Global InformationInvasion of Yugoslavia information
| Invasion of Yugoslavia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Balkans Campaign of World War II | |||||||||
 Map illustrating the movements of the Axis forces in Yugoslavia and Greece | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
Axis:
|
 Yugoslavia | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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| Strength | |||||||||
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Germany: 337,096 875 tanks 990 aircraft Italy: 300,000 in 22 divisions 666 aircraft[1] Hungary: 9 brigades 6 air squadrons |
700,000 (400,000 ill-prepared)[2] 110[3]–200 tanks[4] (50[4]–54[3] of which were modern) 460[5]–505 aircraft (including 103 modern bombers[4] and 107 modern fighters[6]) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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Germany:[7] 151 killed 392 wounded 15 missing 40 aircraft shot down Italy: 800 killed[8] 2,500 wounded[9] 10+ aircraft shot down 22 aircraft damaged Hungary: 120 killed 223 wounded 13 missing 7 aircraft shot down |
Thousands of civilians & soldiers killed 254,000–345,000 captured (by the Germans) 30,000 captured (by the Italians) 49 aircraft shot down 103 pilots & aircrew killed 210–300 aircraft captured[10] 3 destroyers captured 3 submarines captured | ||||||||
The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War[a] or Operation 25,[b] was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in "Führer Directive No. 25", which Adolf Hitler issued on 27 March 1941, following a Yugoslav coup d'état that overthrew the pro-Axis government.[14]
The invasion commenced with an overwhelming air attack on Belgrade and facilities of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force (VVKJ) by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and attacks by German land forces from southwestern Bulgaria. These attacks were followed by German thrusts from Romania, Hungary and the Ostmark (modern-day Austria, then part of Germany). Italian forces were limited to air and artillery attacks until 11 April, when the Italian army attacked towards Ljubljana (in modern-day Slovenia) and through Istria and Lika and down the Dalmatian coast. On the same day, Hungarian forces entered Yugoslav Bačka and Baranya, but like the Italians they faced practically light resistance. A Yugoslav attack into the northern parts of the Italian protectorate of Albania met with initial success, but was inconsequential due to the collapse of the rest of the Yugoslav forces.
Scholars have proposed several theories for the Royal Yugoslav Army's sudden collapse, including poor training and equipment, generals eager to secure a quick cessation of hostilities, and Croatian, Slovenian, and ethnic German fifth column activities. The latter has been questioned by scholars who have suggested that the fifth column had little effect on the ultimate outcome. The invasion ended when an armistice was signed on 17 April 1941, based on the unconditional surrender of the Yugoslav army, which came into effect at noon on 18 April. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was then occupied and partitioned by the Axis powers. Most of Serbia and the Banat became a German zone of occupation while other areas of Yugoslavia were annexed by neighboring Axis countries, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Albania and Bulgaria. Croatia became the Independent State of Croatia (Serbo-Croatian Latin: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, or NDH), an Axis puppet state created during the invasion comprising the Srem, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the Croatian lands. Along with Italy's stalled invasion of Greece on 28 October 1940, and the German-led invasion of Greece (Operation Marita) and invasion of Crete (Operation Merkur), the invasion of Yugoslavia was part of the German Balkan Campaign (German: Balkanfeldzug).
- ^ Zajac 1993, p. 50.
- ^ Tomasevich 1975, p. 64.
- ^ a b Tomasevich 1975, p. 59.
- ^ a b c Zajac 1993, p. 47.
- ^ Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987, p. 174.
- ^ Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987, p. 173.
- ^ "The Yugoslav Campaign, Part Two". U.S. Army Center of Military History.
- ^ Enrico Cernuschi, Le operazioni aeronavali contro la Jugoslavia, 6–8 aprile 1941, in Storia Militare no. 242, p. 32.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Fatutta & Covelli, 1975was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Shores, Cull & Malizia 1987, p. 310.
- ^ Redžić 2005, p. 9.
- ^ Vogel 2006, p. 526, n. 158.
- ^ Chant 1986, p. 196.
- ^ Tomasevich 1975, p. 55.
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