What caused Yugoslavia to switch sides early in World War II?
score:4
Was there a united Yugoslavia? There was a Yugoslavia, but it was split to Croatia (with Bosnia and Herzegovina), Serbia and Slovenia (which was again split for Germany/Austria Italy and Hungary).
I don't think you can say Yugoslavia switched the side, there were different parties. During the war, the Ustaše (Croatian ultra-nationalists) stayed with Nazi-Germany.
Upvote:10
As Hitler wanted to conquer the Soviet Union, he wanted to establish full control of southeast Europe. So he forced Yugoslavia to join the Tripartite Pact. That happened on 25th of March 1941. People in Yugoslavia were unhappy because of that decision. Also, it did not sit well with Great Britain because they lost another ally on east.
All of those were the reasons why the Chief of the General Staff, Dušan Simović, supported by Great Britain, performed a Yugoslav coup d'état on the 27th of March 1941.
Hitler was very angry, even though Dušan Simović stated that Yugoslavia wouldn't leave the Tripartite Pact. Hitler thought that was just buying time and attacked Yugoslavia on the 6th of April 1941. After 4 days there was declared the Independent State of Croatia under Nazi and Fascist control and on 17th of April, the rest of Yugoslavia capitulated.
Upvote:11
Signing the pact with Germany by Yugoslavia didn't take an easy path. It took months of negotiations and tweaking which finally ended up on March 25th, 1941 when the treaty was signed. Only two days later, well-known March 27th took place overthrowing the regent Pavle and bringing 17 year old King Peter to reign, at least formally. British intelligence had a high level of involvement in this event as they desperately needed more enemies of their main enemy - Hitler.
Only few decades before Serbs which constituted majority of Yugoslavian population at the time were fighting bloody war with Austro-Hungarians and Germany and it would have been quite unlikely for Serbs to take Hitler's side in the war. Weeks later Nazis bombed Belgrade and then penetrated into Yugoslavia with little or no resistance. While having great ovations while marching into capitals of Slovenia and Croatia, no such a treatment took place in Belgrade.
Once Yugoslavia was conquered by Nazis, there were many militant movements involved in the conflict. Just to name few major ones: Yugoslav Partisans, Royal Chetniks and Croatian Ustashe. As some movements collaborated with Nazis, others were fighting them, and some did both, it is hard to talk about Yugoslavia as one entity during the war.
More post
- 📝 What came before the Zamboni?
- 📝 What is the proof that during WW I, belligerent countries censored reports on the Spanish influenza?
- 📝 What is the origin of Khans? Is there any link between South Asian Khans and the Mongols?
- 📝 Why are Vorarlberg and Tirol part of Austria, when they are only connected to it by high mountains?
- 📝 What did Japanese architecture look like with heavy materials such as stone, mortar and clay?
- 📝 What does "the anointed of the Lord" mean?
- 📝 How did criminal law work in the Roman Empire?
- 📝 When did Germans stop supporting Adolf Hitler?
- 📝 What is the source of the Senate-as-saucer story?
- 📝 Interpreting two recent studies on Aryan Invasion/Migration theory?
- 📝 Does the Presidential term occurring after a death in office have a name (USA specifically)?
- 📝 What coin is this and where is it from? Thai script, Thai arms. Rev: left facing portrait
- 📝 Was the concept of religious freedom in the early United States applied to native American faiths?
- 📝 Immigrants to Mexican New Mexico
- 📝 What are some examples of racism in pre-modern literature?
- 📝 Free states and slave states - how did that work?
- 📝 What uniform is the man in this mid to late 19th century photo wearing?
- 📝 Has anyone ever got more than a 21 Gun Salute?
- 📝 How did Castro gain control over the Cuban military and police?
- 📝 Exact date of Aquitania uprising over Charlemagne?
- 📝 Were there any natural disasters that decisively changed the result of a later election by killing the electorate of one side?
- 📝 Who were the first leaders of the Yahwistic sect?
- 📝 Who is this Asian figure?
- 📝 How were peasant houses constructed in medieval England?
- 📝 How quickly did the term "nuclear fission" spread?
- 📝 In the British Invasion of Greece, what happened to the British troops who were not captured?
- 📝 Does the number of legs in the air of a horse statue indicate how its rider died?
- 📝 Could the warriors of the Tollense battlefield be considered the world's first standing army?
- 📝 When did the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad connect Baltimore city to any Ohio city?
- 📝 Travelling from England to China in 1810
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What caused Yugoslavia to switch sides early in World War II?
- 📝 What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?
- 📝 Was there a bribery attempt by the UK to get the Ottomans to switch sides in World War I?
- 📝 To what extent was the Cold War caused by post World War 2 economics?
- 📝 What are the factors that caused the new world civilizations to be less technologically advanced than the old world?
- 📝 What did Germany do in World War II about the different rail gauge in the Soviet Union?
- 📝 What were Germany's long-term aims in World War I?
- 📝 What was the longest a World War II submarine stayed at sea without being resupplied at a port?
- 📝 What did Germany do after World War II to recover so successfully that it became more prosperous than its WW2 victors?
- 📝 Last death caused by World War I
- 📝 What tactical situations made the use of traditional horse cavalry effective in World War II?
- 📝 What were the post World War 2 effects on Germany?
- 📝 What was the ratio women to men after World War 2 in the Soviet Union
- 📝 What goods did Germany trade during World War II, and with whom?
- 📝 What factors related to the Eastern Crisis contributed to the outbreak of World War 1?
- 📝 What is the name and meaning of a World War 2 CCC Medal with both the Polish Eagle and British Statant Gardant Lion?
- 📝 What were the factors that caused the world to move away from the Gold Standard in the 20th century?
- 📝 What percentage of British and American troops were involved in direct combat with enemy in World War II
- 📝 What were the individual soldiers motivated by during World War 1?
- 📝 What led to American air superiority over the Axis in World War II
- 📝 What was Finland's position in World War Two?
- 📝 Why did Bakht Khan switch sides in Indian War of Independence 1857?
- 📝 What were Hiroshima and Nagasaki known for prior to World War II?
- 📝 What benefits were there to the USA of developing both Uranium and Plutonium bombs in World War 2?
- 📝 What is the origin of Americans sometimes refering to the Second World War "the Good War"?
- 📝 After World War II, what happened to the Soviet industrial facilities that had been evacuated?
- 📝 What specific changes were made to political ideologies around during and before World War I?
- 📝 What kind of wood was the standard decking for aircraft carriers in World War 2?
- 📝 What effect did the Mafia have during World War 2?
- 📝 What were factors that led to a decline in bond yields during World War II given that the opposite should have happened?