The 1st Separate Yugoslav Infantry Brigade ( Serbian Prva jugoslovenska brigada / Prva jugoslovenska brigada , known in some historical sources as the 1st Yugoslav Brigade or 1st Volunteer Yugoslav Infantry Brigade ) is a military unit of the Red Army and the People’s Army of the Red Army and the People’s Yugoslav Brigade ), a military unit of the Red Army and the People’s Yugoslav Brigade . formed from the Yugoslav partisans, anti-fascists, prisoners of the NGH soldiers, prisoners of Hungarian, German, Italian prisons and others.
| 1st Separate Yugoslav Infantry Brigade 1st Yugoslav Volunteer Brigade | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the Yugoslav partisan anti-fascists | |
| Years of existence | June 1, 1944 - 1945 |
| A country |  the USSR  Yugoslavia |
| Subordination | Red Army : 2nd Ukrainian Front NOAJ : 14th Serbian Army Corps |
| Enters into | NOAJ : 21st Serb Division , 5th Krajina Division |
| Type of | infantry |
| Number of | 1,543 people (as of April 16, 1944 ) |
| Dislocation | Big Karasevo , near Kolomna |
| Participation in | The Great Patriotic War
People's Liberation War of Yugoslavia
|
| Marks of Excellence |  |
| Commanders | |
| Famous Commanders | Dimitrie Georgievich (political instructor) Marco Mesic Marco srdic |
Content
History
Formation
In the second half of September 1943, a military camp appeared in the village of Bolshaya Karasevo (near Kolomna), where Yugoslav anti-fascist soldiers were trained. The brigade also included political émigrés imprisoned in prisons in Hungary, mobilized workers, German prisoners and soldiers of the Croatian and Italian legions who were captured during the battle of Stalingrad . The formation of the Yugoslav part continued until June 1944. On January 1, 1944, the Yugoslav military unit was formally formed, and on June 23, 1944 it was officially accepted into the Red Army.
As of April 16, 1944, there were 1,543 soldiers in the unit. According to Col. Vojim Klyakovich, an employee of the Belgrade Military Institute, the division’s ethnic composition was as follows: [1]
- 775 Croats
- 440 Slovenes
- 293 Serbian
- 14 Jews
- 10 Slovaks
- 5 Russians
- 3 Rusyns
- 2 Hungarians
- 1 Montenegrin
Among the representatives of the partisan movement were Serbs-residents of Bačka , who suffered at the hands of Hungarian nationalists, Yugoslav immigrants from Iran and representatives of some other Yugoslav nationalities who lived in the USSR before the start of World War II.
Service
The 1st Separate Yugoslav Infantry Brigade began its combat path in late July - early August 1944, being well equipped, armed and equipped. She temporarily subordinated to the command of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. The road to Yugoslavia was opened after the Yassy-Chisinau operation and the defeat of Romania. At the V Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito said: "In the autumn of 1944, in its brilliant progress, pursuing the defeated fascist hordes, the heroic Red Army reached our border." With his consent, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front entered the territory of Yugoslavia, as reported by the TASS agency and the magazine New Yugoslavia on September 28, 1944 .
On October 6, 1944, on the order of the Supreme Commander Josip Broz Tito, the brigade entered Kladovo at the territory of Eastern Serbia, where it was subordinated to the command of the 23rd Serbian shock division of the 14th NOAJ corps. Given the preparedness of the brigade, the command found it possible to immediately use it in battles with the enemy. Although the Germans had already begun to retreat without hindrance to the Germans along the valley of the Ibar River, among them were those who did not panic: they were part of the 7th SS SS division "Prince Eugen . " It was with their parts that the Yugoslavs encountered at the end of October - beginning of November 1944.
In the course of three-day fighting, the brigade managed to cross the Čačak - Užice road and reach the town of Čačak , but because of the numerical superiority of the enemy’s forces, it was transferred to the Gornji-Milanovac - Čačak sector. For three days of continuous fighting, the fighters of the brigade used up two sets of ammunition and suffered heavy losses. After a short rest, the brigade became part of the 5th Krajinsk Division and in December went to the Sremsky front , at the same time finishing off the remnants of the Wehrmacht troops that had not surrendered after the Belgrade operation .
In the spring of 1945, the 5th Division, through Shapac and Zvornik, was transferred to Bosnia, where it took part in the liberation of the cities of Ioannina and Bielina . Under the city of Brcko , heavy battles with the enemy flared up again, but after three days of battle, the brigade broke down the German resistance and, interacting with other parts of the 1st Army , moved into Slavonia , and from there further west. Under the Slavonsky Brod, the brigade also had to wage heavy battles with the fascists, because it fought 40-50 km every day. By the end of the war, the brigade reached the Austrian border.
The ranks of the brigade is constantly replenished with new fighters. As a result, only 20% of the soldiers of the brigade went through the whole war from the moment of formation of the brigade to the victorious conclusion, without being translated anywhere (the rest died, were injured or transferred to other parts). In the post-war years, the brigade fought with the Ustashes, the rosaries, and the failed collaborators in Dragacevo, and later in the area of Okuchani, Daruvar, Ivanici-Grad. She was awarded the Order of Merit to the People.
See also
- 2nd Separate Yugoslav Infantry Brigade
Notes
Literature
- Military encyclopediјa (c седiga sedma) . Beograd, 1974.
- Stevan Vrgovich. Partisan trails. Moscow, Voenizdat, 1977. (inaccessible link)
- Mlade crvenih oficira (Serb.)