Blue Guard (Slovene) Explained

Unit Name:Royal Yugoslav Army in Slovenia
Blue Guard
Dates:1941–1945
Allegiance: Yugoslav government-in-exile
Type:Guerilla organization
Size:300–600
Command Structure: Chetniks
Nickname:Slovene Chetniks
Motto:Svoboda ali smrt[1]
Battles:World War II in Yugoslavia
Commander1:Jaka Avšič
Commander1 Label:1941
Commander2:Karl Novak
Commander2 Label:1941–44
Commander3:Ivan Prezelj
Commander3 Label:1944–45

The Blue Guard (Slovenian: Plava garda), also known as the Slovene Chetniks (Slovenian: Slovenski četniki, Slovenački četnici), was a Slovenian anti-communist militia, initially under the leadership of Major Karl Novak and later Ivan Prezelj. Their official name was the Royal Yugoslav Army in Slovenia.[2]

History

The detachments under Novak's command were part of the wider Chetniks that included units from all over Yugoslavia that swore allegiance to Draža Mihailović. The ranks were drawn from Slovene officers in the pre-war Royal Yugoslav Army (JV). At first, the JV units in Slovenia that offered resistance were under the command of Jaka Avšič until his mid-1941 transfer to the Yugoslav Partisans. Based on direct appointment of Draža Mihailović, the commander of Slovene Chetniks was Karel Novak. Slovene Chetnik units included Styrian Chetnik detachments that were, according to some estimates, the only anti-Communist military unit that consistently attacked Axis occupiers throughout the war.[3] The detachment under Melaher's command had 200 men.[4]

In 1942, the bulk of members joined the Legion of Death.

When Karel Novak resigned in 1944, because the defeat in the Battle of Grčarice, Mihailović appointed Ivan Prezelj as commander.[5] His headquarter was with the Inner Carniola Detachment and Soča Detachments, and the Slovene Chetniks also included the Lower Carniola Detachment[6] and the Styria Detachment, commanded by Jože Melaher.[7]

Sources

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Ljubičić . Saša . Slovenski 'plavi četnici' dobivaju mirovine, a vođa oporbe Janez Janša im pohodi skupove . 14 October 2018 . Slobodna Dalmacija . 11 February 2014 . Grupa slovenskih četnika uz zastavu ‘Svoboda ali smrt’.
  2. Web site: 2014-02-11 . Slobodna Dalmacija - Slovenski ‘plavi četnici’ dobivaju mirovine, a vođa oporbe Janez Janša im pohodi skupove . 2024-08-11 . slobodnadalmacija.hr . hr-hr.
  3. Book: Kranjc, Gregor Joseph . To Walk with the Devil: Slovene Collaboration and Axis Occupation, 1941-1945 . 2013-01-01 . University of Toronto Press . 978-1-4426-1330-0 . 191 . en . "...the Styrian formation led by Joze Melaher (alias Zmagoslav), which by some estimates was 'the only anti-revolutionary military unit that attacked occupiers with arms on a consistent basis...".
  4. Book: Plut-Pregelj, Leopoldina . Historical Dictionary of Slovenia . Kranjc . Gregor . Lazarevic . Žarko . Rogel . Carole . 2018-02-22 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-5381-1106-2 . 473 . en.
  5. Book: Plut-Pregelj, Leopoldina . Historical Dictionary of Slovenia . Kranjc . Gregor . Lazarevic . Žarko . Rogel . Carole . 2018-02-22 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-5381-1106-2 . 86 . en.
  6. Book: Rebić, Đuro . Špijuni, diverzanti, teroristi: ostaci kontrarevolucije u Jugoslaviji . 1987 . Centar za informacije i publicitet . 978-86-7125-009-2 . 81 . hr.
  7. Book: Griesser-Pečar, Tamara . Razdvojeni narod: Slovenija 1941-1945 : okupacija, kolaboracija, državljanska vojna, revolucija . 2007 . Mladinska knj. . 978-961-01-0208-3 . sl.