Ivan Prezelj (29 August 1895 – 22 April 1973) was a Yugoslav military officer and commander of Blue Guard, a detachment of

Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royali ...

in German-occupied

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Before the Second World War, Prezelj was the Yugoslav military attache in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Prezelj was initially subordinated to Major

Karl Novak Karl Novak (October 19, 1905 – 1975) was a Yugoslav Slovene military officer best known as commander of the Slovene Chetniks in the Italian-annexed Province of Ljubljana (part of modern-day Slovenia) during World War II. Early life Novak was ...

and Colonel

Vladimir Vauhnik Vladimir Vauhnik (1896—1955) was Yugoslav military officer of Slovenian extraction. Vauhnik is most notable for his Counterintelligence activities before and during World War II that could have changed the course of the war. Early life Vauh ...

. After the defeat in the

Battle of Grčarice The Battle of Grčarice was a battle fought in early September 1943 between the Slovene Partisans and the Blue Guard. The battle was waged in Grčarice in German-occupied Yugoslavia, modern-day Slovenia. Background The capitulation of Italy w ...

, Major Novak resigned and Prezelj was appointed in his place by

Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...

. Mihailović promoted Prezelj to the rank of General on 29 June or 1 December 1944. The headquarter of Prezelj was with

Notranjska Detachment Inner Carniola ( sl, Notranjska; german: Innerkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (the ...

and Soča Detachments. Prezelj in

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 ar ...

met with

Dimitrije Ljotić Dimitrije Ljotić ( sr-cyr, Димитрије Љотић; 12 August 1891 – 23 April 1945) was a Serbian and Yugoslav fascist politician and ideologue who established the Yugoslav National Movement (Zbor) in 1935 and collaborated with Ge ...

and

Momčilo Đujić Momčilo Đujić ( sh-Cyrl, Момчилo Ђујић, ; 27 February 1907 – 11 September 1999) was a Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox priest and Chetnik . He led a significant proportion of the Chetniks within the northern Dalm ...

in 1945. In April 1945 Prezelj was appointed as commander of Slovenian People's Army while Mirko Bitanc was appointed as his deputy. After the World War II Prezelj escaped from Yugoslav authorities to Italy.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prezelj, Ivan 1895 births 1973 deaths Chetnik personnel of World War II Slovenian Chetnik personnel of World War II