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127-634: After the invasion, occupation and dismantling of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers on 6 April 1941, the Wehrmacht placed Serbia proper , the northern part of Kosovo (around Kosovska Mitrovica ) and the Banat under a military government. The division was formed in late 1941 following the invasion initially from German-speaking Danube Swabian Selbstschutz in the Banat autonomous area within

254-461: A guerrilla war if the country was occupied. Its headquarters was transferred from Novi Sad to Kraljevo in south-central Serbia on 1 April. On 2 April, the German ambassador having already been recalled for "talks", the remaining embassy staff were ordered to leave the capital and to warn the embassies of friendly nations to likewise evacuate. That sent the unmistakable message that Yugoslavia

381-494: A 4.3 M w earthquake on November 4. According to the 2022 census, a total of 57,432 people live in the city proper, while 110,196 live in the administrative area. The city of Kraljevo has 41,358 households with 3,03 members on average, while the number of homes is 53,367. Religion structure in the city of Kraljevo is predominantly Serbian Orthodox (120,240), with minorities like Muslims (932), Atheists (487), Catholics (286), Protestants (82) and others. Most of

508-404: A cavalry regiment, a Bersaglieri motorcycle battalion, three Border Guard battalions, one Finance Guard battalion, a motorised artillery regiment of three battalions, a military police battalion, and a tank company equipped with Fiat M13/40 light tanks. The Librazhd Sector included a motorised artillery regiment of four battalions, a bicycle-mounted Bersaglieri regiment, a cavalry regiment,

635-602: A diminutive church of white marble, founded in 1190 by King Stefan Nemanja , who became a monk and was canonized as Saint Simeon . The carvings around the north, south and west doors have been partially defaced by the Turks . The inner walls are decorated with Byzantine frescoes, among which only a painting of the Last Supper , and the portraits of five saints remain from the original artwork. The dome and narthex are modern additions. The silver shrine of Saint Simeon sits within

762-470: A further 600 aircraft from France, Africa, and Sicily into Romania and Bulgaria in a period of ten days. The fighter and reconnaissance craft were sent to fields in Arad , Deva , and Turnu Severin . On 12 February Britain broke off diplomatic relations with Romania on the grounds that it was an enemy-occupied country. Two events in early November 1940 convinced Hitler of the need to station troops, especially

889-634: A machine gun battalion, a motorised anti-aircraft battalion (less one battery), an engineer battalion, a company of Blackshirts, and a company of L3/35 tankettes. The Yugoslav forces consisted of more than 33 divisions of the Royal Yugoslav Army ( Serbo-Croatian Latin : Vojska Kraljevska Jugoslavije , VKJ), four air brigades of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( Serbo-Croatian Latin : Vazduhoplovstvo Vojske Kraljevine Jugoslavije , VVKJ) with more than 400 aircraft, and

1016-596: A manufacturing licence. The sole operator was 3 vazduhoplovni puk (3rd bomber regiment) composed of two bomber groups; the 63rd Bomber Group stationed at Petrovec airfield near Skopje and the 64th Bomber Group stationed at Milesevo airfield near Priština . Other auxiliary airfields had also been prepared to aid in dispersal. During the course of hostilities, the State Aircraft Factory in Kraljevo managed to produce six more aircraft of this type. Of

1143-510: A motorised anti-aircraft battalion, a sapper assault battalion and a road construction battalion. VI Corps included four motorised artillery regiments with a total of sixteen battalions, two machine gun battalions (one motorised, one pack animal) and a motorised anti-aircraft regiment. XI Corps included one motorised artillery regiment comprising four battalions, three machine gun battalions (one motorised, one pack animal and one static), and six Blackshirt legions of battalion size. The Motorised Corps

1270-645: A mutiny of 173 Croatian Germans of the division in 1943 in Bosnia when apparently the men of mixed ancestry did not speak German and were mistreated by their superiors as a result. Many of these men preferred service in the Croatian Home Guard for a variety of reasons; Himmler intervened personally in the problem. In 1942, the Pančevo -based unit was declared a Mountain Division. Its troops were issued with

1397-654: A navigational error) and one Rogozarski R 313 fighters, 69 Dornier Do 17 K (including 40 plus licence-built), 61 Bristol Blenheim Mk I (including some 40 licence-built) and 40 Savoia Marchetti SM-79 K bombers. Army reconnaissance units consisted of seven Groups with 130 obsolete Yugoslav-built Breguet 19 and Potez 25 light bombers. There were also some 400 trainer and auxiliary aircraft. The Naval Aviation units comprised 75 aircraft in eight squadrons equipped with, amongst other auxiliary types, 12 German-built Dornier Do 22 K and 15 Rogozarski SIM-XIV-H locally designed and built maritime patrol float-planes. The aircraft of

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1524-772: A night battle and defeated the Partisan units. In the operation Schwarz the division suffered total losses of 613 men. In August 1943, the division became a part of the XV Mountain Corps and was sent to the Dalmatian coast, to disarm the local Italian forces in September 1943 after the Italian government had surrendered to the Allies . In exploiting Italian capitulation , Tito's forces succeeded in seizing control of

1651-613: A preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022): Since 1990 an annual regatta called "Joyful descend" ( Veseli spust ) is held on the Ibar river. The course is 25 km (16 mi) long, starts at the Maglič fortress and ends in Kraljevo. It is held in the early July and in 2017 it was attended by over 300 boats and 5,000 people. Inaugural regatta in 1990 had 150 participants, but

1778-609: A shortage of coal. Hungarian officials tried to meet all German demands without going further than the governments had agreed. Even sabotage was used on occasion to prevent having to give the Germans more support than required. On 18 January 1941 an agreement was reached to store German supplies in Hungarian warehouses under Hungarian guard, with only a German officer in Budapest to serve as a liaison. These supplies were to be used in

1905-551: A significant amount of non-standard German weapons and used captured equipment such as Czechoslovak machine guns like the ZB-53 and French light tanks. They were provided with excellent German-made mountain artillery such as the 10.5 cm Gebirgshaubitze 40 howitzer and 7.5 cm Gebirgsgeschütz 36 mountain gun. When the division was formed, it was assigned to the Balkans as an anti-Partisan mountain division. In October 1942,

