Battle of Grčarice

The capitulation of Italy was an important turning point in the World War II in Slovenian part of Axis occupied Kingdom of Yugoslavia.[2] Slovene Partisans had a British mission inside their headquarter. Based on the instructions received from the Allies, the Italian troops were ordered to surrender their arms to the Partisans in Yugoslavia, which allowed Slovene Partisans to significantly strengthen their forces.[3] The Slovene Partisans immediately used this arms to eliminate their main political opponents, Slovenian detachment of the Yugoslav Army in Homeland.

The prelude of the Battle of Grčarice were the clashes between the Partisans and Chetniks in Sveti Gregor on 3 September. After being attacked by the Partisan brigade Tone Tomšić, the Chetnik forces retreated to Grčarice where they had their center and headquarters.[14] The Chetniks immediately fortified their positions connecting two buildings and the church.[15] On 5 September Chetniks received two trucks of arms and ammunition, because Italian General Gambara wanted to establish connection with the Allies.[16]

Partisans from Šercer brigade near Kočevje in September 1943

On 6 September the Chetniks in Grčarice celebrated the birthday of Peter II of Yugoslavia.[17]

On 7 September Partisans encircled Grčarice and on 8 September they began the attack on Grčarice.[18] On the first day of attack the Slovene Partisans did not have any heavy weapons, so Chetniks successfully repelled all their attacks.[19]

Major Novak was in Ljubljana during this battle and commanded his units through radio connection. Expecting the reinforcement from Chetniks from Lika, he continually sent instructions to Dolenjska Chetniks Detachment to keep their positions. When Koprivica was wounded he appointed Captain Milan Kranjc to take over the command over the detachment.[20] On 9 September 20 Chetniks of the Ljubljana detachment joined surrounded Chetniks.

When Kranjc realized that the Chetnik units can not withheld the Partisans attacks he planned to break through their lines during the night.[21] In midnight Kranjc shouted to Partisans explaining them that their political commissars are guilty for crimes against Slovenian people and accusing them for attacking regular Yugoslav army units instead against Nazi troops that occupied their country.[22] Kranjc invited Partisan soldiers to kill their political commissars and join Chetniks in their struggle against occupation.[23] When Kranjc was wounded by partisan artillery fire, Marijan Strniša – Pribina took command over the surrounded Chetnik forces.

According to post-war Yugoslav sources both Koprivica and Kranjc committed suicide to avoid capture by the Partisans.[24]

Forces of Yugoslav Army in the Homeland suffered defeat and had 11 killed soldiers and 171 captured.[25]

According to Vladimir Dedijer, Partisans occupied Grčarice on 9 September 1943.[26] Among the Chetniks captured by the Partisans was Vladimir Kalan, who worked for Allied intelligence and was released after he claimed British citizenship.[27]

Kočevje trials organized in former hall of Sokol assotiations between 9 and 11 October 1943.

The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation organized trials for captured Yugoslav soldiers between 9 and 11 October 1943.[28] The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation organized a trial to 21 captured Yugoslav officers, condemning to death 16 of them while 5 were sentenced to forced labor.[29]

Besides nine prisoners who escaped and those who were put on trial and sentenced to death, all other prisoners were secretly executed in November and December 1943 on many different places in Kočevje although they surrendered after Partisans guaranteed their lives which was a condition for their surrender.[30]

The image taken during the Siege of Turjak

On 19 September 1943 around 700 members of Slovenian detachments of Yugoslav Army in the Homeland surrendered to Slovene Partisans in Turjak Castle after the Siege of Turjak.[31]

Slovenian historian Janez Grum emphasized that the defeat of Chetniks in three day battle of Grčarice was serious blow for anti-communist Slovenians and their resistance to communist terror.[32]

After the defeat in Grčarice only small scattered groups of Chetniks in Slovenia continued to exist, while Major Novak resigned as their commander.[33] Dragoslav Mihailović appointed Ivan Prezelj as new commander of the Slovenian units of the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland.[34] Prezelj commanded over small number of Chetnik detachments until the end of the World War II.[35]

The Slovene Home Guard was established as a reaction to massacres and inadmissible actions of Partisans connected with battles of Turjak and Grčarice.[36]

In his postwar work, Edvard Kardelj recounted that, until the capitulation of Italy and destruction of the Slovenian detachment of the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland in Grčarice, Stalin had insisted that the Chetniks and Partisans should "reach an agreement at any price ... in order to create an army under the command of Draža Mihailović."[37]

2011 picture of the repaired building in Grčarice where the Chetniks had their headquarters during the Battle of Grčarice, with a commemorative plaque in honour of the Chetniks

After the fall of communist rule over Yugoslavia at the end of the 20th century, a commemorative plaque was placed on the wall of the building where the Chetniks had had their headquarters.