Axis Forces in Yugoslavia 1941–45

Osprey Men at Arms #282

by Nigel Thomas, K. Mikulan, Darko Pavlović (Illustrator)

On April 6th, the German 2nd and 12th Armies, Italian 2nd and 9th Armies, and the Hungarian 4th, 5th and Mobile Corps invaded Yugoslavia from Italy, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. Few of the Royal Yugoslav Army's 30 divisions actively resisted, and after 11 days the Yugoslav High Command surrendered. In Croatia, a puppet state was installed. Axis forces quickly occupied the principal towns and patrolled the main road and rail links, but in the villages, countryside and mountains, a vicious and complex guerrilla war was brewing. This title takes a close look at the German, Italian, Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrin, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Slovenian units that fought for the Axis powers in Yugoslavia during World War II.

Genres: History, World War II, Military History, 20th Century, Nonfiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 1995

Reviews

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book that certainly sparks great desire for further reading of this highly charged period of Balkan history, it is notable for the books clear disdain for the Bleiburg reparations (where various forces associated with nationalist, but often fascistic, aspirations in the Balkans, who allied with the Nazis, were sent back to Tito's Yugoslavia) which sits somewhat awkwardly alongside declaring some ideals, and the massacres done in pursuit of them, by these groups as 'less bad' than those the communist partisans.