2032-736: A strength of 1,875 officers and 29,527 other ranks, including some 2,000 pilots, had over 460 front-line aircraft of domestic (notably the IK-3 ), German, Italian, French, and British origin, of which most were modern types. Organized into 22 bomber squadrons and 19 fighter squadrons, the main aircraft types in operational use included 73 Messerschmitt Bf 109 E , 47 Hawker Hurricane Mk I (with more being built under licence in Yugoslavia), 30 Hawker Fury II , 11 Rogožarski IK-3 fighters (plus more under construction), 10 Ikarus IK-2 , 2 Potez 63 , one Messerschmitt Bf 110 C-4 (captured in early April due to

2159-491: A system of 50 auxiliary airfields that had previously been prepared. However, many of these airfields lacked facilities and had inadequate drainage which prevented the continued operation of all but the very lightest aircraft in the adverse weather conditions encountered in April 1941. Despite having, on paper at any rate, a substantially stronger force of relatively modern aircraft than the combined British and Greek air forces to

2286-462: A total of 22 divisions to the operation, comprising around 300,000 troops. The Italian 2nd Army (Italian: 2° Armata ) was commanded by Generale designato d’Armata (acting General) Vittorio Ambrosio , and consisted of one fast (Italian: celere ) corps ( Celere Corps ), one motorised corps ( Motorised Corps ) and three infantry corps ( V Corps , VI Corps , and XI Corps ), and was assembled in northeastern Italy, attacking from Istria and

2413-488: Is famed for its cruelty," and that "wherever it passed - through Serbia, through Bosnia and Herzegovina, through Lika and Banija or through Dalmatia - everywhere it left behind scenes of conflagration and devastation and the bodies of innocent men, women, and children who had been burned in the houses." It also committed numerous atrocities in the area of Nikšić in Montenegro: The following officers commanded

2540-597: Is from Kraljevo). He now donates to the club. Another NBA player, Nenad Krstić was born in Kraljevo, and played for "Mašinac" basketball club from Kraljevo. Kraljevo is the birthplace of Euroleague MVP Vasilije Micić . In Kraljevo was born Serbian international footballer Aleksandar Luković . Nebojša Dugalić, actor. Predrag Živković Tozovac, music cantautor, Dragan Kalafatović, young chess prodigy, Miloš Pribičević, Serbias most notourious bookmaker, Stefan Jovanović, rapper from Ribnica, Luka Voštinić, owner of Michelin rival Pro Guma and Danilo Pantović, movie director. Kraljevo

2667-533: Is necessary to avoid even the slightest semblance of military occupation of Romania." In the second half of October, the Romanian leader, Ion Antonescu , asked that the military mission be expanded. The Germans happily obliged the request, since the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești were vital to their war effort. Romania was also an important launching point for an attack on the Soviet Union, which made

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2794-428: Is the largest municipality of Serbia by area. Apart from the urban area, the city administrative area includes 92 settlements: Of those, Adrani , Centar , Čibukovac , Grdica , Higijenski Zavod , Jarčujak , Konarevo , Mataruge , Mataruška Banja , Metikoš , Ratina , Ribnica , Stara Čaršija , Vitanovac , Vrba , Zaklopača , Zelena gora and Žiča lie within the proper city limits. The following table gives

2921-646: The 1st and 2nd Armies, defended the region between the Iron Gates and the Drava River . The 1st Army Group with the 4th and 7th Armies, composed mainly of Croatian troops, was in Croatia and Slovenia defending the Italian, German (Austrian) and Hungarian frontiers. The strength of each "Army" amounted to little more than a corps , with the Army Groups consisting of the units deployed as follows: On

3048-628: The Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II . The order for the invasion was put forward in " Führer Directive No. 25", which Adolf Hitler issued on 27 March 1941, following a Yugoslav coup d'état that overthrew the pro-Axis government. The invasion commenced with an overwhelming air attack on Belgrade and facilities of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force (VVKJ) by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and attacks by German land forces from southwestern Bulgaria . These attacks were followed by German thrusts from Romania , Hungary and

3175-670: The Biscaccianti Blackshirt group which incorporated two Blackshirt regiments with a total of five battalions, the regimental-sized Agostini Blackshirt Forest Militia, and the Briscotto group, a regimental-sized formation consisting of one Alpini battalion and two Finance Guard battalions. The Zara garrison numbered about 9,000 men under the overall command of Generale di Brigata (Brigadier) Emilio Giglioli. The garrison consisted of two main groupings and an assortment of supporting units. The two main groupings were

3302-634: The Independent State of Croatia ( Serbo-Croatian Latin : Nezavisna Država Hrvatska , or NDH), an Axis puppet state created during the invasion comprising the Srem , Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the Croatian lands. Along with Italy 's stalled invasion of Greece on 28 October 1940, and the German-led invasion of Greece (Operation Marita) and invasion of Crete (Operation Merkur),

3429-517: The Julian March along the border with Slovenia and Croatia. The 2nd Army was supported by a motorised engineer regiment including three bridging battalions, a chemical battalion, fifteen territorial battalions, and two garrison battalions. V Corps support units included three motorised artillery regiments comprising thirteen battalions, four machine gun battalions (two motorised and two pack animal), three Blackshirt legions of battalion size,

3556-587: The Luftwaffe , in Bulgaria. The first was false reports that the British were constructing an airfield on Lemnos , from which they could bomb Ploiești . The second was the beginning of British air raids originating from Greek bases against Italian shipping on 6 November. Planning for the German invasion of Greece from Bulgaria began on 12 November. Already on 13 November, the Soviets were (incorrectly) accusing

3683-606: The Ostmark (modern-day Austria , then part of Germany). Italian forces were limited to air and artillery attacks until 11 April, when the Italian Army attacked towards Ljubljana (in modern-day Slovenia ) and through Istria and Lika and down the Dalmatian coast . On the same day, Hungarian forces entered Yugoslav Bačka and Baranya , but like the Italians they faced practically light resistance. A Yugoslav attack into

3810-604: The Reichsdeutsche and Volksdeutsche Germans, including ex- Kriegsmarine conscripts. Its remnants were incorporated into the 14th Regiment of Prinz Eugen , which received its honor title Skanderbeg . In January 1945, the division was in action against the Yugoslav Partisans at Otok and Vukovar in Croatia. In February, it took part in Operation Wehrwolf against a Yugoslav bridgehead in

3937-968: The Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia . The unit was given the title Prinz Eugen after Prince Eugene of Savoy , an outstanding military leader of the Habsburg Empire who liberated the Banat and Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire in the Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18 . A key figure in the organisation of the division was the Higher SS and Police Leader in Serbia, SS- Obergruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Polizei (Police General) August Meyszner . After

