German-occupied territory of Montenegro

German-occupied territory of Montenegro
1943-1944
Flag of Germany and Montenegrin flag (Serb tricolor)
Occupation and partition of Yugoslavia after the Italian surrender in September 1943. The German occupation of Montenegro is shown in grey in the southern coastal region.
Capital	Cetinje
Government	Military occupation
German General Representative
• 1943-1944	Wilhelm Keiper
Head of the National Administrative Council
• 1943-1944	Ljubomir Vuksanović
Historical era	World War II
• Italian surrender	8 September 1943
• German occupation	12 September 1943
• ZAVNOCGB	14 June 1944
• German evacuation	15 December 1944
Currency	Reichsmark, Yugoslav dinar
Preceded by Succeeded by Italian governorate of Montenegro Democratic Federal Yugoslavia
Today part of	Montenegro Serbia

The German-occupied territory of Montenegro was the area of the Italian governorate of Montenegro occupied by German forces in September 1943, after the Armistice of Cassibile; in which the Kingdom of Italy capitulated and joined the Allies. Italian forces retreated from the governorate, and from neighbouring Albania. German forces occupied Montenegro, along with Albania, and the territory remained under German occupation until Axis forces evacuated in December 1944.^[1]

During the occupation the area was administered with Wilhelm Keiper as the general representative. He was initially subordinate to "Military Commander of Albania and Montenegro" Theodor Geib until spring 1944. After this time, Keiper's Montenegrin area command was independent and put directly under Commander-in-Chief in Southeast Europe Alexander Löhr. Ljubomir Vuksanović became head of the National Administrative Council established in October 1943, and officially appointed in November the same year.

The Germans and their local collaborators in Montenegro fought against the Yugoslav Partisans. After the Germans withdrew from the Montenegro and evacuated towards Austria, the fascist leader Sekula Drljević attempted to create a government-in-exile in the neighbouring Independent State of Croatia (NDH), which was a German quasi-protectorate. Drljević also created the Montenegrin National Army, a military force set up by him and the Croatian fascist leader Ante Pavelić. However, his government-in-exile, known as the "Montenegrin State Council", was dissolved after the fall of the NDH government.

Montenegro was later taken over by the Yugoslav Partisans of Josip Tito, and became part of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia.

Footnotes[]

References[]

• Roberts, Walter R. (1987). Tito, Mihailović and the Allies: 1941–1945. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-0773-0.
• Tomasevich, Jozo (1975). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: The Chetniks. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0857-9.
• Tomasevich, Jozo (2001). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-3615-2.