Christmas Uprising

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Christmas Uprising
Part of the aftermath of World War I and the creation of Yugoslavia

Cover of the Italian weekly La Tribuna Illustrata [it; fr] from 1919, titled "Montenegro against Serbian domination" (Italian: Il Montenegro contro la dominazione serba)
Date2–7 January 1919
(O.S. 20–25 December 1918)
(with smaller confrontations lasting until 1929)
Location
Around Cetinje, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Result

Yugoslav-Whites victory

  • Uprising suppressed
Belligerents
Kingdom of Montenegro Montenegrin Greens
Supported by:
 Kingdom of Italy		 Kingdom of Yugoslavia Montenegrin Whites
Kingdom of Yugoslavia Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Montenegro Krsto Popović
Kingdom of Montenegro Jovan Plamenac		 Kingdom of Yugoslavia Marko Daković
Kingdom of Yugoslavia Andrija Radović
Strength
Estimates vary from 1,500[1] to 5,000[2] Estimates vary from 500[3] to 4,000[4]
Casualties and losses
98 killed and wounded 30 killed[5]

The Christmas Uprising (Serbian: Божићни устанак, romanized: Božićni ustanak), also known as the Christmas Rebellion (Божићна побуна, Božićna pobuna), was a failed uprising in Montenegro led by the Greens in early January 1919. The military leader of the uprising was Krsto Popović and its political leader was Jovan Plamenac.

The catalyst for the uprising was a decision of the controversial

Dual Monarchy
with Yugoslavia.

The uprising reached a climax in

Montenegrin Army
in exile, which lasted until 1929. The most notable guerilla militia leader was Savo Raspopović.

Background

See also: Podgorica Assembly
Krsto Popović was one of the leaders of the uprising.

Multiple historians acknowledge that a majority of Montenegrins supported the unification with other

Southern Slavs on a federal basis after the World War I.[6][2] However, support for unification did not involve the same degree of support for the Podgorica Assembly, since many of those who supported unification wanted Montenegro to join the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes as an autonomous entity, ultimately in a confederation rather than a centralized Serbian kingdom.[2]

Plan

The plan of the Greens consisted of six points.[7]

This plan was delivered to Antonio Baldacci on 14 December 1918.[7]

Rebellion

Fighting around Podgorica

The rebellion first broke out around

Brigadier General Milutin Vučinić severed the road between Danilovgrad and Podgorica at Vranićke Njive. Commander Andrija and Captain Mato Raičević seized Velje Brdo overlooking Podgorica.[8]

Since most

Kuči not simultaneously reached his troops from behind. Vučinić was surrounded, and ordered his troops to lay down their arms. The leaders were, again, detained and transported to Podgorica, and the troops sent home. The same happened at Velje Brdo.[8]

The defeat at Podgorica would prove to be a strong setback for the rebels, since the troops that were disarmed were supposed to help with the sieges of Nikšić and Cetinje. Also, the rebels seemed less united and less willing, which had its toll on the confidence of the Greens in other areas.[8]

Fighting around Nikšić

The town of Nikšić was surrounded on 3 January 1919 [O.S. 21 December 1918] but no fighting broke out until the afternoon of 5 January. The siege was led from one side by Major Šćepan Mijušković, a veteran of several previous wars. During the morning, the rebels delivered an ultimatum to the town's defenders to send their commanders to the new brewery by the Bistrica river. Shots were fired first from Trebjesa hill, and after from Čađelica, Glavica and from around the brewery.[9]

The town's youth organized a council where Dr Niko Martinović was elected president, and Marko Kavaja, later screenwriter, secretary. Some veterans also joined, however the troops in the town under the command of Captain Stojić lost contact with Cetinje and stood down. Stojić armed the youth with one machine gun. Kavaja went to negotiate with the rebels in Pandurica, in the company of a POW, the brother of Radojica Nikčević, one of the rebel leaders. He claims that the rebels were not opposed to the unification, but were fighting for their "honorable vojvodas and serdars". The negotiations failed to stop the fighting.[9]

At sunset, the siege was relieved by Bjelopavlići forces. After hearing that more reinforcements from Grahovo were coming to the aid of the defenders, many rebels deserted. The Drobnjaci arrived late to the defense, being sidetracked by bad weather. After the fighting had ended, several rebel leaders were captured including Đuro and Marko Petrović, and former Defense Minister Marko Đukanović. Misja Nikolić and Brigadier General Đuro Jovović escaped, having gone into hiding and crossed into Italy, respectively.[9]

