Milorad Petrović
Armijski đeneral Milorad Petrović | |
---|---|
Yugoslavia | |
Allegiance | Serbia Yugoslavia |
Service/ | Royal Serbian Army Royal Yugoslav Army |
Years of service | 1901–1945 |
Rank | Armijski đeneral |
Commands held | |
Battles/wars |
|
Milorad Petrović (
In the wake of the coup, Petrović urged immediate
After the war, Petrović chose to return to the newly established
Early life and military career
Milorad Petrović was born in the village of
Petrović married Jovanka Stojančević, a medical student from Zagreb, whose father Šime was a judge in the
World War I
When
The
Interwar period
On 4 May 1920, Petrović was appointed as the chief of staff of the Savska divisional district, but on 6 November he was posted as assistant chief of staff of the 3rd Army. This was followed on 24 November 1921 with appointment as the chief of the operations staff at the Supreme Command in Belgrade. From 23 January 1922 until 20 October 1923, he was also a tactics instructor for the senior school of the Military Academy, in addition to his duties at the Supreme Command. On 17 September 1923, he was placed in command of the 9th Infantry Regiment. On 3 March 1924, he was posted as acting chief of staff to the Chief of the General Staff at the Ministry of the Army and Navy. Initially he served under Armijski đeneral Milan Milovanović, but Milovanović was soon replaced by Armijski đeneral Petar Pešić. On 28 June 1927, Petrović was promoted to brigadni đeneral (brigadier general)[f] but remained in his role as acting chief of staff.[2] In October 1929, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.[4]
On 16 September 1930, Petrović was appointed as acting commander of the Timočka divisional district based in Zaječar, and on 20 April 1932 he was posted as acting second assistant to the Minister of Army and Navy. This was followed by promotion to diviziski đeneral (major general)[g] on 17 December. In 1937 he was appointed as first assistant to the Minister of Army and Navy. On 27 November 1937, Petrović was appointed to command the 1st Army district based in Novi Sad, and was promoted to armijski đeneral on 1 December 1938. From 12 September 1940 until 27 March 1941 he was the commander of all troops in Belgrade.[2][5]
Axis invasion of Yugoslavia
After unrelenting political pressure from German leader
Petrović was appointed to command the
On the first day of their invasion of Yugoslavia the Germans seized bridges over the Drava river in both armies' sectors and several mountain passes in the 7th Army sector.[18][19][20] In the 4th Army sector, the formation and expansion of German bridgeheads across the Drava were facilitated by fifth-column elements of the Croatian-nationalist Ustaše. Revolts of Croat soldiers broke out in all three divisions of the 4th Army in the first few days, causing significant disruption to mobilisation and deployment. The rest of 1st Army Group was also weakened by fifth-column activities within its major units, and Petrović's chief of staff and chief of operations aided both Ustaše and Slovene separatists in the 4th and 7th Army sectors, respectively.[21] The revolts within the 4th Army were of great concern to Trifunović due to the danger to his right flank, but Petrović did not permit him to withdraw from border areas until the night of 7/8 April, which was followed by the German capture of Maribor as they continued to expand their bridgeheads.[22]
The 4th Army also began to withdraw southwards on 9 April, and on 10 April it quickly ceased to exist as an operational formation in the face of two determined armoured thrusts by the XXXXVI Motorised Corps, one of which captured Zagreb that evening.[23] Italian offensive operations also began, with thrusts towards Ljubljana and down the Adriatic coast, capturing over 30,000 Yugoslav troops near Delnice. When fifth columnists arrested Petrović and the staffs of 1st Army Group, 4th Army and 7th Army on 11 April, the 1st Army Group effectively ceased to exist. On 12 April, a German armoured column linked up with the Italians near the Adriatic coast, encircling the remnants of the withdrawing 7th Army. Remnants of the 4th Army attempted to establish defensive positions in northeastern Bosnia, but were quickly brushed aside by German armoured units as they drove towards Sarajevo. The Yugoslav Supreme Command unconditionally surrendered on 18 April.[24][25] The Ustaše quickly handed Petrović over to the Germans, who sent him to a prisoner of war camp in Germany. He remained there for the rest of the war.[2]
Post-war
At the end of the war, Petrović was liberated from internment in Germany and given the option of returning to the new
In the early 1960s, Petrović became acquainted with the journalist David Binder, who was stationed as a New York Times foreign correspondent in Belgrade. The two met through Petrović's daughter Mirjana, who was working as Binder's secretary, and became close friends. Despite his advancing years, Petrović remained physically active well into his nineties, taking daily swims in the Sava.[26] He lived in Belgrade until his death on 12 June 1981, aged 99.[2]
Notes
- U.S. Army lieutenant general.[1]
- ^ Equivalent to a U.S. Army lieutenant.[1]
- ^ Equivalent to a U.S. Army captain.[1]
- U.S. Army lieutenant general.[1]
- ^ Equivalent to a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel.[1]
- ^ Equivalent to a U.S. Army brigadier general.[1]
- ^ Equivalent to a U.S. Army major general.[1]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Niehorster 2013a.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Bjelajac 2004, p. 246.