7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen - Misplaced Pages Continue

4064-643: The Virovitica area. The withdrawal from Bosnia towards Austria continued as Prinz Eugen retreated through Croatia in April 1945. On 10 May, the division moved towards Celje in Slovenia. There it surrendered to the Yugoslav People's Army on 11 May, three days after the capitulation of Germany that marked the official end to World War II in Europe. All personnel of Prinz Eugen taken prisoner by

4191-816: The Zelengora mountain, in south-eastern Bosnia. During the battle, the division received a task to move through the Italian occupation zone in order to block the possible advance of Partisans towards the Adriatic Sea and the Italian-occupied Albania, to close the south-east part of the encirclement and then advance north over mountainous terrain to crush the Partisan forces. In eleven-day fightings from May 20, division captured Šavnik . For this success, Sturmbannführer Dietsche as well as commander Phleps both received first two Knight's Crosses for

4318-680: The Balkan Germans the SS head of recruitment Gottlob Berger remarked: " kein Mensch [kümmert] [sich ja] darum, was wir unten mit unseren Volksdeutschen tun " ("no person cares what we do with our ethnic Germans in the South"). Ethnic Germans in the Balkans were therefore powerless and could not oppose conscription into the SS. The unwillingness of ethnic Germans to serve in the unit is illustrated by

4445-644: The British had declared that "if Hungary were to permit German troops to pass through Hungarian territory against Yugoslavia, Britain would break off diplomatic relations, indeed might declare war on us." The first German troops began their passage through Hungary on 8 October. Despite some official denials, the troops movements were reported by Reuters and the American ambassador received a full report. According to contemporary British intelligence, three divisions had passed through Hungary to Romania by 2 November. On 20 November, Hungarian Prime Minister Pál Teleki signed

4572-609: The Danube from Lake Balaton to Barcs , and twelve brigades (nine on the front and three in reserve) for an offensive in Bačka ( Bácska ). The Danube Flotilla was to cover the flanks, and the air force was to stand by for orders. The "Carpathian Group", composed of Eighth Corps , the 1st Mountain Brigade and the 8th Border Guard ( Chasseur ) Brigade, was mobilized on the Soviet border, with

4699-498: The Danube from Romania on 28 February, a day before Bulgaria joined the pact. The greater part of the 12th Army, augmented by VIII. Fliegerkorps , crossed the Danube on 2 March. They were welcomed by the Russophile population, who believed that Germany and the Soviet Union were allied. The 12th Army was originally deployed solely for an attack on Greece. After receiving Directive No. 25, which projected an invasion of Yugoslavia in

4826-494: The German army. In October 1941, joint forces of Chetniks and Partisans besieged and attacked German forces in Kraljevo during the Siege of Kraljevo . In retaliation the Wehrmacht carried out the Kraljevo massacre , killing 2,000 residents of the city. A memorial complex constructed in the 1970s today commemorates the site of the massacre. In November 1944, heavy battles were fought in Kraljevo and its surrounding areas culminating in

4953-459: The Germans of having troops in neutral Bulgaria. On 18 November, Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria met with Hitler and promised to participate in an attack on Greece, but only at the last moment. Shortly thereafter a secret German team under Colonel Kurt Zeitzler entered Bulgaria to establish fuel depots, arrange for troop billeting and scout the terrain. They were soon followed by hundreds of Luftwaffe personnel to establish air observation stations. By

5080-578: The Germans to begin operations, with the use of Hungarian territory and communications, on 12 April and the Hungarians to complete mobilization by 6 April and begin their offensive on the 15th. A meeting of the Supreme Defense Council was convened for 1 April to discuss Werth's request. After a long debate, it approved his mobilization plan, but refused to place Hungarian troops under German command and restricted Hungarian operations to

5207-637: The Hungarian legation in Berlin had granted over 6,500 transit visas to Germans traveling to Romania. On 30 September, shortly after the signing of the Tripartite Pact, Ribbentrop and General Keitel asked the Hungarian foreign minister, István Csáky , who was in Vienna, to grant the Germans use of transit facilities for German military "study groups" to pass through to Romania. They were still awaiting final confirmation on 3 October. The arrangement agreed

7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen - Misplaced Pages Continue

5334-688: The Italians. On 14 and 15 April, King Peter and the government flew out of the country, and the Yugoslav Supreme Command was captured by the Germans near Sarajevo . The surrender was signed on 17 April and came into effect at noon on 18 April. Following the Belgrade Coup on 27 March 1941, the Yugoslav armed forces were put on alert, although the army was not fully mobilised for fear of provoking Hitler. The VVKJ command decided to disperse its forces away from their main bases to

5461-455: The Kingdom of Serbia, in honor of his coronation, changed Karanovac name to Kraljevo, and gave the order for restoration of rather dilapidated monastery Žiča. In 1919, Nikolaj Velimirović , was consecrated Bishop of Žiča and spent a brief period in the city. He returned again in 1935, and stayed until 1941. He rebuilt and enlarged the monastery. During World War II Kraljevo was occupied by

5588-452: The Kraljevo area, Studenica (1188), Gradac and Stara Pavlica . There is also a medieval fortress known as Maglič . Monastery of Žiča (1219) was the original seat of Serbian Archbishop was used for the crowning of Serbian kings. The village of Rudo Polje, from which Kraljevo arose, was settled during the 14th century. This area was occupied by the Turks between 1458 and 1459. During

5715-490: The Mobile Corps held in reserve. These arrangements were agreed to by Werth, he later claimed, "on the basis of the authorization received" on 28 April—although this was not the government's view of what had been authorized. Werth applied for permission to mobilize on 1 April, since a mobilization order had to be approved by the cabinet and issued by the regent over the signature of the minister of defense. Werth expected

5842-762: The Partisans. In May, June and July, the Prinz Eugen saw further action in Operation Freie Jagd , Operation Rose and Operation Feuerwehr . Between 12 and 30 August, the division was engaged in Operation Rübezahl , aimed to prevent offensive of NOVJ forces from Montenegro into western Serbia . In September, the Soviet Red Army had advanced to the Balkans and the division suffered heavy casualties in defensive battles against

