The Black Legion (), officially the 1st Standing Active Brigade (''Prvi stajaći djelatni sdrug''), was an
Ustaše Militia
The Ustaše Militia () was the military branch of the Ustaše, established by the Fascism, fascist and Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia, genocidal regime of Ante Pavelić in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), an Axis pow ...
infantry unit active during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
. The legion was formed in September 1941 as the 1st Ustaša Regiment. It consisted largely of
Bosnian Muslim and
Croat
The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
refugees from eastern
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
, where large massacres were carried out by
Chetniks
The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...
and to a small degree by the
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
.
It became known for its fierce fighting against the Chetniks and the Partisans and massacres against
Serb civilians.
The legion's commanders were Colonel
Jure Francetić and Major
Rafael Boban. It consisted of between 1,000 and 1,500 trained
mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with Armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps).
As defined by the United States Army, me ...
men.
History
The Black Legion was formed in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
in April 1941 with 12 founding members, of whom 11 were Croats and one was a Bosnian Muslim. The force grew to be predominantly Muslim in response to the atrocities carried out by
Bosnian Muslims
The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who share a common ancestry, culture, history and the ...
.
[ Hoare (2006), p. 165.]
After the
battle of Kupres, the Legion's 1st and 2nd battalion were used to form the cadre for the newly formed
5th Standing Active Brigade which was put under the command of Rafael Boban and incorporated into the 5th division of the
Croatian Armed Forces in December 1944.
[ Tomasevich (2001), p. 422.]
In August 1942, Francetić was appointed the supreme commander of all standing active brigades of the Ustaše Army and the Legion's new commander became Colonel
Ivo Stipković. Under Stipković's command the Legion lost even more men when the 23rd and 28th battalions (composed mainly of Bosnian Muslims) were disbanded and their soldiers transferred to the
13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar. After the death of Colonel Stipković in September 1943 the Legion's commander became Major Milan Šulentić but just eight days later he was replaced by Major
Franjo Sudar. Near the end of 1944 the Legion was incorporated into the 1st division of the Croatian Armed Forces under the command of General
Roman Domanik. Soldiers of the Black Legion continued to wear the black uniform right up to the end of the war, probably as a sort of honorary mark of distinction. Lastly, at least 120 former Black Legion men were executed by the Partisans at
Sisak in May 1945. When the war ended, many soldiers of the Black Legion refused to surrender and joined the
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...
.
Notes
References
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External links
Black Legion: Croatian Nazi atrocities during Holocaust Era
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Legion (Ustase militia)
Ustaša Militia