User:Jean-Jacques Georges/drafts/Mihailovic
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Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović, also written Mihailovich, Mihajlovic, Mihajlovich, Mihailovitch or Mahailovic among other transcriptions[1] (Cyrillic script: Драгољуб "Дража" Михаиловић; also known as "Чича Дража" or "Čiča Draža", meaning "uncle Draža"; April 27, 1893 - July 17, 1946) was a officer in the Kingdom of Serbia's army, then in the Royal Yugoslav Army, who took part in the two Balkan Wars, and later in World War I and World War II. After the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis Powers, he founded a resistance movement known colloquially as the Chetniks, considered to have been the first resistance group in Nazi-occupied Europe[2]. Mihailović was then made a General and named Minister of war of King Peter II's government in exile. The Chetnik organization, initially supported by the United Kingdom, soon found itself in conflict with the Partisans led by Josip Broz Tito. Part of the various Chetnik groups gradually fought more against the Communist-led Partisans than against the Axis occupiers, some of them becoming auxiliary militias for the Italian and German troops, with Mihailović occasionally condoning their collaboration as a mean to defeat the communists. The Allies came to consider that Mihailović and the Chetniks were at best ineffectual, and shifted their support to the Partisans.
Draža Mihailović | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | "Čiča Draža" ("Чича Дража") Serbian for "uncle" |
Allegiance | Kingdom of Serbia Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
Service/ | Army |
Years of service | 1910-1946 |
Rank | Brigade general |
Unit | Royal Yugoslav Army |
Commands held | Chetnik movement |
Battles/wars | First Balkan War Second Balkan War World War I Yugoslav Front (part of World War II) |
Awards | Legion of Merit Croix de Guerre |
After the war, Mihailović was captured, tried and convicted of high treason and war crimes by the Communist Yugoslav authorities, and was consequently executed by firing squad. The role of Mihailović during the war is disputed : while some authors claim that he was an unsung resistance hero, ultimately betrayed by the Allies[3][4][5], others concentrate on the accusations of collaboration against him[6][7], and others give a nuanced version of his actions[8][9][10]. His place in History remains controversial[11][12].