Invasion In April 1941, as part of the
German-led
Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, the Zeta Banovina was attacked, by Germans coming from
Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Italians from
Albania. The Italians moved through on 16 April on their way to
Dalmatia. The Germans later withdrew, leaving the Italians to occupy the area. The occupation forces initially consisted of the
18th Infantry Division Messina, which was part of the Italian
XVII Corps of the
9th Army, which had its headquarters in Albania. The 9th Army was also responsible for those parts of Kosovo creating the
Province of Cattaro inside the
Governorate of Dalmatia. The English historian
Denis Mack Smith wrote that the Queen of Italy (considered the most influential Montenegrin woman in history) convinced her husband the King of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III to impose on Mussolini the creation of an independent Montenegro, against the wishes of the fascist Croats and Albanians (who wanted to enlarge their countries with the Montenegrin territories). Her nephew
Prince Michael of Montenegro never accepted the offered crown, pledging loyalty to his nephew King
Peter II of Yugoslavia. The Italians were relying heavily on information provided by a group of
émigré loyalists of the deposed
House of Petrović-Njegoš, that had ruled Montenegro for centuries prior to the union with the Kingdom of Serbia in 1918. They also believed that all members of the "Greens" who had opposed union with Serbia in 1918 wanted full independence for Montenegro, rather than a Montenegrin unit within a federal Yugoslavia. In reality, the "Greens" consisted of two factions, one led by
Krsto Popović and one by
Sekula Drljević. Popović sought a fully independent Montenegro, but was willing to consider a separate entity within a federal Yugoslavia depending on the outcome of the war, and his group included some members of the
Montenegrin Federalist Party. Drljević rejected the idea of the re-formation of Yugoslavia after the war, and was willing to work with the Italians to achieve independence.
Dissatisfaction The
Montenegrins quickly developed grievances against the Italians. These grievances mainly related to the expulsion of Montenegrin people from the Kosovo region The declaration was passed by
acclamation on 12 July. Initially there were manifestations of approval in the main cities of Montenegro, but in the country's interior the feelings were different. So, on July 12 of 1941, was officially created a "Client-State" of the kingdom of Italy and the Governorate of Montenegro was cancelled (at least temporarily).
Uprising On 13 July 1941, there was a general uprising against the Italians, initiated by the Montenegrin branch of the KPJ. The event that triggered the uprising was the proclamation on the previous day of a restored Kingdom of Montenegro headed by an Italian regent and led by Montenegrin separatist Drljević and the "Greens". The insurgents also included large numbers of Serb nationalists known as "
Whites" (
bjelaši), who "stood for close ties to Serbia", and former Yugoslav Army officers, some of whom had recently been released from
prisoner-of-war camps. Officers were in command with the communists doing the organisation and providing
political commissars. Serbs fleeing the Ustaše terror in Herzegovina played a significant part in the uprising. The rebels seized control of small towns and villages in the early phase of the uprising. Amidst the worst of the fighting during the successful attack he led on Berane, then-Captain
Pavle Đurišić distinguished himself, and emerged as one of the main commanders of the uprising. During the attack on Berane, Đurišić fought alongside communist insurgent forces. The other main commanders included the former Yugoslav Army officers Colonel
Bajo Stanišić and Major
Đorđije Lašić. The Italians were caught completely unprepared, and within a few days, Cetinje had been completely isolated from the rest of the occupied territory, and the occupation force had to call for support from its higher headquarters in Albania. The
Italian Foreign Minister, Count
Galeazzo Ciano was shocked by the uprising, and was concerned about the ability of the Italian Army to suppress it. The uprising was premature, and a force of 67,000 Italian troops regained control over all towns and communication routes within six weeks, assisted by Muslim and Albanian irregular forces from border areas who provided flank security. The commander of the Italian 9th Army based in Albania,
Generale d’Armata (General)
Alessandro Pirzio Biroli, placed the commander of the
XIV Corps, ''Generale d'Corpo Armata'' (Lieutenant General)
