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 ...
, the Pećanac Chetniks, also known as the Black Chetniks, were a
Nazi collaborationist Chetnik
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 ...
irregular military force which operated in the
German-occupied territory of Serbia under the leadership of ''
vojvoda''
Kosta Pećanac. They were loyal to the
Government of National Salvation
The Government of National Salvation (; , VNS), also referred to as Nedić's government or Nedić's regime, was the colloquial name of the second Serbian Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborationist List of World War II ...
, the German-backed Serbian puppet government, and actively collaborated with
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and its military.
The Pećanac Chetniks worked alongside German forces to suppress
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 ...
and other resistance movements. Their actions included intelligence sharing, participation in anti-Partisan operations, and supporting Nazi policies in the occupied territory.
The
Yugoslav government-in-exile
The Government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Exile ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Vlada Kraljevine Jugoslavije u egzilu, Влада Краљевине Југославије у егзилу) was an official government-in-exile of Yugoslavia, headed by King ...
eventually denounced Pećanac as a traitor, and the Germans concluded that his detachments were inefficient, unreliable, and of little military value to them. The Germans and the puppet government disbanded the organisation between September 1942 and March 1943. The Serbian puppet regime interned Pećanac for some time afterwards; forces loyal to his Chetnik rival
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 ...
killed him in mid-1944.
Background
The Pećanac Chetniks were named after their commander,
Kosta Pećanac, who was a fighter and later ''
vojvoda'' in the
Serbian Chetnik Organization who had first distinguished himself in fighting against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in
Macedonia between 1903 and 1910. In the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
, fought from October 1912 to May 1913, Pećanac served as a
sergeant
Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
in the
Royal Serbian Army. During the
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...
, fought from 29 June to 10 August 1913, he saw combat against the
Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Tsardom of Bulgaria (), also known as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom (), usually known in English as the Kingdom of Bulgaria, or simply Bulgaria, was a constitutional monarchy in Southeastern Europe, which was established on , when the Bulgaria ...
. During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he led bands of Serbian guerillas fighting behind Bulgarian and
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
lines.
He was the most prominent figure in the
Chetnik
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 ...
movement during the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
. He had a leading role in the
Association Against Bulgarian Bandits, a notorious organisation that arbitrarily terrorised
Bulgarians
Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
in the
Štip
Štip ( ) is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of North Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities.
As of the 2021 census, the city of Štip had ...
region, part of modern-day
Macedonia. He also served as a commander with the
Organization of Yugoslav Nationalists (ORJUNA). As a member of parliament, he was present when the
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...
(HSS) leader
Stjepan Radić and HSS deputies Pavle Radić and
Đuro Basariček were killed by the
Serb politician
Puniša Račić
Puniša Račić ( sr-cyr, Пуниша Рачић; 12 July 1886 – 16 October 1944) was a Montenegrin Serb, Serb leader and People's Radical Party (NRS) politician. He assassinated Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) representatives Pavle Radić and Đ ...
on 20 June 1928. Prior to the shooting, Pećanac was accused by HSS deputy
Ivan Pernar of being responsible for a massacre of 200 Muslims in 1921.
Pećanac became the president of the Chetnik Association in 1932. By opening membership of the organisation to younger members that had not served in World War I, he grew the organisation during the 1930s from a nationalist veterans' association focused on protecting veterans' rights to an aggressively partisan Serb political organisation with 500,000 members throughout the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
. During this period, Pećanac formed close ties with the far-right
Yugoslav Radical Union government of
Milan Stojadinović
Milan Stojadinović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Стојадиновић; 4 August 1888 – 26 October 1961) was a Serbs, Serbian and Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav politician and economist who was the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1935 to 1939. ...
, and was known for his hostility to the
Yugoslav Communist Party, which made him popular with conservatives such as those in the Yugoslav Radical Union.
Formation
Shortly before the
Axis
An axis (: axes) may refer to:
Mathematics
*A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular:
** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system
*** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...
invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the
Yugoslav Ministry of the Army and Navy requested that Pećanac prepare for
guerrilla operations and guard the southern area of Serbia, Macedonia, and Kosovo from pro-Bulgarians and pro-
Albanians
The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...
in the region. He was given arms and money, and managed to arm several hundred men in the
Toplica River valley in southern Serbia. Pećanac's force remained intact after the German occupation of Serbia and supplemented its strength from Serb refugees fleeing Macedonia and Kosovo. In the early summer of 1941, Pećanac's detachments fought against Albanian bands. At this time and for a considerable period after, only detachments under Pećanac were identified by the term "Chetnik". With the formation of the communist-led
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 ...
, Pećanac gave up any interest in resistance, and by late August came to agreements with both the
Serbian puppet government and the German authorities to carry out attacks against the Partisans.
Pećanac kept the organisational structure of his detachments simple. All of the commanders were selected personally by Pećanac and consisted of former officers, peasants, Orthodox priests, teachers, and merchants. The Pećanac Chetniks were also known as the "Black Chetniks".
Collaboration with occupation and quisling forces
On 18 August 1941, while he was concluding arrangements with the Germans, Pećanac received a letter from rival Chetnik leader
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 ...
proposing an arrangement where Pećanac would control the Chetniks south of the
Western Morava River while Mihailović would control the Chetniks in all other areas. Pećanac declined this request and suggested that he might offer Mihailović the position as his
chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
. He also recommended that Mihailović's detachments disband and join his organisation. In the meantime, Pećanac had arranged for the transfer of several thousand of his Chetniks to the
Serbian Gendarmerie to act as German auxiliaries.

