The Partisans and War

This book explores the rise of two resistance movements in Yugoslavia after its invasion and partition by Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria in April 1941: one led by Draza Mihailovic’s Chetniks, supporters of the Serb monarchy; and the Partisans, led by Josip Broz Tito and his Communist Party.

Based on research by the author in Yugoslav, German, British, American, Italian, and Russian archives and libraries, including the unpublished war memoirs of Josip Broz Tito, the book traces the causes of the April War, the ensuing uprising in Western Serbia against the occupiers, and its aftermath. Tensions were inevitable between the Chetniks, who sought the restoration of the old regime, and the Partisans, who wanted not only the liberation of the country but also social revolution. Pirjevec situates the Partisan struggle within the framework of Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean, dominated by the Axis powers and the Anglo-American and Soviet Allies, who would all take strategic interest in the struggle by 1943 as a link between the Eastern and the Western Fronts, and for longer-term control of the Balkans.

This volume will appeal to readers interested in the lesser-known chapters of the Second World War and the history of Yugoslavia.

Joze Pirjevec is Scientific Counselor at the Science and Research Centre Koper and a Slovenian Academy of Sciences Fellow. His research interests regard Central European and Balkan History in the 20th Century. His books include The Yugoslav Wars: 1991-1999 and Tito and His Comrades.