Siege of Virpazar

Unrest started around the Crmnica town of Virpazar on 3 January 1919 [O.S. 21 December 1918], where the supporters of King Nicholas were led by Jovan Plamenac.[10]

According to Commander Jagoš Drašković, Plamenac approached Virpazar in the morning of 3 January with over 400 men, while Drašković defended the town with around 350. The number of defenders increased during the day, and Plamenac hoped to reach the Italian troops further to the south for supplies and ammunition. Since Drašković placed his troops between Plamenac and the Italians, Plamenac agreed to meet with Drašković, who was accompanied by Dr Blažo Lekić, leader of the Crmnica youth and an older local, Stanko Đurović. Plamenac agreed to send his men home, in return for a letter guaranteeing his safe passage to Cetinje after his men disbanded.[10]

Drašković concludes that Plamenac agreed to disband his troops because he was unsure of his victory, and because his plan was to deal with Virpazar and Rijeka Crnojevića quickly, after which his troops in the area could join the siege of Cetinje, which was planned to be over by 5 January. Since this proved impossible, he counted on improving the Greens' odds with Cetinje by appearing in person and in the company of at least a few men.[10]

Plamenac disbanded most of his troops in the evening of 3 January, and proceeded to his native village of Boljevići with around 60 men, who planned to march on Cetinje the following day. On 4 January, Andrija Radović stopped in Virpazar while returning from Shkodër, where he held a speech in front of the Crmnica locals. He threatened Plamenac, and pointed out that he was now decorated with more foreign honors than the late Ilija Plamenac. Drašković considers this speech to have acted to the detriment of the White cause, primarily because it enraged the locals who held Ilija Plamenac in high regard. Because of this new situation, Jovan Plamenac started rallying his men again.[10]

In the evening of 4 January, Drašković marched on Boljevići with around 150 men, but Plamenac had already retreated toward Seoca and Krnjice. Drašković returned to Virpazar and boarded his men on a ship headed for Krnjice, where he attacked Plamenac and his troops. The Greens retreated into Skadarska Krajina, and crossed the Bojana to join the Italian troops in Albania.[10]

Fighting around Rijeka Crnojevića

Though a minor hamlet, Rijeka Crnojevića was central to the Greens' plan. After its fall, troops from the area were to launch a serious strike on Cetinje. The town was surrounded on 3 January 1919 [O.S. 21 December 1918] by troops under the command of Commander Đuro Šoć. The towns defenders were led by Brigade General Niko Pejanović and, though low in number, held their positions.[11]

The first day of the siege, Pejanović wrote to one of the Greens' commanders to call off the attack. Šoć wrote to the local command, the head of the srez and the president of the municipality. He requested that the defenders produce three hostages, evacuate all Serbian troops and provided that the defenders leave Rijeka Crnojevića armed, after which he guaranteed that they would be escorted to Shkodër with honor. He states in his letters that Montenegro had been "sold for Judas' silver" and that while being the "torch of Serb freedom", it was occupied by "brotherly Šumadijans who replaces the Austro-Hungarians". His claims that 35,000 Montenegrins were participating in the uprising and that Virpazar was already conquered were widely overstated.[11]

During the night, reinforcements arrived from Podgorica to lift the siege. According to Jovan Ćetković, member of the Podgorica Assembly, the youth of Podgorica met with the Greens during the night around Carev Laz near Rvaši. After a short verbal confrontation, leaders of the youth agreed to negotiate with the Greens in Rvaši. Todor Božović, Captain Jovan Vuksanović and Podgorica Assembly MP Nikola Kovačević–Mizara proceeded to Rvaši accompanied by 5-6 other members of the youth. The rest set up camp near Carev Laz and were led by Captain Radojica Damjanović and flag-bearer Nikola Dragović. There, they met Captains Đuza Đurašković and Marko Radunović who were waiting for a negotiator from the Greens. They waited in Rvaši until daybreak, when a group went toward Rijeka to the village of Drušići. They found serdar Joko Jovićević who summoned a local, Captain Đuko Kostić, and initiated negotiations between the two groups.[11]

