![Chetnik Association, 1920s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Chetnik_Association%2C_1920s.jpg)
In the Interwar period in
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
(1918–41), there were several veteran associations of Serbian guerrillas (known as "
Chetniks") that had fought in Ottoman Macedonia (1903–12), Balkan Wars (1912–13) and World War I (1914–18).
Leading Chetniks were split between the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(DS) and
Radical Party (RS), and also between ties to the secret societies of the
Black Hand
Black Hand or The Black Hand may refer to:
Extortionists and underground groups
* Black Hand (anarchism) (''La Mano Negra''), a presumed secret, anarchist organization based in the Andalusian region of Spain during the early 1880s
* Black Hand (e ...
and
White Hand. These ideological differences led to the formation of several Chetnik associations (). The first association, established in 1921, was split corresponding to the
Yugoslavist
Yugoslavism, Yugoslavdom, or Yugoslav nationalism is an ideology supporting the notion that the South Slavs, namely the Bosniaks, Croats, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Serbs and Slovenes, but also Bulgarians, belong to a single Yugoslav nation ...
DS and
Serbian nationalist
Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, und ...
RS in 1924.
The most important figures in the Chetnik movement in this period were
Puniša Račić
Puniša Račić ( sr-cyr, Пуниша Рачић; 12 July 1886 – 16 October 1944) was a Montenegrin Serb leader and People's Radical Party (NRS) politician. He assassinated Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) representatives Pavle Radić and Đuro B ...
,
Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin
Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin ( sr-cyr, Илија Трифуновић-Бирчанин; 1877 – 3 February 1943) was a Serbian Chetnik military commander (''vojvoda'', војвода). He took part in the Balkan Wars and World War I and af ...
and
Kosta Milovanović-Pećanac. Following the proclamation of the
6 January Dictatorship
The 6 January Dictatorship ( sr-cyr, Шестојануарска диктатура, Šestojanuarska diktatura; hr, Šestosiječanjska diktatura; sl, Šestojanuarska diktatura) was a royal dictatorship established in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croa ...
by king
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
in 1929 and the establishment of the “integral
Yugoslavism
Yugoslavism, Yugoslavdom, or Yugoslav nationalism is an ideology supporting the notion that the South Slavs, namely the Bosniaks, Croats, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Serbs and Slovenes, but also Bulgarians, belong to a single Yugoslav nati ...
”, the various Chetnik associations re-organised themself into a single officially sanctioned group, the “Association of Chetniks”. However, even under the homogenizing pressures of dictatorship, the Chetniks were not a monolithic movement.
Background
The
Serbian Chetnik Organization
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
, founded by Serbian activists, organized guerrilla units dispatched into Ottoman territories to the south of the
Kingdom of Serbia. In the 1904–12 period these guerrilla units conducted warfare in Macedonia, seeking to liberate the region and join it with Serbia. At first privately organized, its directions were soon taken over by the Serbian government. The guerrilla action accompanied the dissemination of nationalist propaganda (nationalization). The Chetniks, as an
auxiliary
Auxiliary may refer to:
* A backup site or system
In language
* Auxiliary language (disambiguation)
* Auxiliary verb
In military and law enforcement
* Auxiliary police
* Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of ...
force, played an active role in the
Balkan Wars and
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
[, ]
Associations
Aftermath
World War II
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
{{commons category
Chetniks
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Serbian veterans' organizations