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Ustasha wearing the black uniforms that earned them the name the ‘Black Legion’. There was very fierce fighting between the Partisans and the Ustasha. It was waged mercilessly and usually without prisoners being taken. Both sides fought to the last man rather than surrender.
Members of the Ustasha Muslim Militia who in spring 1944 went over to the Partisans. Throughout the whole war the Partisans were tolerant of the large Muslim population within Yugoslavia. These militia originated in Bosnia as a result of Chetnic violence against the Muslims from various parties, including Chetniks and fascists. From the end of 1943 the shape of the war and who would win became clearer, and these troops began to join the Partisans.
The Partisans considered the Domobran (home guard) second class opponents except for their one or two mountain brigades like the one in this photo. Most home guards surrendered without firing a shot or after a very short exchange. When the Partisans captured them they let them go home after they had taken their uniforms, shoes and weapons. Some home guards were captured several times: many opted to join the Partisans.
Once the German Army had entered the Croatian capital Zagreb, a puppet regime was installed in the newly defined Independent State of Croatia (NDH), headed by Ante Pavelic and supported by those determined to create their own state after what they saw as 20 years of Serbian dominance. The territory of the NDH covered almost the whole of today’s Croatia and Bosnia and Hercegovina, but with considerable military and administrative restrictions in the part under Italian occupation. In May 1941, with the consent of the Pavelic government, Italy annexed a large part of mid and north Dalmatia plus some of the Adriatic islands and almost half of Gorski Kotar. With the approval and help of the Germans, the first Croatian military units were created consisting of 14 battalions of home guard (Domobrani) and one regiment of extreme Croatian nationalists called Ustasha (derived from the Croatian word ustanik, meaning ‘insurgent’). By the end of 1941 the NDH military forces consisted of 85,000 home guard, 16,000 Ustasha and about 6,000 people in the national police force. With full awareness of the nature of Serbian and Croatian antagonism, the Italians also created armed units drawn from the Serbian-populated areas in Croatia and made them part of their occupying forces. The Italians also helped the Chetniks in Bosnia and Hercegovina and coastal parts of Montenegro with arms and equipment.