In the morning of 4 January, while the groups were negotiating, the youth decided to push forward contrary to the command of Todor Božović. They met the Greens under the command of Captain Jovan Vujović in the village of Šinđon, near Rijeka Crnojevića, where the Greens held higher ground. The Greens realized that, while initially outnumbering the town's defenders, they were now outnumbered. They agreed to send their men home and salute to the Whites' flag, which was highly unpopular among the rebel troops.[11]

After breaking the siege of Rijeka Crnojevića, the Whites achieved an extremely significant victory and by 5 January, troops under the command of Serbian General Dragutin Milutinović had both ended a minor uprising in Rijeka Crnojevića and had stopped a larger attack on Nikšić.[11][12]

Siege of Cetinje

As Jovan Plamenac and the other rebel leaders had planned, Cetinje turned out to be the epicenter of the uprising. After several days of exchanging letters, the rebels began forming armed squads on 31 December [O.S. 18 December] 1918. The rebels gathered in front of the House of Government on 1 January 1919 and left town for the hills. Recruits were called to arms by ringing the church bells in the vicinity of Cetinje. By 2 January, Cetinje was surrounded from all sides.[13]

According to Ćetković, the town was, at this moment in time, defended by around 100 members of the national guard i.e 20–30 men each from several tribes around Cetinje, 50–60 members of the youth, 50 gendarmes and policemen and 100 members of the 2nd Yugoslav Regiment under Colonel Dragutin Milutinović. The troops were lacking in ammunition, and every defender had between 50 and 100 rounds. Milutinović's troops were armed with two cannons and around 1,000 shells.[13]

Youth leader Marko Daković requested that Milutinović deliver arms to his troops, but since he was himself lacking in arms and ammunition, he directed Daković toward the commander of the Second Army stationed in Sarajevo, vojvoda Stepa Stepanović. The telephone lines were still operational and Stepanović allowed Daković to restock from the army garrison in Tivat. During 2 January, leader of the Lješanska national guard Lieutenant Radoje Ćetković reached Tivat and returned with around 2,000 rifles and ample ammunition.[13]

The following day, on 3 January, a delegation headed by Brigade Generals Milutin Vukotić and

Serbians leave Montenegro or there will be blood, there isn't and there cannot be any other way". In his return, Milutinović met his troops who begged him to attack Bajice, but their request was denied because he "still hoped that everything would end peacefully".[13]

In the morning of 4 January, serdar Janko Vukotić arrived in Cetinje. He had broken through the rebels' advance guard with a force of 30 men from Čevo. Milutinović advised Vukotić to make arrangements with the National Executive Committee, to allow him to try negotiating with the rebels in Bajice. The Committee agreed, and Vukotić went to Bajice by car, accompanied with two captains and an MP of the Podgorica Assembly . The two captains returned on foot not long after with word that Vukotić and the MP had been captured. Other than the capture of serdar Vukotić and some gendarmes encountering a minor roadblock on their way to the villages of Kosijeri and Jabuka, no fighting took place on that day.[13]

Jailed in Bajice, serdar Janko Vukotić wrote to General Milutinović in the morning of 5 January, pleading him to allow the rebels to enter Cetinje without a struggle, while securing the area around his command with Serbian troops and the area between the Zetski Dom theater, the hospital and the barracks with troops under the command of vojvoda Stevo Vukotić. His message was pessimistic, as he believed Milutinović's forces to be severely outnumbered. Around 6 A.M., a list of demands written by Captain Krsto Popović the previous day was delivered to Milutinović, asking for the termination of resolutions of the Podgorica Assembly. The message was delivered to Milutinović by Captain Đuro Drašković and Lieutenant Grujičić. Drašković complained to Milutinović verbally about the disrespect towards Montenegrin military units by the Serbian command.[13][12]

In his letter, Captain Popović demanded that the organization of the emerging Kingdom of Yugoslavia be decided by the Constitutional Assembly, that anyone responsible for the events in Montenegro be tried and that new elections were held to produce a new government which would represent Montenegro in international relations. He gave Milutinović until 6 January to acquiesce and threatened to enter the town with several thousand troops. Milutinović replied to Popović promising to put an end to any irregularities by the new police authorities and agreeing to bring Popović's requests to the government in Belgrade, but declining any of his other demands. Milutinović was more confident in his ability to hold Cetinje, as a load of arms and ammunition had arrived from Tivat the previous evening.[13][12]