On 27 August, Pećanac issued an open "Proclamation to the Dear People", in which he portrayed himself as the defender and protector of Serbs and, referring to Mihailović's units, called on "detachments that have been formed without his approval" to come together under his command. He demanded that individuals hiding in the forests return to their homes immediately and that acts of sabotage directed at the occupation authorities cease or suffer the punishment of death. The communist leader
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
and all members of the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...
left Belgrade on 16 September 1941 using documents issued to Tito by Dragoljub Milutinović who was voivode of Pećanac Chetniks. Since Pećanac was already fully cooperating with the Germans by this time, this assistance caused some to speculate that Tito left Belgrade with the blessing of the Germans because his task was to divide the rebel forces, similar to Lenin's arrival in Russia.
In September 1941, some of Pećanac's subordinates broke ranks to join the Partisans in fighting the Germans and their Serbian auxiliaries. In the mountainous
Kopaonik region, a previously loyal subordinate of Pećanac began attacking local gendarmerie stations and clashing with armed bands of Albanian Muslims. By the end of October the Germans decided to stop arming the "unreliable" elements within Pećanac's Chetniks, and attached the remainder to their other Serbian auxiliary forces.
On 7 October 1941, Pećanac sent a request to the head of the Serbian puppet government,
Milan Nedić, for trained officers, supplies, arms, salary funds, and more. Over time his requests were fulfilled, and a German
liaison officer was appointed at Pećanac's headquarters to help coordinate actions. On 17 January 1942, according to German data, 72 Chetnik officers and 7,963 men were being paid and supplied by the Serbian Gendarmerie. This fell short of their maximum authorised strength of 8,745 men, and included two or three thousand of Mihailović's Chetniks who had been "legalised" in November 1941. In the same month, Pećanac sought permission from the Italians for his forces to move into eastern
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 ...
, but was refused due to Italian concerns that the Chetniks would move into the
Sandžak. Pećanac Chetniks of Jovan Škavović were intermediaries in handover of 365 captured Partisans to Germans from Chetniks 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 ...
in village of Slovac between
Valjevo
Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...
and
Lajkovac. At least 261 of those would be executed by
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
in Valjevo on November 27.
In April 1942, the German Commanding General in Serbia, ''
General der Artillerie
(English language, en: General of the artillery) may mean:
A rank of three-star rank, three-star General of the branch, general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussian A ...
''
Paul Bader, issued orders giving the unit numbers C39 to C101 to the Pećanac Chetnik detachments, which were placed under the command of the local German division or area command post. These orders required the deployment of a German liaison officer with all detachments engaged in operations, and also limited their movement outside their assigned area. Supplies of arms and ammunition were also controlled by the Germans. In July 1942, Mihailović arranged for the
Yugoslav government-in-exile
The Government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Exile ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Vlada Kraljevine Jugoslavije u egzilu, Влада Краљевине Југославије у егзилу) was an official government-in-exile of Yugoslavia, headed by King ...
to denounce Pećanac as a traitor, and his continuing collaboration ruined what remained of the reputation he had developed in the Balkan Wars and World War I.
Pećanac Chetniks committed some of the cruelest crimes of collaborationist troops, even if they are responsible for less murders than members of Mihailović's Chetniks and other German auxiliaries such as the
Serbian State Guard and
Serbian Volunteer Command. Crimes of the largest scale occurred in the villages of
Melovo and
Mijovac, near
Leskovac
Leskovac ( sr-Cyrl, Лесковац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a p ...
on 5 and 6 February 1942. Pećanac Chetniks killed eight members of the same
Romani family in Melovo, which included killing children. In the next days the same force shot 44 Romani civilians in Mijovac, including women and children. Pećanac Chetniks also arrested other Romani people and handed them over to the Germans. In districts of
Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
and
Toplica, Pećanac's forces executed 148
Partisans and their supporters, as well as, handing 160 of them to Germans.
Dissolution
The Germans found that Pećanac's units were inefficient, unreliable, and of little military aid to them. Pećanac's Chetniks regularly clashed and had rivalries with other German auxiliaries such as the Serbian State Guard and Serbian Volunteer Command and also with Mihailović's Chetniks. The Germans and the puppet government commenced disbanding them in September 1942, and all but one had been dissolved by the end of that year. The last detachment was disbanded in March 1943. Pećanac's followers were dispersed to other German auxiliary forces, German labour units, or were interned in
prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
s. Many deserted to join Mihailović. Nothing is recorded of Pećanac's activities in the months that followed except that he was interned for some time by the Serbian puppet government.
Accounts of Pećanac's capture and death vary. According to one account, Pećanac, four of his leaders and 40 of their followers were captured by forces loyal to Mihailović in February 1944. All were killed within days except Pećanac, who remained in custody to write his war memoirs before being executed on 5 May 1944. Another source states he was assassinated on 6 June 1944 by Chetniks loyal to Mihailović.
Notes
Footnotes
References
Books
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Websites
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pecanac Chetniks
1941 establishments in Serbia
1944 disestablishments in Serbia
Serbian collaborators with Nazi Germany
Military units and formations of the Chetniks in World War II
Serbia under German occupation
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 1943