5969-440: The Rasina Corps was able to escape from the Axis ring entrapment. The division's first major action thus ended in a failure, as the Germans and Bulgarians cleared the Chetnik free territory (and in the process committed war crimes against the Serbian civilian population), yet the Chetniks themselves successfully withdrew beyond the reach of the occupation forces. The Prinz Eugen was next involved in counter-insurgency activities on

6096-402: The Romanian Ploiești oilfields from which Nazi Germany obtained most of its oil. In 1940 and early 1941, Hungary , Romania , and Bulgaria all agreed to adhere to the Tripartite Pact and thus join the Axis. Hitler then pressured Yugoslavia to join as well. The Regent, Prince Paul , yielded to this pressure, and declared Yugoslavia's accession to the Pact on 25 March 1941. This move

6223-434: The Serbian-Montenegro border in the mountains east of river Ibar . Afterwards, the division took part in the Fourth anti-Partisan Offensive (Operation Weiss) in Croatia's Zagreb - Karlovac area. There, together with Italian forces, the Germans attempted to defeat the Yugoslav Partisans commanded by Josip Broz Tito , but the operation failed as most of the Partisans managed to evade the main attack. In Operation Weiss I,

6350-549: The Slovenes did not feel abandoned, defences were built on Yugoslavia's northern border when the natural line of defence was much further south, based on the rivers Sava and Drina. The only effective opposition to the invasion was from wholly Serbian units within the borders of Serbia itself. The Germans, thrusting north-west from Skopje , were held up at Kacanik Pass and lost several tanks (P39, Buckley C "Greece and Crete 1941" HMSO 1977). In its worst expression, Yugoslavia's defenses were badly compromised on 10 April 1941, when some of

6477-433: The Tripartite Pact after a meeting with Hitler in Berchtesgarden . At the meeting, Hitler spoke of his intention to aid Italy against Greece, thereby preparing the Hungarians for his future demands. On 13 December 1940—the day after the Hungaro-Yugoslav Non-Aggression Pact and the day Hitler issued Führer Directive No. 20 —major German troop movements began. The Germans had initially promised to supply 180 locomotives for

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6604-513: The Tripartite Pact. At the time Germany informed Romania that she would not be expected to participate in an attack on Greece, but that Germany wanted to use Romanian territory to provide a base for a German attack. On 24 November, Antonescu met with Wilhelm Keitel , chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht , to discuss common defense. As a result of this meeting, the 16th Panzer Division was sent to Romania in late December. The 12th Army and First Panzer Group, along with heavy bridging equipment for

6731-435: The Turkish rule Rudo Polje became known as Karanovac. Karanovac became an important settlement during the war between Austria and Turkey in the period between 1718 and 1739. After 1718, a border between Austria and Turkey was established along right bank of river Morava. During the first uprising of the Serbs in 1805, Karanovac was heavily damaged and most of the Muslim population left, leaving the Serbs to continue development of

6858-520: The United States of America in the months just preceding the invasion. Fully mobilized, the Yugoslav Army fielded 28 infantry divisions, three cavalry divisions, and 35 independent regiments. Of the independent regiments, 16 were in frontier fortifications and 19 were organized as combined regiments, or "Odred", around the size of a reinforced brigade. Each Odred had one to three infantry regiments and one to three artillery battalions, with three organised as "alpine" units. The German attack, however, caught

6985-447: The Yugoslav Army; the XLI Panzer Corps from Romania towards Belgrade, the XLVI Panzer Corps from Hungary across the Drava , the LI Infantry Corps from Austria towards Zagreb , and the XLIX Mountain Corps from Austria towards Celje . By the end of that day, the Yugoslav Army was disintegrating, and was in retreat or surrendering right across the country, with the exception of the forces on the Albanian frontier. Italy and Hungary joined

7112-615: The Yugoslav airline Aeroput , consisting mainly of six Lockheed Model 10 Electras , three Spartan Cruisers , and one de Havilland Dragon were mobilised to provide transport services to the VVKJ. The KJRM was equipped with one elderly ex-German light cruiser (suitable only for training purposes), one large modern destroyer flotilla leader of British design, three modern destroyers of French design (two built in Yugoslavia plus another still under construction), one seaplane tender , four modern submarines (two older French-built and two British-built) and 10 modern motor torpedo boats (MTBs), of

7239-419: The Yugoslav army were then killed. Most were executed wholesale, without trial, disposed of through a variety of methods immediately following their surrender. The killings, which were never punished, were ordered by local Yugoslav commanders, apparently acting directly against Tito's strict instructions to detain the captives in prison camps and screen them for war criminals. In 2010, a large mass grave containing

7366-415: The army still mobilizing, and only some 11 divisions were in their planned defense positions at the start of the invasion. The Yugoslavs had delayed full mobilisation until 3 April in order not to provoke Hitler. The units were filled to between 70 and 90 percent of their strength as mobilization was not completed. The Yugoslav Army was about 1,200,000 in total as the German invasion commenced. The VVKJ had

7493-454: The attack on Yugoslavia was already planned and Hungary's participation had been secured. King Carol II of Romania , starting from the cession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union, proposed in a letter to Adolf Hitler on 2 July 1940 that Germany send a military mission to Romania. The Romanian government asked that a mission be sent urgently on 7 September 1940, the day after Carol's abdication. The decision to aid Romania

7620-479: The campaign against Greece. On 27 March 1941, Hitler informed the Hungarian ambassador, Döme Sztójay , and gave an official proposal to Hungary for participation in the attack on Yugoslavia. Hitler confidentially told Miklós Horthy that Germany fully recognizes the Hungarian territorial claims in relation to Yugoslavia and that he can take Bačka and Banat, and added "take as much as you want". Horthy mostly agreed and accepted Hitler's suggestions. A Hungarian response

7747-450: The church, along with many gold and silver ornaments, church vessels and old manuscripts, and a set of vestments and a reliquary, believed by the monks to have been the property of Saint Sava who founded the first hospital in Studenica in the 13th century. In various historical periods, Kraljevo was part of various administrative formats within Serbia, for example in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, as part of Northern Serbia, during

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7874-475: The city during the period following the uprising. After the Second Serbian uprising , Karanovac was liberated in 1819 under the rule of Prince Miloš Obrenović . In that period the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was built; Gospodar Vasin konak , a mansion used by wealthy guests, as well as a number of significant public buildings. Kraljevo received the first urban plan, and became an important economic city. In 1882 King Milan Obrenović , establishing