During the afternoon, vojvoda Stevo Vukotić, brother of Queen

Divisional General Mitar Martinović suggested accepting the rebels' terms. Milutinović proceeded with his defense, ignoring the Committee's stance, and put Prince Michael's godfather Captain Božo Novaković in command of the volunteer troops.[13]

In the evening of 5 January, an artillery unit from

Kuči, Piperi and Bjelopavlići tribesmen. They formed a column near Belveder, where they were ambushed by the Greens. The group entered Cetinje near the hospital late in the evening.[13]

On 6 January 1919, around 250 Serbian troops and 850 volunteers from nearby Montenegrin tribes fought a formation of approximately 1,500 to 2,000 rebel Greens in Cetinje.[12] That day, the Greens initiated a siege on Cetinje, killing some members of the Great National Assembly and killing some Whites. After that, the Greens experienced severe factionalism, in addition to facing the militarily stronger Whites.[14]

International influence and reactions

Italian role

As a result of the Podgorica Assembly, King Nicholas was exiled to the

Kingdom of Italy, from which the uprising enjoyed substantial support. King Nicholas's Ministers asked for the Italian Expedition Corps in Albania to enter Montenegro, "in order for it to be liberated solely by Italian troops".[15] A committee organized by Italian ethnographer Antonio Baldacci supported the Greens until at least 1921.[16]

In late November 1918 during the Podgorica Assembly, Italian troops attempted to take control of the coastal areas of Montenegro under the guise of Entente troop movement, but got prevented from doing so.[citation needed]

International response

In the spring of 1919, the

carpetbaggers did in the United States.[17]

An initiative called the Inter-Allied Commission of Investigation monitored the Podgorica Assembly and the

King Nicholas I and supported by some emissaries from Italy."[3]

Aftermath

Later in the twentieth century, the Christmas Uprising was subject to ideological emphasis in Montenegrin nationalism. In World War II, one of the earliest leaders of the Greens, Sekula Drljević, invited the Italian occupation of Montenegro and collaborated with the Independent State of Croatia in order to break away from Yugoslavia.

Since

Montenegro declared independence from Serbia in 2006, the Christmas Uprising has been memorialized on polar opposite ends of the Montenegrin historical consciousness. In 1941, a memorial on the burial site of unionist Whites was destroyed by the Italian occupation of Montenegro in Cetinje.[5] As of 2017, a walkway was paved on the same burial site in Cetinje without any recognition to the Whites.[5] On 7 January 2008, on the 90th anniversary of the uprising, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović revealed a memorial statue for the Greens who were killed in the insurrection.[6]

References

  1. ISBN 9781557534651
    .
  2. ^ a b c Novak Adžić (January 6, 2018). "Portal Analitika: Božićni ustanak crnogorskog naroda 1919. godine (I)" (in Serbian). Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Woodhouse & Woodhouse 1920, p. 111.
  4. ^ Andrijašević 2015, p. 262.
  5. ^ a b c Novica Đurić (March 20, 2017). "Politika: Šetalište skriva grobnicu branilaca ujedinjenja sa Srbijom" (in Serbian).
  6. ^ a b Predrag Tomović (January 7, 2010). "Radio Slobodna Evropa: Božićni ustanak izaziva kontroverze na 90. godišnjicu" (in Serbian). Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Kordić 1986, pp. 44–45.
  8. ^ a b c Kordić 1986, pp. 49–50.
  9. ^ a b c Kordić 1986, pp. 51–54.
  10. ^ a b c d e Kordić 1986, pp. 55–57.
  11. ^ a b c d e Kordić 1986, pp. 59–64.
  12. ^ a b c d Andrijašević 2015, p. 261.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kordić 1986, pp. 65–84.
  14. ^ Morrison 2009, p. 44.
  15. ^ Živojinović, Dragoljub: Pitanje Crne Gore i mirovna konferencija 1919 [The Issue of Montenegro and the 1919 Peace Conference], Belgrade 1992, p. 7. See Rastoder, Šerbo: Crna Gora u egzilu [Montenegro in Exile], Podgorica 2004.
  16. ISBN 9788677431099
    .
  17. ^ Woodhouse & Woodhouse 1920, p. 110.

Sources

External links

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