zvornik . After the death of Bećir Lokmica , Major Jure Francetić and Captain Rafael Boban founded an elite unit. Since only black uniforms were available, this unit was called the Black Legion after the color of the uniform. It was about 1200 men strong, later even up to 1500 men. Their fight against the Chetniks began at the end of 1941. They conquered the towns of Kasindol , Vareš , Brgul , Zulet , Doboj , the Ugarberg , Koridjana and Konjic . In a two-day campaign, she conquered the entire area from Paklenica to Bradarica . On January 11, 1942, fighting began at Krivaja and Vijak , then at Careva Ćuprija , Olovo , Krivajica , Vozuća and Zavidovići . On February 1, 1942, they conquered Han Krum , Han Pijesak , Mekote , Krušače , Crna Rijeka , Kraljevo Polje , Han Ploča , Vlasenica , Milica and Drinjačak . On February 20, 1942, Senkovice , Sokolac , Vidrić , Žljebovi and Košutić were conquered . On April 9, 1942, the Chetniks were expelled from Bratunac and Srebrenica . On April 10, 1942 (Independence Day), the Black Legion encountered the claimed eastern border of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). Lieutenant Colonel Jure Francetić sent Ante Pavelić a small bottle of water from the border river Drina.
The next day there were attacks in the direction of Viogori and Bratunac , on April 18, 1942 near Kušac . On April 20, the Black Legion captured Staro Brdo , Slap , Luka, Peci , Skelan and Fakovica . In the summer of 1942 they destroyed the partisan republic of Kozara . In addition, it brought the partisan offensive at Kupres to a standstill. The Black Legion experienced no significant defeat under the leadership of Francetić.
Operation trio
Operation Trio was supposed to start on April 15, 1942. Around 18,000 partisans and 4,500 Chetniks operated in Eastern Bosnia, and Wehrmacht General Paul Bader was in command of the operation. A total of 50,000 soldiers were available to him:
German troops
- 718th Infantry Division
- 737th Infantry Regiment of the 717th Infantry Division
Italian troops
- 1st Alpine Division "Taurinense"
- 5th Mountain Infantry Division "Pusteria"
- 22nd Infantry Division "Cacciatore di Alpi"
- 1st Alpine Brigade "Alpi Valle"
- 2nd light tank brigade "San Marco"
- 12th Artillery Brigade of the 105th Regiment, 28th Division
Croatian troops
Associations of Croatian Army
- 1st Battalion of the 13th Infantry Regiment
- 8th Infantry Regiment
- 15th Infantry Regiment
- 9th Artillery Brigade
- 3rd Border Battalion
- 4th Border Battalion
Ustaše militia
- "Black Legion" with 3 battalions
The plan provided for Operation Trio I to start on April 15 and clear the area east and south of Sarajevo from the enemy, then advance along the Drina towards the north (Trio II) and the operation on Mount Ozren ( Trio III) to be completed. The operation did not go according to plan from the start. On April 1, the Black Legion attacked the Chetniks in Vlasenice without informing General Bader. On April 8, the Black Legion conquered Drinjača and the following day Bratunac and Srebrenica in battles against Chetniks and partisans. In the resulting chaos, most of the partisan troops withdrew to the south, where the Italian troops were stationed. The Italians were unable to begin their part of the task from the operation earlier and General Bader applied to the Wehrmacht High Command to cancel the operation entirely, which he was allowed to do. But after the Black Legion reached the border river Drina on April 10th, General Bader gave the order to support the Black Legion. On April 22nd, the Wehrmacht started their offensive and drove partisans and Chetniks from eastern Bosnia and they managed to capture the commander of the Chetniks, Major Dangic. On April 23, the Italian associations launched their attack. The 5th Mountaineering Division "Pusteria" captured Čajniče, but due to the successful resistance of the partisans in western Herzegovina, they did not manage to take Goražde in time, and so they failed to advance further to eastern Bosnia, which in turn allowed the partisans to do so without great losses to withdraw behind the Kalinovik-Foča line. On April 27, the Wehrmacht broke off their offensive.
Recall and death of Colonel Jure Francetić
In the summer of 1942, Colonel Jure Francetić was temporarily dismissed as commandant of the Black Legion, but he was never to hold this position again due to his imminent death (in December 1942). During the absence of Francetić, the command of the Legion was taken over by Colonel Ivo Stipković . Francetić himself was promoted to the General Staff and accompanied Ante Pavelić on Adolf Hitler's visit to Germany . Then Francetić visited the Croatian troops of the 369th Infantry Regiment , also known as the " Devil's Division ", on the Eastern Front in the Soviet Union . On December 28, 1942, Jure Francetić was killed in fighting with the partisans after a plane crash near Slunj . Because of his great popularity with the people and the Black Legion, in order not to demoralize them, his death was not announced by the fascist Croatian government until three months later.
Reorganization of the Ustaša associations
The Ustaša's armed forces were reorganized in mid-1943 and the Black Legion was de facto dissolved. The entire Ustaša armed forces were reorganized and divided into 16 new divisions with the Domobrani. These divisions had several regiments (Croatian name for the regiments: Zdrug). Some of the soldiers of the Black Legion (I. ustaški stajači zdrug) came to the 8th Croatian Division (Sarajevo) under the command of General Roman Domanik, where Colonel Ivo Stipković was in the 1st Ustasha Regiment and after his death in August 1943 was commanded by Ustascha Major Ivan Sudar, the (larger) rest were placed as V. Ustaški Stajači Zdrug in the 5th Croatian Division (Bjelovar) under the command of Colonel Rafael Boban. Although the actual uniform of the Ustasha in these divisions was beige, the former fighters of the Black Legion kept their black uniforms on. They were held in high regard by the other Ustaša soldiers.