8001-408: The city features seven crowns symbolizing the seven kings. The "lower" Ibar region is thought to be the first area where Serbs began to develop cultural, political and economic life. Since the end of the 11th century, the center of Grand Principality of Serbia was in the region of Raška , with state capital in the ancient fortress of Ras , near modern Novi Pazar . There are numerous monasteries in

8128-460: The city's liberation on 29 November 1944. During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 the Lađevci Airport located near Kraljevo was bombed. One prominent feature of the area is the Coronation church which belongs to the Žiča monastery. Seven Serbian kings are said to have been crowned (the seven crowns on the city coat of arms represent this assumption) in the church. The church is Byzantine in style, and has been partially restored, with only

8255-409: The combined Bulgarian, Soviet and NOVJ forces in the Nish region. On 21 September, Obergruppenführer Phleps—the division's first commander—was believed to have been killed when en route from Montenegro to Transylvania . The division's next action was the defence of the Kraljevo bridgehead against the Soviet-led Belgrade Offensive as a part of XXXIV Army Corps (Army Corps Müller). This defence

8382-523: The coup in Yugoslavia, Hitler called his military advisers to Berlin on 27 March. On the same day as the coup he issued Führer Directive 25 , which called for Yugoslavia to be treated as a hostile state. Hitler took the coup as a personal insult, and was so angered that he was determined, in his words, "to destroy Yugoslavia militarily and as a state" ( Jugoslawien militärisch und als Staatsgebilde zu zerschlagen ) and to do so "with pitiless harshness" and "without waiting for possible declarations of loyalty of

8509-473: The direction of Belgrade on 8 April, the force was redeployed in three groups: one along the Turkish border, one along the Greek border and one along the Yugoslav border. Motorized transport was brought in from Romania to achieve this feat in a few days. Although German troops had been refused the right to transit Hungary for the invasion of Poland in 1939, they were permitted to pass through Hungary as civilians on their way to Romania in 1940. In September 1940

8636-505: The division advanced from Karlovac area against the Yugoslav National Liberation Army (NOVJ) resistance and on January 29 captured informal partisan capital Bihać . In Operation Weiss II, it forced its way from western Bosnia to Mostar area in Hercegovina and also deployed units northwest of Sarajevo . From 15 May – 15 June, the Prinz Eugen took a part in the subsequent Fifth anti-Partisan Offensive (Operation Schwarz) aiming to pin Tito's main force of about 20,000 Partisans against

8763-417: The division led a German-Bulgarian anti-guerrilla offensive by the name of Operation Kopaonik against the Chetniks in the Kopaonik , Goč and Jastrebac mountains in Serbia. The operation was aimed at the destruction of the Rasina Corps of the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland , commanded by Major Dragutin Keserović , whose headquarters was located in the village of Kriva Reka . In early October 1942,

8890-415: The division was deployed in southwestern Serbia, in Kraljevo , Užice , Ivanjica , Čačak , Raška , Kosovska Mitrovica , and Novi Pazar . On 5 October 1942, the division commander Artur Phleps ordered the German and Bulgarian forces to destroy the enemy. A comprehensive attack was planned: 20,000 well-armed and fully trained troops would encircle the 1,500 Serb guerrillas from four directions. Because of

9017-524: The division. In the following days, the focal point of the battle shifted westward. After the main group of the Partisans headed by the 1st Proletarian Division broke out of the encirclement, two battalions of the division that were moved to cover the left bank of the Sutjeska river and block the Partisans' escape route were surprised by the attack of three battalions of the NOVJ 1st Dalmatian Strike Brigade and one from 5th Montenegro Brigade at Tjentište pushing them back. They recovered their positions during

9144-634: The division: Out of the four commanders of the division, one (Phleps) was killed in battle, two of them were sentenced to death by hanging and executed in Belgrade 1947, and the fourth (Kumm) managed to avoid extradition to Yugoslavia by fleeing over the wall of the internment camp of Dachau. Several members were decorated with high German military awards, including one Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oaks Leaves and Swords awarded to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Otto Kumm when he

9271-457: The end of December over a thousand German troops in civilian clothing were active in Bulgaria, although the latter's government continued to deny it. Bombers and dive-bombers were also gradually moved into Bulgaria, beginning in November. By the end of March 1941, the Luftwaffe had 355 aircraft in the country. On 17 February 1941, Bulgaria signed a non-aggression pact with Turkey , paving

9398-525: The ethnic cleansing of German-speaking populations throughout eastern Europe. The loss of the division's war diary , likely through intentional destruction, has caused significant gaps in the historiography of both the division itself and the broader Yugoslav campaign. The post-war Nuremberg trials made the declaratory judgement that the Waffen-SS was a criminal organisation due to its major involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity, including

9525-423: The eve of invasion, clothing and footwear were available for only two-thirds or so of the potential front-line troops and only partially for other troops; some other essential supplies were available for only a third of the front-line troops; medical and sanitary supplies were available for only a few weeks, and supplies of food for men and feed for livestock were available for only about two months. In all cases there

9652-577: The fifth column had little effect on the ultimate outcome. The invasion ended when an armistice was signed on 17 April 1941, based on the unconditional surrender of the Yugoslav army, which came into effect at noon on 18 April. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was then occupied and partitioned by the Axis powers. Most of Serbia and the Banat became a German zone of occupation while other areas of Yugoslavia were annexed by neighboring Axis countries, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Albania and Bulgaria. Croatia became

9779-514: The final three, two were delivered to the VVKJ on 10 April and one was delivered on 12 April 1941. Kraljevo Kraljevo ( Serbian Cyrillic : Краљево , pronounced [krǎːʎɛʋɔ] ) is a city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar , in the geographical region of Šumadija , between

9906-592: The following day. Prime Minister Pál Teleki sought to prevent German troops passing through Hungary and cited the peace treaty with Yugoslavia as an impediment to co-operation with the Germans. On 1 April, Yugoslavia redesignated its Assault Command as the Chetnik Command , named after the Serb guerrilla forces from World War I , which had resisted the Central Powers . The command was intended to lead

10033-480: The forced conscription of ethnic Germans was the disappointingly low number of volunteers for the division after the initial recruitments (no more than 5,000). While the division remained "volunteer" in name, few of the conscripted ethnic Germans actively sought entry into the unit. Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler had announced that the wishes of the Volksdeutsche were irrelevant, while in connection with

