Invasion
On 6 April 1941 Adolf Hitler gave the order for German forces - backed by Italian, Romanian, Hungarian and Bulgarian Axis allies - to invade Yugoslavia and Greece. He launched the assault in order to secure Germany's Balkan flank for Operation Barbarossa, his planned spring 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union.
'The make up of the population of Yugoslavia at the time of World War Two was extremely complex. '
The make up of the population of Yugoslavia at the time of World War Two was extremely complex. Broadly speaking, there were two main ethnic groups - the Serbs and the Croats - plus three other smaller ethnic groupings - Albanians, Macedonians, Slovenes. The Serbs predominantly followed the Orthodox Church, although many Bosnians were Muslims ('Bosnians' are the descendants of Serbs who converted to Islam many centuries ago, and lived in Bosnia-Hercegovina). Greater Croatia, in addition to its Christian Croat population, also contained significant Islamic populations, either in parts of Bosnia or Croatia proper. Hitler was able to profit from the tension between these ethnic groups, particularly that between the Serbs and Croats.
Facing attack from three sides, the ethnically-divided Yugoslav Army soon succumbed to the onslaught - indeed, many ethnically Croatian units surrendered immediately to the invading Germans. By 17 April Yugoslavia had capitulated, and in the aftermath of the conflict the Axis victors claimed the spoils of conquest and dismembered the country.
Greater Croatia, which included Bosnia-Hercegovina, became an independent pro-Axis state ruled by the anti-Semitic Fascist-nationalist Ustase. Germany also annexed northern Slovenia, occupied Serbia, and left its allies to annex or occupy the remaining parts of Yugoslavia. Axis occupation brought with it real hardship for the inhabitants of these territories, as these areas were ruthlessly exploited for the German war effort.
Published: 2006-06-22
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