- 5. hrvatska divizija
- Headquarters in Bjelovar , Commander Ustasha Colonel Rafael Boban
- 8. hrvatska divizija
- Headquarters in Sarajevo , Commander General Roman Domanik
End of war
When the so-called "Zvonimir position", located about 30 km from Zagreb , could no longer be held, the Croatian troops, government and parts of the population fled towards Austria to surrender to the Allies there. They arrived on May 15, 1945 near Bleiburg . The British troops under General Scott were unwilling to accept the surrender of the Croatian troops. The Allies had never recognized the NDH regime and viewed the Croatian troops not as an army but as a militia . The Croatian associations were given an hour to surrender, otherwise fire would be opened. General Boban was not ready to obey this and fought his way with around 4,000 of his Crnci and later set off for Italy and then South America. Others surrendered or continued the struggle as so-called Križari in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
composition
The Legion consisted of 1,000 to 1,500 volunteers and consisted mainly of Muslim Bosniaks and Croats from Eastern Bosnia , who had become refugees in their Bosnian villages as a result of the massacres carried out by Chetniks and occasionally by partisans . Croatian propaganda welcomed the participation of the Muslim Bosniaks with the words:
“Bosnian villages were Muslim or Catholic, equally devoted to Poglavnik and Ustascha-Croatia . Let’s let the politicians take a look at the “Black Legion”. Half of them are Muslims. They prove through their deeds and their blood that they are nothing else and cannot be anything other than Croatians. "
Uniformity
clothing
All parts of the uniform were kept in a uniform black. For this purpose, the regular uniform badges of the Ustaša army ( Ustaška vojnica ) were used. This uniform uniform, however, was often only used for propaganda or parade and presentation purposes. During combat operations, parts of uniforms from Yugoslav, Italian or German production were often worn, mostly in combination with a black Ustasha uniform cap or, more rarely, with German steel helmets of various designs.
Commemorative badge
The members of the Legion could be awarded the “Black Legion Memorial Badge” .
anthem
The Legion's unofficial anthem was the song Evo zore, evo dana .
propaganda
The military successes of the Black Legion were glorified in the German-language propaganda film Wacht an der Drina (Straža na Drini) by the Croatian State Film Institute from 1942. The film won an award at the Venice Biennale that same year .
War crimes
The soldiers of the Black Legion committed numerous massacres , war crimes and atrocities against civilians, captured soldiers, anti-regime Croats, Serbs, Jews and other minorities such as B. Roma or Sinti.
The commander of the Security Police and the SD in Belgrade described the reasons for the arrest of two Ustaša companies and a battalion of the Black Legion on June 12, 1942 as follows:
“The reasons were as follows: 1.) Multiple looting ... from farmers. 2. Unauthorized shooting of 3 Četniks. 3.) Murder and mutilation of 2 men and 2 women. The murders were carried out by cutting the throat. The women, a 50-year-old and a 37-year-old pregnant woman, had pieces of wood driven into the genitals. 4.) Murder and mutilation of an old man. 5.) Numerous other looting and theft. "
Today's view in the Republic of Croatia
The Black Legion remains controversial to this day and opinions in Croatia are deeply divided about its past. From a purely military point of view, it was a well-trained, strong-fighting elite unit that was able to achieve numerous considerable military successes, often against outnumbered opponents. On the other hand, she was notorious for her cruelty and war crimes. In today's Republic of Croatia, like the Ustaše and the NDH regime in general, it is regarded as a fascist war crimes organization. Any public wearing of their symbols is prohibited by law, but is not always punished consistently.
See also
literature
- Marko Marković: JURE I BOBAN: Povijest Crne legije [JURE AND BOBAN: The story of the Black Legion] . 3. Edition. Zagreb 2011.
Web links
- http://www.vojska.net - 1st Active Service Brigade of Ustasha Army
- http://www.vojska.net - 5th Active Service Brigade of Ustasha Army
Individual evidence
- ↑ Krunoslav Mikulan, Siniša Pogacic: Croatian oružane snage: 1941-1945th PC grafičke usluge, Zagreb 1999, p. 161. - ISBN 953-97564-2-1
- ↑ N. Thomas, K. Mikulan: Axis forces in Yugoslavia 1941-5 . Osprey publishing, Oxford 1995, p. 17. - ISBN 1-85532-473-3
- ^ Jozo Tomasevich: War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration . Stanford University Press, San Francisco 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3615-4 , pp. 422 .
- ^ Franjo Rubina: Kozara: Grob Partizana [Kozara: The grave of the partisans] . Velebit publishing house, Zagreb 1942, p. 112 .
- ↑ Krunoslav Mikulan, Siniša Pogacic: Croatian oružane snage: 1941-1945th PC grafičke usluge, Zagreb 1999, p. 162. - ISBN 953-97564-2-1
- ↑ Thomas Casagrande: The Volksdeutsche SS Division "Prinz Eugen" . Campus Verlag, Frankfurt 2003, ISBN 3-593-37234-7 , pp. 199 .