10160-442: The ground offensive on 11 April. The Italian part in the ground offensive began when their 2nd Army attacked from northeastern Italy towards Ljubljana and down the Dalmatian coast, meeting virtually no resistance. On the same day, the Hungarian 3rd Army crossed the Yugoslav border and advanced toward Novi Sad , but like the Italians, they met no serious resistance. On 12 April, German troops captured Belgrade, and Ljubljana fell to

10287-446: The hard pressed Yugoslav Army by strafing attacking troop and mechanized columns in Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia (sometimes taking off and strafing the troops attacking the very base being evacuated). After a combination of air combat losses, losses on the ground to enemy air attack on bases and the overrunning of airfields by enemy troops, after 11 days the VVKJ almost ceased to exist. However, continued domestic aircraft production during

10414-462: The initial rush of Volksdeutsche to join, voluntary enlistments tapered off, and the new formation did not reach division size. Therefore, in August 1941, the SS discarded the voluntary approach, and after a favorable judgement from the SS court in Belgrade, imposed a mandatory military obligation on all Volksdeutsche in Banat, the first of its kind for non- Reichsdeutsche . One of the reasons for

10541-662: The invasion and resultant fighting into two phases. The first phase encompasses the Luftwaffe ' s devastating air assault on Belgrade and airfields of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force of 6 April, and an initial thrust of the German XL Panzer Corps from Bulgaria towards Skopje that commenced the same day. This was followed by the assault of the German XIV Panzer Corps from Bulgaria towards Niš on 8 April. On 10 April, four more thrusts struck

10668-522: The invasion of Yugoslavia was part of the German Balkan Campaign (German: Balkanfeldzug ). In October 1940, Fascist Italy had attacked the Kingdom of Greece only to be forced back into Italian-occupied Albania . German dictator Adolf Hitler recognised the need to go to the aid of his ally, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini . Hitler did this not only to restore diminished Axis prestige, but also to prevent Britain from bombing

10795-410: The invasion supplied the VVKJ with an additional eight Hurricane Is, six Dornier Do 17 Ks, four Blenheim Is, two Ikarus IK 2s , one Rogozarski IK-3 and one Messerschmitt Bf 109 from the local aeronautical industry's aircraft factories and workshops. At the beginning of the April war, the VVKJ was armed with some 60 German designed Do 17Ks, purchased by Yugoslavia in the autumn of 1938, together with

10922-468: The killing of prisoners-of-war and atrocities committed in occupied countries. Excluded from this judgement were those who were conscripted into the Waffen-SS and had not personally committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. The division was infamous for its brutality. On 6 August 1946, during the morning session at the Nürnberg Trials , it was said that "The 7th SS Division, Prinz Eugen ,

11049-602: The main attack on Subotica ( Szabadka ), with a secondary operation east of the river Tisza . Because of Romania's request that Hungarian troops not operate in the Banat , Paulus modified the Hungarian plan and kept their troops west of the Tisza. This final plan "was put down in map form", according to Paulus' account, and must have been telephoned to Berlin immediately so as to make into Operational Order No. 25, issued by Walther von Brauchitsch that same day. This final plan committed one Hungarian corps of three brigades west of

11176-465: The main tower remaining from the original building dating to 1210, when it was founded by Saint Sava , the patron saint of Serbia. The famous monastery of Studenica , 39 km (24 mi) south west of Kraljevo, stands high among the south-western mountains, overlooking the Studenica , a tributary of the Ibar. It consists of a group of old-fashioned timber and plaster buildings, a tall belfry, and

11303-628: The most part of the Dalmatian coast. In sixteen-days long battle the division pushed back NOVJ units and on September 29 reoccupied Split , forcing the resisting Italians to surrender. In October, division participated in Operation Landsturm , another anti-Partisan operation in Omiš , Ploče and Biokovo . In battles for Split and Biokovo coastline, the Prinz Eugen suffered losses of 1,582 killed, wounded and missing in action. The division

11430-662: The mountains of Kotlenik in the north, and Stolovi in the south. In 2022 the city urban area has a population of 61,490 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 110,196 inhabitants. With an area of 1530 km , it is the largest municipality (after Belgrade) in Serbia by area. Formerly known as Rudo Polje (Рудо Поље), Karanovac (Карановац) and Rankovićevo (Ранковићево), Kraljevo received its present name, meaning "the King's Town", from King Milan I of Serbia in honor of his own coronation and six Serbian kings that had been crowned in that area. The modern coat of arms of

11557-402: The new government". Hungary had joined the Tripartite Pact on 20 November 1940. On 12 December, it also concluded a treaty with Yugoslavia calling for "permanent peace and eternal friendship". The Hungarian leadership was split after Germany's War Directive 25 was delivered on 27 March 1941. Regent Miklós Horthy and the military favoured taking part in the invasion of Yugoslavia and mobilized

11684-541: The northern parts of Italian-controlled Albania met with initial success, but was ultimately repelled into Dalmatia. Scholars have proposed several theories to explain the sudden collapse of the Royal Yugoslav forces , including poor training and equipment, generals eager to secure a quick cessation of hostilities, and fifth column activities by groups of Croatians, Slovenians, and ethnic Germans . The latter has been questioned by scholars who have suggested that

11811-486: The northwest began, King Victor Emmanuel III moved to a villa owned by the Pirzio Biroli family at Brazzacco, near Moruzzo , in order to be close to the front. Germany attacked Yugoslavia from bases in three countries besides itself: Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. German troops entered each of these countries under different pretenses and at different times. The first country to receive a German military mission

11938-534: The number grew to 10,000 in 2004–06 and 20,000 in 2008. The most popular sports in Kraljevo are basketball , volleyball and football . The volleyball club OK Ribnica is playing in top-tier Volleyball League of Serbia . The basketball club KK Sloga is playing in the second-tier Basketball League of Serbia B, while the association football club FK Kablar Sijaće Polje is playing in regional league of Serbia. NBA player Vlade Divac started his career in Kraljevo, while playing for Sloga basketball club (his wife

12065-526: The occupation of territory abandoned by the Yugoslavs. On 2 April Germany responded that the Paulus–Werth agreement was final, and German staff officers began arriving in Budapest that day. That same day the British informed Hungary that she would be treated as an enemy state if Germany made use of her territory or facilities in an attack on Yugoslavia. On the morning of 3 April, Pál Teleki committed suicide;

