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The Lim-Sandžak Chetnik Detachment () was a military unit of collaborationist
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 ...
that was established in northern
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
and
Sandžak Sandžak (Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) is a historical and geo-political region in the Balkans, located in the southwestern part of Serbia and the eastern part of Montenegro. The Bosnian/ Serbian term ''Sandžak'' derives from the Sanjak of Novi Paza ...
at the end of June 1942, 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 August 1942, it was commanded by Pavle Đurišić, and was the largest and the most elite military unit of
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 ...
at that time.


Establishment and initial structure

The Lim-Sandžak Chetnik Detachment was established by Pavle Đurišić, based on an agreement between Đorđe Lašić and Italian General Alessandro Pirzio Biroli signed on 24 July 1942 after about two months of negotiations. The agreement "legalised" the detachment with the Italian occupying forces. Chetniks that had not been "legalised" were much more numerous and important. The Italians tolerated groups of illegal Chetniks and gave them the status of a "national peasants' militia". The Lim-Sandžak Chetnik Detachment was a mobile unit consisting of four battalions, one for each region within the sector. Bijelo Polje, Berane, Andrijevica and
Kolašin Kolašin (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Колашин, ) is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 2,989 (2003 census). Kolašin is the centre of Kolašin Municipality (population 9,949) and an unofficial centre of Morača region, nam ...
had one battalion each. According to the agreement, the detachment was authorised to a strength of 1,500 men who received a salary, food, clothes and arms from the Italians.


Expansion

On 12 July 1942, Chetnik headquarters met in Zimonjića Kula to decide about the allocation of Chetnik commands and areas of responsibility, and Montenegro was divided into western and eastern sectors. Bajo Stanišić was appointed as the commander of the western sector, while Pavle Đurišić was appointed as the commander of the eastern sector, which matched the existing territory of his detachment. At a further conference held the following month, Đurišić's sector was expanded to include
Prijepolje Prijepolje ( sr-Cyrl, Пријепоље, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. As of 2022, the town has 11,928 inhabitants, while the municipality has 32,214 inhabitants. Etymology One possible mean ...
,
Priboj Priboj ( sr-Cyrl, Прибој, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. The population of the town is 13,172, while the population of the municipality is 23,514. Geography The municipality of Priboj i ...
,
Nova Varoš Nova Varoš ( sr-cyr, Нова Варош, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. The municipality of Nova Varoš has a population of 13,507, while the town of Nova Varoš itself has a population of ...
and
Sjenica Sjenica ( sr-cyr, Сјеница, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia, on the vast Sjenica- Pešter plateau and geographically located in the central part of Sandžak. The population of the municip ...
. After this expansion the Lim-Sandžak Chetnik Detachment was reorganized into four corps: * Kom Corps * Lim Corps * Mileševa Corps It was planned to include Dečane Corps, consisting of three brigades (Peć, Istok and Drenica) as part of the detachment, but this plan remained only on paper. According to Chetnik documents, the Lim-Sandžak Chetnik Detachment had 200 officers and 15,349 men available for military service. They were armed with 13,116 rifles, 51
light machine gun A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridge (firearms), cartridges of the same caliber as the othe ...
s, 15 machine guns and 5
mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...
. The Italians also authorised Đurišić to raise a gendarmerie in his sector, which was used to terrorise members and supporters of the Partisans and the population in general.


Battles

As a part of the MVAC, the detachment participated in the Third Enemy Offensive against
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 ...
. In the middle of May 1943, prior to the formal commencement of Case Black, around 2,000 men from this detachment, including Đurišić, were captured by German forces.
Vojislav Lukačević Vojislav Lukačević ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Лукачевић; 1908 – 14 August 1945) was a Serbs, Serbian Chetnik commander in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during World War II. At the outbreak of war, he held the rank of Captain (arme ...
succeeded Đurišić as the commander of the remaining men of the detachment.


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lim-Sandzak Chetnik Detachment Military units and formations of the Chetniks in World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 History of Sandžak