Rasina Corps

The Rasina Corps was a corps of the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland (JVuO) that operated in the region of Kruševac county of Axis occupied Kingdom of Yugoslavia (modern-day Serbia) under command of Dragutin Keserović.

Rasina Corps
Расински Корпус
Country Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Allegiance Chetniks
Brancharmy
Roleanti-fascist and anti-communist struggle
Size3,000
Engagements
Commanders
Current
commander		Dragutin Keserović

History

On 11 May 1944 the Rasina Corps was merged with Toplica Corps to establish Rasina-Toplica Corps Group, an elite Chetnik unit that would receive the biggest burden of defence from Tito's communist forces and together with the Red Army liberated Kruševac from Axis occupation.

Rasina Corps evolved from Rasina Detachment. According to postwar Communist sources Rasina Corps had 3,000 soldiers. Its zone of activity was territory of former Kruševac county.[1] It had five brigades:[2]

  • 1st Trstenik Brigade
  • 2nd Trstenik Brigade
  • Studenica Brigade
  • Kruševac Brigade
  • Župa Brigade

Initially, the headquarters was in Kupci village between Kruševac and Brus,[3] and later in Kriva Reka village on Kopaonik. The Rasina Corps had a military court[4] and published journals including Freedom or Death (Serbian: Слобода или смрт)[5] and Youth (Serbian: Омладинац).[6]

A British mission was attached to HQ of the Rasina Corps.[7] One of its members was Captain Robert Wade.[8] Wade emphasized in his later testimonies that the Chetniks he contacted were convinced that the British would help them to win the war and had no indication that the British support to Chetniks would end.[9] On 23 May 1943 another British mission joined Rasina Corps with airplane which , a mission headed by Major Neil Selby arrived to Rasina Corps after being parachuted to Kopaonik. When Selby arrived to HQ of Keserović , he took over the command of group of British officers led by Captain Wade who were already there.[10] Selby arrived on Kopaonik together with Yugoslav officer Petar Fereštetski, while airplane which carried them also delivered 10 machine guns and 4,000 bullets to Chetniks.[11]

On 24 December 1943 Mihailović ordered destruction of one railway bridge on Južna Morava river in the first half of January 1944 by Rasina and Deligrad Corps.[12]

Rasina-Toplica Corps

Rasina-Toplica Corps Group commanded by Lt. Colonel Keserović took the biggest burden of defence from advancing Titos communist forces.[13] This unit was established on 11 May 1944 by Chetnik Supreme Command.[14] Together with Red Army, Rasina-Toplica Corps Group liberated Kruševac on 14 October 1944.[15]

References
  1. Serbia), Vojnoistorijski institut (Belgrade (1955). Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu naroda Jugoslavija. Vojnoistorijski institut. p. 172. садатттњи п.пуковник Кесеровић, чији је одред1 у јачини око 3.000 бораца. ... Мисли се на Расински четнички корпус, чији је командант био Драгутин Кесеровић. Овај корпус се кретао углавном по тери- торији Крушевачког округа, ...
  2. Vojnoistorijski institut (Belgrade, Serbia) (1968). Zbornik Dokumenta. p. 568. Pored gornjeg korpusa kreću se i grupe korpusa pod komandom pukovnika Keserovića,“ i to (1)) rasinski korpus (I i II trstenička brigada, studenička, kruševačka i župska), čiji je komandant Gordić“ poginuo kod Pljevalja; (2)) jastrebački ...
  3. Tokovi revolucije. Institut za istoriju radničkog podreta Srbije. 1978. p. 282. За своју базу Кесеровић је изабрао Купце, село на путу Крушевац - Брус.
  4. (Ilić 1972, p. 87): "Четнички суд овог корпуса наставио је суђење."
  5. (Stanišić 2000, p. 290):"; „Слобода или смрт" (лист Расинског корпуса);"
  6. (Stanišić 1999, p. 357):" „Омладинац" (издаје Расински корпус);"
  7. Leskovački zbornik. 1961. p. 140. У Расинском четничком корпусу код Д. Кесеровића била је британска вој на мисија.
  8. (Latas & Dželebdžić 1979, p. 383):"Њему се 18. децембра придружила мисија из штаба Расинског корпуса, где је шеф био капетан Вејд. "
  9. (Bailey 2008, p. 174):"They were really quite convinced that the British would help them to win. We were never ever given the slightest indication that support for the Chetniks was going to be withdrawn."
  10. Vojno-istoriski glasnik. p. 95.
  11. (Latas & Dželebdžić 1979, p. 375)
  12. (Dimitriǰević & Nikolić 2004, p. 339)
  13. (Dimitriǰević & Nikolić 2004, p. 415)
  14. (Dimitriǰević & Nikolić 2004, p. 415)
  15. (Dimitriǰević & Nikolić 2004, p. 534)

Sources

Further reading
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