Luigi Mentasti in command of all Italian forces in Montenegro, and gave him orders to crush the revolt. Pirzio Biroli directed his forces to avoid "acts of revenge and useless cruelty". Nevertheless, in crushing the revolt dozens of villages were burned, hundreds were killed and between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants were interned. For a while, the Muslim and Albanian irregulars were permitted to pillage and torch villages. For the first few months after the uprising began, the insurgent groups included KPJ members and their followers as well as Serb nationalists, and the leadership of the groups was also mixed. Unlike the Partisans who had strong central direction from the outset, during these early stages the nationalists in Montenegro had little or no contact with the headquarters of
Draža Mihailović, who would eventually become the titular leader of the
Chetnik movement in Yugoslavia. Outside of coordination provided by KPJ members, the nationalists did not necessarily work together, even with those in the neighbouring district. Their motivation for fighting was mainly to protect their families. A split then developed between the communist leaders of the uprising and the nationalists that had participated. The nationalists recognized that the uprising had been defeated and wanted to stop fighting, unlike the Partisans who were determined to continue the struggle. During the autumn the nationalists contacted the Italians and offered to assist them to fight the Partisans. Subsequently, the nationalists, including Đurišić who was popular in his own
Vasojević clan of northern Montenegro, withdrew into the hinterland. The focus of the nationalists such as Đurišić was to avoid provoking the Italians but to protect the mountain villages if they were attacked. In northern Montenegro, there was a marked distinction between the communists and nationalists, with the nationalists having closer ties with Serbia and a "frontier" mentality towards Muslims. The communists wanted to continue with the revolution by turning against their
class enemies, whilst Ustaše manipulation of the Muslims in the Sandžak and the expulsion of Serbs from the areas annexed by Albania combined to make Đurišić and his Chetniks impatient to continue with the uprising by turning on the Muslims and Albanians in the region. The uprising continued to a reduced extent until December 1941. As a result of the uprising, the Italians decided to abolish Mazzolini's position as High Commissioner. On 3 October 1941, the territory was retitled the
Governatorato del Montenegro, and Biroli was appointed governor with responsibility for both military and civil affairs. On 1 December, the XIV Corps was redesignated the Command of the Troops of Montenegro.
Chetnik commanders for Montenegro In early November 1941, a split developed between the Chetniks and Partisans in the
Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia. The leader of the Chetniks in that territory was Mihailović, who would enjoy the support of the
Yugoslav government-in-exile. Once the Montenegrin nationalists heard about the split between Mihailović's Chetniks and the Partisans, there was an increased impetus for them to collaborate with the Italian occupation forces. On 20 December 1941, Mihailović appointed Đurišić as his commander of all regular and reserve troops in central and eastern Montenegro and parts of the
Sandžak. Đurišić's appointment occurred when he travelled to Serbia in late December 1941 and early January 1942 to meet with Mihailović, and returned with detailed instructions which bore Mihailović's signature. These instructions included directives for "cleansing the Muslim population from Sandžak and the Muslim and Croat populations from Bosnia and Herzegovina" amongst other orders. Historians Lucien Karchmar,
Stevan K. Pavlowitch and
Noel Malcolm believe that the document was a forgery made by Đurišić after he failed to reach Mihailović, who, because German forces in Serbia had mounted an
operation targeting Mihailović's forces, had been driven out of
Ravna Gora. In contrast, historians Matteo J. Milazzo,
Jozo Tomasevich and
Sabrina P. Ramet consider the document to be authentic and attribute the instructions to Mihailović. Despite his possession of these instructions, Đurišić initially had very little influence on the non-communist elements of the Montenegrin resistance and was unable to develop an effective strategy against the Italians or Partisans in the first few months after his return to Montenegro. In early 1942, his Chetnik detachment became more active, especially in eastern Montenegro and the Sandžak against local Muslims.
"Leftist errors" The Partisans occupied
Kolašin in January and February 1942, and turned against all real and potential opposition, killing about 300 of the population and throwing their mangled corpses into pits they called the "dogs' cemetery". Due to this and other examples of communist terror, the Montenegrin population turned against the Partisans. Đurišić soon recaptured Kolašin and held it as a Chetnik bastion until May 1943. According to other sources, the number of persons killed in Kolašin at that time was between 16 and 38.
