Balkan war history

  Fighters of the Mostar Battalion on the move towards Kupres, 1942. Attacks on garrisons were, along with attacks on communications, an integral part of partisan strategy and tactics developed on the territory of occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. These attacks had multiple meanings: They enabled the formation and expansion of free territory They were a way of supplying troops and people in the free territory They were an important part of the effort to weaken the enemy militarily, politically, and morally. The uprising in occupied Yugoslavia in September 1941. The Independent State of Croatia was formed with the help of occupation troops, but as a puppet creation without sufficient support among the people, it failed to gain control over its territory during the entire war. The administrative system of the NDH was very shaken by the uprising of the NDH in 1941. Later during the war, especially from the middle of 1942, the NOVJ managed to force the NDH to strategically defend it

  Flag of the Czechoslovak Brigade After the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the April war in 1941, most of the Czech and part of the Slovak people found themselves within the borders of the Ustasha Independent State of Croatia. With the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia, the position of the Czechs significantly deteriorated, considering that the Ustashas considered them members of the enemy people. Monument to the fallen partisans of the First Czechoslovak Brigade in Jiržice near Miroslava in southern Moravia. Unlike the Czechs, the position of the Slovaks was somewhat better because the Ustashas and the Germans treated them as members of the allied people. Such treatment, however, did not prevent the Slovaks from opting for the People's Liberation Struggle. The mass accession of Czechs and Slovaks to the National Liberation War followed in 1942, which the Ustashas and the Germans could not prevent despite threats and promises. Deputy Commander of the 6t

  Artwork Fire Over Ploesti by Roy Grinnell Air Force Art May 31, 1944 - Ploieşti - 32 B-24s of the 450 BG attacked the "Româno-Americană Oil Refinery", but failed due to the smoke screens.153 The 450 BG also bombed the Româno-Americană refinery on June 6, 24, & July 15; and the Concordia Vega refinery on July 9, 22 June 5, 1944 - A May 5 decoded message stated anti-aircraft artillery was being moved to Pölitz and Blechhammer, and one on June 5 indicated the Luftwaffe was short of fuel. British intelligence concluded that the bombing of oil targets would be "crippling" in 3-6 months. Romanian production had been reduced from 200,000 tons in February to 40,000 in June. Allied Air Raids in Europe, WWII. Astra Romana Refinery. This photograph gives a vivid idea of how the Consolidated B-24 “Liberator” flew in bombing the Ploesti Field, August 1, 1943. Office of War Information Collect June 6, 1944 - Ploieşti - In the 1st large-scale American attempt to use a di

  Air Raid Ploesti! A B-24 flying over a burning oil refinery at Ploesti, Romania, 1 August 1943. February 28, 1941, RAF To enable bombing of "Romanian oil installations", a British Expeditionary Force established a 'Balkan front'. June 1941 - Ploieşti - The RAF bombed Ploieşti. July 14, 1941 - Ploieşti - 6 RAF aircraft bombed Ploieşti. June 12, 1942 - Ploieşti (Astra Română) - The Halverson project raid from Egypt was the first US mission against a European target — 10 aircraft bombed the Astra Română oil refinery. September 1942 - Bucharest - The Soviet Union's VVS bombed the oil installations. September 1942 - Ploieşti -  The Soviet Union's VVS bombed the oil installations. May 19, 1943 - The CBO "Eaker" plan was approved and confirmed oil targets as the 4th primary objective ("contingent upon attacks against Ploesti"). May 16, 1943 - Ploieşti - The Advisory Council submitted the Air Attack on Ploesti ("SOAPSUDS")

Soldiers of the Black Legion at Koševo, Sarajevo. April 1 - A black legion from Han-Pjeska captures Vlasenica (during the month it commits crimes against civilians and inflicts losses on Chetniks in eastern Bosnia).  The Black Legion is a colloquial name for the infamous elite unit of the Ustasha army that operated during the Second World War on the territory of the then Independent State of Croatia, ie today's Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Members of that unit committed a large number of atrocities against the Serb population in the NDH  April 4 - "Croatian Orthodox Church" founded in the Independent State of Croatia, Patriarch Germogen Maksimov enthroned on June 7. Pavelić, Artuković,  Germogen The Croatian Orthodox Church was an Orthodox church that officially operated in the areas under the rule of the Independent State of Croatia from 1942 to 1945 during the Second World War.  April 9 - Operation Trio: Ustasha Black Legion breaks out of the plan on the Drina, c

  Monument to the Battle of Vuk Gorge The battle of Vukovo Klanac was fought at the end of 1944 between the partisan and German armies in the area of today's border near Neum. The battle for Vuk's Klanac was fought in the area from Metković and the river Neretva in the west of Pelješac with Ston in the south and exclusively Popovo polje in the north. The main part of the 369th Legionary Division "Vražja" - 369th and 370th Regiment, and the 9th Ustasha Brigade, artillery, tanks and other motorization that was being pulled out of Dubrovnik are taking part in this battle. Of the units of the 8th Corps, only the 1st and 11th Dalmatians and a group of island partisan detachments were involved in the battle. These units from Peljesac were aided by a British battery, and there were some Allied air strikes. The Germans gradually engaged up to 8,000 soldiers, about 100 artillery pieces and 10-15 tanks in this battle. The partisan forces had a maximum of 3,000 fighters. The