"Cetnici" ?

I need information about the Ygoslavian 'Cetnic' army.From what i know "Cetnici" was a Ygoslavian nazi's gourilla.

 

Have a look here, Dani:

Chetniks in World War 2 - Chetnik (Ravna gora) movement

and look at the links on the wiki article:

Chetniks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I didn't understand, were the cetnicite on the side of the nazis or agaist the nazis?
It would be pity that they use the name cetnici and they use our flag,
Слобода или Смърт or Свобода или Смърт means Freedome or Death.It was writen on our first flag.

 

You're not the only one who is confused - the Chetniks couldn't make up their minds either. The Chetniks were also known as the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland, and the above wiki article has a link to their activities during the war:

Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Pity, the Serbians gived the chetniks really bad name by fighting alongside the nazis.
I know that the Croatians were calling the Serbians chetnici during the war but i though that they call them cetnici because they were fighting alongside us agaist the Ottomans.

 

Hi, about he Chetniks, it is a little complicate, like the Balkans in General,
in fact, the Chetniks Groups were the relief of the Royal Yougoslavian Army, most of them where Serbians, but they were also Croatians and Slovenians at the beginnig f th Movement. One of the most famous Chef of the Chetniks is Draza Mihailovic, this man was officer in the Royal Army, and decide to continu to fight with his Groups of volunteers, AGAINST the Germans. They were really good for "Sabotage missions", specially for destroying convoy aof materials and munitions destinated to the German Middle est and African Front (cause the convoy went through Yugoslavia)
They were the first Resistant Group in Europe, but 2 years later (Begining of 43, the Communists were also beginnig to constitute some military groups, under the controversed control of TITO. The communist propaganda was a really good machine, Chetniks and comunists were fighting together at the beginig in 42/3, but Tito made too many mistakes for the Chetniks leader, like attaking "german troops" in villages, what the Commandant Draza never made because of the civilian population, Tito made it and the result and the consequences were horrible : One of the first war Crime from the Werhmacht in South Europe, 10 civilians executed for One German soldier Killed..there was around 250 soldiers killed, u can imagine, nearly 3000 civilians executed ( A lot of pics in the Wermacht Museum of Berlin ), so the Chetniks separate from the Communists, but Tito took a lot of Chetnik's "Succes" for him, and finally the English (Churchill) decided to support him and to let the Royal army alone (Strategic plan from Churchill, who saw the forced arch of the Russians communists in the North Est, and who thought that's better to have one "under control"...big error) The Chetniks were finally fighting against the Germns, Italians, Bulgarians, Croatians & Bosnians (1rst SS handzar division, Kamo division, etc...) and the communists. From around 50 000 Soldiers in 1941, 60% died till the end of 1944, then the Croatian national army decided to join the Croatian "Tito" in communist army when he called them for fighting against the treats and the germans, bulgarians..he was after calling the chetniks to join them, he said he will apologize them for what they made against the communist army and, finally, 8.000 soldiers from the Royal Serbian Army (Called the Chetniks) decided to give their weapons and to join the communist army, cause they realized that tha World "Forgot" them and let them without support to continu the fight against the Germans. These 8.000 Soldiers were regrouped in Bosnia, near FOCA, they had to go to Sarajevo for regularisation...they never arrived.
(Mass execution on the way) Some survivors spoke about to some other groups of Chetniks, and they mostly decided to quit Yugoslavia for going to London, Greece, or Usa. But some other Groups were staying, and they decided to continu the fight against all the Ennemies of the Kingdom and Fatherland, in 45, these groups were considered as Enemies of the Nation by mr Tito, one of the most famous was a Montenegrian Chetnik, called " Vlado , ( Vladimir Sipcic ), this man fought till ...1957 with his group, he became the public enemy, and was finally Killed when he tried to escape with his girlfriend. He was 33. (Some communist propagande wanted to say that the Chetniks were allied of the Germans... and it works. A lot of people believed in, but, it's normal, it was a war ;o)

 

I probably have to put this in here as I suppose most of us would have seen Force 10 from Navarone where they absolutely destroyed a novel with literary licence Hollywood style. (The reviewer is really bucketing Harrison Ford)

This is only one glaring error that could be one of the reasons for people who saw this movie 30 years ago to believe the Chetniks were the bad guys.

From a reviewer on flick Zone: FlickZone: Movie Review: Force 10 from Navarone (1978)

Upon arriving in Yugoslavia, the commandos go through a series of improbable events that severely strain the audience's suspension of disbelief. Among other things, this movie made the huge historical error of making the Chetniks supporters of the Nazis. In real life, the Chetniks were the toughest opponents that the Nazis had to fight in Yugoslavia. At the time, the Soviet Union and Communists all over the world carried on propaganda campaigns to the effect that the Chetniks were really on the side of the enemy and that the Partisans of Marshal Tito were the only truly anti-Nazi group of Yugoslavian resistance fighters. Although Allied intelligence always recognized that the Chetniks were on our side, the Communists eventually succeeded in getting Allied politicians to drop support for the Chetniks and unreservedly support the Communist Partisans. In the years since World War II, historians have come to realize that the Chetniks were smeared as being pro-Nazis. Unfortunately, Force 10 from Navarone repeats that smear.

 

Check out the great photos here. There is one photo here which must have inspired the screenplay for sure! See if you can pick which one!