- ^ Tucker 2013, pp. 101–103.
- ^ Ramet 2006, p. 75.
- ^ Terzić 1982, pp. 100–101.
- ^ Tomasevich 1975, pp. 34–43.
- ^ Tomasevich 1975, p. 49.
- ^ Iaremko 2014, p. 123.
- ^ Terzić 1982, p. 221.
- ^ Tomasevich 1975, p. 64.
- ^ Trevor-Roper 1964, pp. 108–109.
- ^ Anić 2002, p. 31.
- ^ Niehorster 2013b.
- ^ a b Loi 1978, p. 43.
- ^ U.S. Army 1986, p. 37.
- ^ U.S. Army 1986, pp. 36–37.
- ^ Terzić 1982, pp. 256–260.
- ^ Terzić 1982, p. 308.
- ^ U.S. Army 1986, p. 57.
- ^ Krzak 2006, p. 583.
- ^ Krzak 2006, pp. 583–585.
- ^ Terzić 1982, p. 333.
- ^ U.S. Army 1986, pp. 53, 58 & 60.
- ^ U.S. Army 1986, pp. 60–64.
- ^ Krzak 2006, p. 595.
- ^ a b Binder 2013, pp. 4–5.
References
Books
- Anić, Nikola (2002). Njemačka vojska u Hrvatskoj 1941–1945 [The German Army in Croatia 1941–1945] (in Croatian). Zagreb, Croatia: Hrvatski institut za povijest (Croatian Institute of History). ISBN 978-953-6491-77-3.
- ISBN 978-615-5225-74-1.
- Bjelajac, Mile (2004). Generali i admirali Kraljevine Jugoslavije 1918–1941: Studija o vojnoj eliti i biografski leksikon [The Generals and Admirals of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, 1918–1941: A Study of the Military Elite and Biographical Lexicon] (in Serbian). Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro: Institut za noviju istoriju Srbije (Institute for the Recent History of Serbia). OCLC 607699124.
- Loi, Salvatore (1978). Le operazioni delle unità italiane in Jugoslavia (1941–1943): narrazione, documenti [The Operations of Italian Units in Yugoslavia (1941–1943): Narrative, Documents] (in Italian). Rome, Italy: Ministero della difesa (Ministry of Defence). OCLC 9194926.
- ISBN 978-0-253-34656-8.
- Terzić, Velimir (1982). Slom Kraljevine Jugoslavije 1941: Uzroci i posledice poraza [The Collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941: Causes and Consequences of Defeat] (in Serbo-Croatian). Vol. 2. Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Narodna knjiga (National Press). OCLC 10276738.
- ISBN 978-0-8047-0857-9.
- OCLC 852024357.
- Tucker, Spencer, ed. (2013). European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia. Hoboken, New Jersey: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-135-50694-0.
- U.S. Army (1986) [1953]. The German Campaigns in the Balkans (Spring 1941). Washington, D.C.: OCLC 16940402. CMH Pub 104-4.
Journals and papers
- Iaremko, Marta (2014). "Belgrade Coup D'Etat of March 27, 1941" (PDF). Proceedings of the History Faculty of Lviv University (15): 119–128. ISSN 2078-6077.
- Krzak, Andrzej (2006). "Operation "Marita": The Attack Against Yugoslavia in 1941". S2CID 219625930.
Web
- Niehorster, Leo (2013a). "Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces Ranks". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- Niehorster, Leo (2013b). "Balkan Operations Order of Battle Royal Yugoslavian Army 6th April 1941". Leo Niehorster. Retrieved 28 May 2014.