12192-412: The older vessels, there were six ex-Austrian Navy medium torpedo boats, six mine-layers, four large armoured river monitors and various auxiliary craft. The Yugoslav Army was organized into three army groups and the coastal defense troops. The 3rd Army Group was the strongest with the 3rd, 3rd Territorial, 5th and 6th Armies defending the borders with Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. The 2nd Army Group with

12319-571: The perceived importance of this operation and to observe the first military operations of the newly established SS Division, Himmler himself travelled to Kraljevo in the German occupation zone; Himmler was in Kraljevo from 15 to 18 October 1942 and toured the division. German and Bulgarian forces began their attack on the Chetnik territory at dawn on 12 October 1942, proceeding from four directions. However, Keserović ordered his units to regroup into smaller squads for easy maneuvering and penetration, and

12446-550: The planned crossing of the Danube, followed in January 1941. By January 1941 the total number of German effectives in Romania was 170,639. Those elements of the 12th Army that were to invade Yugoslavia from Romania assembled near Timișoara (Temeschwar). Between November 1940 and February 1941, the Luftwaffe gradually moved 135 fighters and reconnaissance aircraft into Romania (in 22–26 squadrons). In early April 1941 they moved

12573-472: The population speaks Serbian language (122,007). The composition of population by sex and average age: A total of 53,137 citizens (older than 15 years) have secondary education (49.78%), while the 15,281 citizens have higher education (14.31%). Of those with higher education, 9,326 (8.73%) have university education. The ethnic composition in the city of Kraljevo, according to the 2011 census: At 1,530 square kilometres (591 sq mi) Kraljevo

12700-533: The presence of German troops a violation of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 23 August 1939. By the middle of November, the 13th Motorised Infantry Division had been assembled in Romania and reinforced by the 4th Panzer Regiment , engineers and signal troops, as well as six fighter and two reconnaissance Luftwaffe squadrons, and some antiaircraft artillery. A total of seventy batteries of artillery were moved into Romania. On 23 November, Romania signed

12827-661: The proclamation of an Independent State of Croatia in Zagreb on 10 April, this scenario was realized, and Hungary joined the invasion, its army crossing into Yugoslavia the following day. The invasion was spearheaded by the German 2nd Army with elements of the 12th Army , First Panzer Group , and an independent panzer corps combined with overwhelming Luftwaffe support. The 19 German divisions included five panzer divisions , two motorised infantry divisions and two mountain divisions. The German force also included three well-equipped independent motorised infantry regiments and

12954-746: The regent immediately cancelled the mobilization order already given except for the Border Guard and the Mobile Corps, which prompted Werth to resign. Horthy then authorized the mobilization of the Fourth and Fifth Corps and the Mountain Brigade, and Werth withdrew his resignation. This occurred so late in the day that zero hour for mobilization to begin was given as midnight of 5 April. On the morning of 3 April, German units, including tanks and aircraft, bound for Romania passed openly through Budapest. The Italian 2nd Army and 9th Army committed

13081-448: The regimental-sized Fronte a Terra (Land Front), which comprised three static machine gun battalions and a bicycle-mounted Bersaglieri battalion, and the battalion-strength Fronte a Mare (Sea Front), which consisted of two machine gun companies, an anti-aircraft battery, a coastal artillery battery and a naval artillery battery. Supporting units consisted of an artillery regiment of three battalions, two independent artillery battalions,

13208-460: The remains of some 2,000 Prinz Eugen soldiers was opened near the Slovenian village of Brežice ; the soldiers had been stripped naked, bound together with telephone wire, and shot, their bodies buried in a trench in a summary mass execution on 22 May 1945. Many of the soldiers' family members were amongst the tens of thousands of local civilians who perished at the hands of Yugoslav forces during

13335-542: The small Royal Yugoslav Navy ( Serbo-Croatian Latin : Kraljevska Jugoslovenska Ratna Mornarica , KJRM) centred around four destroyers and four submarines based on the Adriatic coast and some river monitors on the Danube . The VKJ was heavily reliant on animal-powered transport , was only partly mobilised at the time of the invasion, and had only 50 tanks that could engage German tanks on an equal basis. The VVKJ

13462-667: The south, the VVKJ could simply not match the overwhelming Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica superiority in terms of numbers, tactical deployment and combat experience. The bomber and maritime force hit targets in Italy, Germany (Austria), Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and Greece, as well as attacking German, Italian and Hungarian troops. Meanwhile, the fighter squadrons inflicted not insignificant losses on escorted Luftwaffe bomber raids on Belgrade and Serbia, as well as upon Regia Aeronautica raids on Dalmatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro. The VVKJ also provided direct air support to

13589-502: The special train "Atlas" of the Armed Forces Operations Staff ( Wehrmachtführungsstabes , WFSt). "Atlas" did not arrive at Mönichkirchen until 11 April, well after operations were underway, and "Amerika" only arrived the following day. Mönichkirchen was chosen because a nearby rail tunnel could provide shelter in the event of air attack. Both trains returned to Berlin on 26 April. After the Italian invasion in

13716-506: The task of killing or capturing Tito, and the operation was spearheaded by the 500th SS Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon and supported by the Brandenburg Regiment . In this timespan many other ethnic groups joined the division, such as ethnic Croats, ethnic Hungarians, and over 1,000 ethnic Serbs who volunteered for the division at General Phelps' office, most of whom were either ideologically or otherwise motivated to fight against

13843-500: The time of Kingdom of Yugoslavia as part of the Moravian Banovina, etc., and today it is officially part of Sumadija & Western Serbia Region Kraljevo was shaken by a M w 5.4 earthquake on 3 November 2010. Two people died and over 100 suffered light injuries. A number of buildings suffered damage, and several hundreds, chiefly older buildings, were rendered unusable. There were several weaker aftershocks including

13970-526: The transfers, but later the Hungarians were complaining that only 130 had arrived. On 24 December, István Horthy , President of Hungarian State Railways (HSR), demanded negotiations before implementing requested German increases, but Ambassador Otto von Erdmannsdorf informed him that it had all been settled in Vienna by Keitel and Csáky. The German traffic was so large that on 28 December the HSR had to suspend travel on all its trains for several days on account of

14097-524: The units in the Croatian-manned 4th and 7th Armies mutinied, and a newly formed Croatian government hailed the entry of the Germans into Zagreb the same day. The Serbian General Staff were united on the question of Yugoslavia as a "Greater Serbia", ruled, in one way or another, by Serbia. On the eve of the invasion, there were 165 generals on the Yugoslav active list. Of these, all but four were Serbs. Professor Jozo Tomasevich and others divide