Collaboration with Italians In the autumn of 1941, the nationalists contacted the Italian occupation forces offering to assist the Italians to fight the Partisans. In early February,
Bajo Stanišić withdrew two units under his command from the insurgent front-line around
Danilovgrad in central Montenegro, allowing the besieged Italians to break out and defeat the Partisans. Soon after, Stanišić helped the Italians to re-take
Nikšić. By mid-February 1942, individual Chetnik units were concluding formal agreements to cooperate with the Italians. The first agreement was between Stanišić and the commander of the
48th Infantry Division Taro, and was effective from 17 February. Soon after, Đurišić entered into an agreement with Biroli regarding collaboration between Đurišić's Chetniks and the Italians in the area of operations of the
19th Infantry Division Venezia. On 6 March, an agreement was signed between Stanišić and Biroli. These agreements related to Chetnik action against the Partisans, for which they would receive arms and supplies from the Italians. The Italian's primary aim in entering into these agreements was to minimise their own losses. Initially, Stanišić referred to his forces as the "Montenegrin National Army", and claimed to be the Chetnik commander for both Montenegro and Herzegovina. In late February or early March, Mihailović sent one of his agents to join Stanišić, who began to coordinate his activities with the other significant Chetnik leaders in Montenegro. On 9 March, a large group of former Royal Yugoslav Army officers met at Cetinje and elected
Blažo Đukanović to command all nationalist forces in Montenegro. The election of Đukanović was accepted by Mihailović, and may have even been suggested by him. Between March and June 1942, the power of the Chetniks increased in Montenegro due to a combination of factors. Their agreements with the Italians was the first of these, along with the arms and supplies that accompanied the agreements. The other factor was the weakening of the Partisans, which was mainly caused by the impact of the "left errors". During this period, Stanišić's Chetniks fought the Partisans in the Nikšić area alongside the Italians, and Đurišić's Chetniks did likewise in the Kolašin district of northern Montenegro. In May, Đurišić's Chetniks defeated the Durmitor Partisan Detachment, which was the last large Partisan unit remaining in Montenegro. On 24 July 1942, a comprehensive agreement was reached between Đukanović and Biroli, which expanded the areas covered and ensured that the Chetniks in Montenegro could bear the brunt of the fighting against the Partisans. Specifically, the Đukanović-Biroli agreement stated that "the Chetniks were to continue uncompromising struggle against the Communists and were to cooperate with the Italian authorities in the restoration and maintenance of law and order". It mandated the creation of three "flying detachments" of 1,500 men each, commanded by Đurišić, Stanišić and the separatist leader Popović, and covered pay, rations, arms and support for their families. These detachments were already in existence and had been integrated with Italian forces during operations against the Partisans in June. The agreement also endorsed the pre-existing Committee of Montenegrin Nationalists led by Đukanović. The agreement stated that the nationalists had no political agenda except fighting communism and maintaining law and order and the well-being of the Montenegrin population. The conclusion of the agreement obligated Đukanović's Committee to do everything in its power to preserve order and to fight anyone opposing the Italian occupiers. Tomasevich states that given Mihailović had been in Montenegro for two months prior to this agreement being concluded, it is fair to assume that he knew about and was satisfied with it, and Milazzo states that these accommodations with the Italians were sought with Mihailović's personal approval. This agreement was consistent with Mihailović's aim of having an "army-in-waiting", that could turn against the occupiers, and with the support of the
Western Allies, bring him to power. He had taken a similar approach with the
"legalised Chetniks" in German-occupied Serbia. The Chetniks were important to the Italian occupiers as they controlled the hinterland and allowed the Italians to concentrate on maintaining law and order in the larger towns and on the major routes in the occupied territory. From June 1942 until around April 1943, the Chetniks controlled a very large part of the occupied territory. In addition to the 3,000 Chetniks in the two "flying detachments", the Montenegrin Chetniks had several times that number who were not "legalised" by the Italians, but were engaged in fighting the Partisans. Popović, the Montenegrin separatist leader and commander of the third "flying detachment", had been collaborating with the Italians from the time of the invasion, and continued to do so, having reached a fragile understanding with the Chetniks during the first half of 1942. Both the Chetniks and separatists tried to get as much support as possible from the Italians, which included the importation of food for the population who supported them.
Šahovići conference Between 30 November and 2 December 1942, Chetniks from Montenegro and Sandžak met at a conference in the village of Šahovići near
Bijelo Polje. Three Chetnik commanders,
Zaharije Ostojić,
Đorđije Lašić and
Pavle Đurišić represented Mihailović, and the proceedings bore an official stamp. The conference was dominated by Đurišić and its resolutions expressed extremism and intolerance, as well as an agenda which focused on restoring the pre-war status quo in Yugoslavia implemented in its initial stages by a Chetnik dictatorship. It also laid claim to parts of the territory of Yugoslavia's neighbours.
Italian capitulation in September 1943 On 3 September 1943 (but not made public until the 8th), the Italians concluded
an armistice with the Allies, leaving 17 divisions stranded in Yugoslavia. All divisional commanders refused to join the Germans. Two Italian infantry divisions joined the Montenegrin Partisans as complete units, while another joined the Albanian Partisan forces. Other units surrendered to the Germans to face imprisonment in Germany or
summary execution. Others surrendered themselves, arms, ammunition and equipment to Croatian forces or to the Partisans, simply disintegrated, or reached Italy on foot via Trieste or by ship across the Adriatic. The territory of the former Italian governorate of Montenegro was placed under Nazi German occupation. ==Demographics==