Serbian Chetnik Pictures WW2 - Military Photos

 

Thanks for the info.Thats outher thing now i though the cetnics had made dirty the whole name of the cetnics and even our Flag 'freedom or death'.
Maybe most of the people and this hollywood movie made a mistake because the cetnics use german weapons.

 

(I am sorry if my english is not perfect, cause in France, we don't speak so good.. )
Yes, If you watch good the Pics, they were using mostly German weapons (they were taking them on soldiers or on Convoy), but also English and US Weapons (I also saw pics where they were bringing some French Lebel Carbine from 1914! However, the Movie Of Navarone Canon was 50% financed by the Government of Yugoslavia,...and Tito was allready the President So no chance to see the truth! (And that's really a pitty , cause these men Died in mass and nobody is really thanking them for...) No international "reconnaissance" for the merit, all due to the Communist propaganda.

 

Has this picture been doctored too?



I found it here

The post states that it was published in "The German Army 1939-45 (North Afrika & Balkans)" and it's from Dušan Babac collection.

 

Yeah yeah why should some one stole Tito's credits.
The world is so cofused, who actualy cetnics were.

 

Tito was a Butcher in Uniform, was keeping the Yugoslavia in a Steel Hand, and knew what would happen when he will die. The yugoslavians were living in the communist utopia (Except a lot of "Chetnik's Famillies" wich were under the terror of the MUP ( Secret police) and had sometimes nothing to eat , also in the 50th,beginig 60th because of the Dad or the Son who was for the "Royal Army" and against the Communism. Ja, there are some pics of Chetniks wth Germans, like there's Pics of Germans with Frenchies, and don't forget that there was allways some "treats"..!? (traitre) in french, who were collaborating for avantages, money, or terror.
I know that's germans were also using some "Falshes tcheniks" for finding the real groups and destroy them. Also the same happened with German and Americans in France and Belgium (around Bastogne) with falsh US soldiers (Germans' spies).
All the tecnic were used, and of course, such pics are after "Falling" on the head of the others who fight against the Nazis. And the One who say the Serbian's chetniks are Facist, collabo with germans,etc.. should learn a little more History before saying stupidities. It would be like saying the French resistance was pro-Vichy and Petainist... Aberration. )

 

Just for saying that a minority don't make majority, except when it is wth help of propaganda.

 

I've just found the text about the Pics up with Germans :

Razgovori između njemačke komande u Tuzli i Zapovjedništva 3. domobranske divizije nastavljeni su i dalje. Na jednom od njih, održanom 9.11.1941. godine, u Grčici kod Brčkog, na kojem su prisustvovali njemački major Anker, domobranski pukovnik Radl, dopukovnik Anaker Đoić, stožerni bojnik Mesarov i bojnik Voska, komandant majevičkih četnika Radivoje Kerović je izjavio da on cijeni politiku Mačeka i kraljevske jugoslovenske vlade, da Nijemce cijeni, ali će oni izgubiti rat, da sa Muslimanima nema sporazumjevanja, da će poslije završetka rata oni biti raseljeni. Uz to je izajvio da hrvatsko domobranstvo ukida legiju u cijeloj NDH, da legionari predaju oružje četnicima…

Radivoje Kerović was a commandant of a Cetnik Group.
He's the one on the Pics with the big "Beard".
I transalte u the text :
The 9.11.41, was a meeting in Greece, near Brco, where came the German Major Anker, the Lieutnant Radl (Croatian ustasa ) from the "Homeland protection group", the lieutnant Anaker Doic (Croatian), soldiers Mesarov and Voska (Bulgarian Army) , and the commandant of the Majevic Tchetnik Group , Radivoje Kerovic who said he's considering the Politic of "Macek", and also in the "Royal Yugoslavian government" , he's got consideration for the German Army, but they will LOOSE the war, that there is no UNDERSTANDING way posible with Muslims (Bosnia), and that after the war they will be dispatched and a problem , On that he said that the "Croatian Homeland protection Army" (hrvatsko domobranstvo )must Put away all the Legion's group from the National ground, and that the Crotian's groups (Ustasha) give them wepons.

All that for saying this man was in negociation with Germans and Croatians for "ending" hostilties, and that he considered the Germans and Croatians Over, without chance to continu to fight against Tchetniks. (but it not a COLLABORATION).

 

Being very ignorant of this area i've been looking around the web for info. As a very short introduction I quite liked the BBC article:

BBC - History - Partisans: War in the Balkans 1941 - 1945

For simpleton's like myself, sometimes a brief intro is required.

 

This book sounds interesting - "Parachutes, Patriots, and Partisans: The Special Operations Executive in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945" by Heather Williams. Will have to put it on my reading list.

The blurb reads:

"Based on impressive research and new evidence, this history of the secret British wartime agency, the Special Operations Executive, in wartime Yugoslavia argues that SOE actions achieved little military advantage for the Allies and exacerbated the developing civil war among the forces of monarchist Drazha Mihailovic, Tito’s partisans, and other guerilla groups. Heather Williams tracks SOE relations with the British Foreign office, policy-makers, and military high command; the Yugoslav guerrilla movements and exiled Yugoslav government; other secret organizations, and the American Office of Strategic Services, examining how rivalries among these players influenced the future of Yugoslavia."