The 4th Army of the
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
was a Partisan army that operated in
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
during the last months of the Second World War.
The Army was created on 1 March 1945, when Chief Commander Marshal
Josip Broz Tito converted the underground
National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia in the more regular Yugoslav Army.
History
As commander was named General lieutenant
Petar Drapšin
Petar Drapšin ( sr-Cyrl, Петар Драпшин; 15 November 1914 – 2 November 1945) was a Yugoslav Partisan commander.
Early life and education
Drapšin was born to a family of poor peasant farmers in the village of Turija near Srbobr ...
, as Political Commissioner Colonel Boško Šiljegović, and as Chief of staff, Colonel Pavle Jakšić. The Army was formed from the divisions of the
7th Corps (14th and 18th),
8th Corps (9th, 19th, 20th and 26th Dalmatian),
11th Corps (13th, 35th and 43rd) and later also the
9th Corps (30th and 31st). In addition the 4th Army had an Artillery, 1st Tank, Engineer and Replacement Brigade, a Motorized Artillery Battalion and a liaison regiment.
Three major operations were carried out in the Liberation of Yugoslavia: the
Lika-Primorje operation
Lika-Primorje operation was a military operation carried out by the Yugoslav Partisan 4th Army against Wehrmacht units and the Croatian Armed Forces. It was conducted in the area of Lika and Western Bosnia from 20 March to 15 April 1945.
In ...
(March 20 – 15 April 1945), the
Rijeka operation (April 16 – 7 May) and the
Trieste operation
The Race for Trieste, was a battle during the Second World War that took place during early May 1945. It led to a joint allied victory for the Yugoslav Partisans and 2nd New Zealand Division and a joint occupation of Trieste, but relations soon de ...
(April 29 – 3 May). They destroyed the German
XV Mountain Corps, surrounded the
LXXXXVII Army Corps and liberated
Lika,
Hrvatsko Primorje
Croatian Littoral ( hr, Hrvatsko primorje) is a historical name for the region of Croatia comprising mostly the coastal areas between traditional Dalmatia to the south, Mountainous Croatia to the north, Istria and the Kvarner Gulf of the Adria ...
,
Gorski Kotar,
Istria, part of the Slovenian littoral and
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
with its surroundings.
Her motorized units even advanced into central
Carinthia. The 29th Division also participated in the liberation of the area between
Postojna and
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...
.
Composition
According to
Vladimir Dedijer
Vladimir Dedijer ( sr-Cyrl, Владимир Дедијер; 4 February 1914 – 30 November 1990) was a Yugoslav partisan fighter during World War II who became known as a politician, human rights activist, and historian. In the early postwar ye ...
IV Army in its composition have 40,500 Croats, 31,500 Serbs and 18,000 Slovenes.
[Pavle Jakšić; ''Nad uspomenama I'', p. 8; Rad, 1990, ]
References
Sources
* This is a translation of the article in the
Slovenian Wikipedia, ''
4. armada (NOVJ).''
Researchgate*
{{Yugoslav Partisans military units
4th Army
Military units and formations established in 1945
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
1945 disestablishments in Yugoslavia
Partisans
Military units and formations of the Yugoslav Partisans