14224-511: The various models often lacked proper repair and maintenance facilities. The only mechanized units were six motorized infantry battalions in the three cavalry divisions, six motorized artillery regiments, two tank battalions equipped with 110 tanks, one of which had Renault FT models of First World War origin and the other 54 modern French Renault R35 tanks, plus an independent tank company with eight Czech T-32 (Š-I-D) tank destroyers. Some 1,000 trucks for military purposes had been imported from

14351-564: The way for its adherence to the Tripartite Pact, which was signed by Prime Minister Bogdan Filov in Vienna on 1 March. When Ivan V. Petrov, member of the National Assembly from Yablanitsa , asked why the Assembly had not been consulted, Filov pointed out that the constitution only required parliamentary approval prior to ratification. The signing was ratified by a vote in the Assembly of 140 to 20. The first German troops crossed

14478-424: Was Romania. Ostensibly to train the Romanian armed forces, its real purpose was to protect Romania's petroleum resources and prepare for an attack on the Soviet Union. The Wehrmacht entered Bulgaria more circumspectly, first with the intention of providing aerial defense against any force attacking Romania's oilfields and later with that of invading Greece in support of Italy. German troops did not enter Hungary until

14605-420: Was about to be invaded. On 3 April, Hitler issued War Directive 26 detailing the plan of attack and command structure for the invasion as well as promising Hungary territorial gains. The same day Teleki killed himself. Horthy, seeking a compromise, informed Hitler that evening that Hungary would abide by the treaty, though it would likely cease to apply should Croatia secede, and Yugoslavia cease to exist. Upon

14732-794: Was equipped with a range of aircraft of Yugoslav, German, Italian, French and British design, including less than 120 modern fighter aircraft . Formed after World War I , the VKJ was still largely equipped with weapons and material from that era, although some modernization with Czech equipment and vehicles had begun. Of about 4,000 artillery pieces, many were aged and horse-drawn, but about 1,700 were relatively modern, including 812 Czech 37mm and 47mm anti-tank guns. There were also about 2,300 mortars, including 1600 modern 81mm pieces, as well as twenty-four 220 and 305mm pieces. Of 940 anti-aircraft guns, 360 were 15 mm and 20 mm Czech and Italian models. All of these arms were imported, from different sources;

14859-575: Was essential for the success of Army Group E efforts to open a corridor which would allow the retreat of 350,000 German soldiers from Greece and the Aegean Sea . In the beginning of November, the very understrength and underperforming 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg was disbanded, following widespread demoralisation and mass desertions within its ranks. It was nominally ethnic Albanian but in reality staffed mostly with

14986-460: Was hammered out in council and delivered the following day (28 March). On 30 March, General Friedrich Paulus arrived in Budapest and met with Henrik Werth , chief of the Hungarian general staff, and Major General László Deseő . The Hungarians proposed they mobilize five divisions for the attack on Yugoslavia. Two were to be held in reserve, while the First , Fifth and Mobile Corps were to conduct

15113-708: Was highly unpopular with the Serb -dominated officer corps of the military, Serbian organizations such as National Defense and the Chetniks Association , the Serbian Orthodox Church , a large part of the Serbian population as well as liberals and Communists. Military officers (predominantly Serbs) executed a coup d'état on 27 March 1941, forced the Regent to resign, and declared 17-year-old King Peter II to be of age. Upon hearing news of

15240-557: Was little or no possibility of replenishment. Beyond the problems of inadequate equipment and incomplete mobilization, the Yugoslav Army suffered badly from the Serbo-Croat schism in Yugoslav politics. "Yugoslav" resistance to the invasion collapsed overnight. The main reason was that none of the subordinate national groups, including Slovenes and Croats, were prepared to fight in defence of a Serbian Yugoslavia. Also, so that

15367-810: Was reorganized on 22 October 1943 and was renamed the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen . In November, the unit was attached to the V SS Mountain Corps and took part in anti-Partisan Operations Kugelblitz and Schneesturm in Dalmatia during the next month. In January 1944, the division was involved in more anti-Partisan actions in Operation Waldrausch . It then took part in Seventh anti-Partisan Offensive (Operation Rösselsprung) which began on 25 May 1944. This operation had

15494-578: Was supported by a cavalry regiment, three Border Guard battalions, a Finance Guard battalion and two military police (Italian: Carabinieri Reali ) battalions. The XVII Corps included the Diamanti Blackshirt group which incorporated six Blackshirt regiments comprising two battalions each, the Albanian-raised Skanderbeg Blackshirt regiment of two battalions, another Blackshirt regiment of two battalions,

15621-407: Was supported by a motorised artillery regiment consisting of three battalions, and a motorised engineer battalion. In Albania, the elements of the Italian 9th Army (Italian: 9° Armata ) that were involved in the campaign were commanded by Generale d’Armata (General) Alessandro Pirzio Biroli , and consisted of two infantry corps and some sector troops assembled in northern Albania. XIV Corps

15748-732: Was supported by over 750 aircraft. The Italian 2nd Army and 9th Army committed a total of 22 divisions and 666 aircraft to the operation. The Hungarian 3rd Army also participated in the invasion, with support available from over 500 aircraft. During the April War, the Führer Headquarters (FHQ) was codenamed Frühlingssturm (Spring Storm) and consisted of the Führersonderzug (Special Führer 's Train) codenamed "Amerika" stationed in Mönichkirchen alongside

15875-407: Was taken on 19 September, and Hungary was asked to provide transit to German soldiers on 30 September. The first troops entered Romania on 10 October. They entered Bucharest two days later (12 October) to shouts of Heil! The official explanation for the presence of German troops was that they were there to train the Romanian army. Hitler's directive to the troops on 10 October had stated that "it

16002-463: Was that six trains would pass through Hungary at night carrying German soldiers in sealed cars. They would not be allowed out, and they would not have any rail transportation officers (RTOs) or supply officers with them. According to György Barcza , the Hungarian ambassador in London, answering the British government's query, it was Romania that had made the request. In his notes, Barcza indicated that

16129-525: Was the divisional commander. Divisional recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross included the first commander of the division, Artur Phleps and five others, all regimental or battalion commanders. One was awarded posthumously. Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War or Operation 25 , was a German -led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by

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