Liberation of Yugoslavia

Liberation of Yugoslavia
Part of The Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II and the European theatre of World War II
The European theatre in April 1945. The Yugoslav front is in the bottom right corner
Date 30 September 1944-25 May 1945 Location Axis-occupied Yugoslavia Result Yugoslav victory
Belligerents
Germany  Croatia  Hungary[1] Government of National Salvation (1944) Macedonia (1944) Montenegro (1944)  Albania (1944) Slovene Home Guard  Chetniks	DF Yugoslavia  Yugoslav Partisans[2] Italia Brigade  Soviet Union  Bulgaria Support  United Kingdom  United States LANÇ  Yugoslav government-in-exile[3]

For The invasion, see Invasion of Yugoslavia.

The Liberation of Yugoslavia, was the time in the last few years of World War II where Axis-occupied Yugoslavia was liberated by the Yugoslav Partisans and (partially) the Soviet Red Army. At this point, Yugoslavia was under occupation by Germany and other axis powers and puppet states. Resistance movements like Titos partisans had been fighting the axis since the 1941 Invasion of Yugoslavia. For 3 years. But now when the Soviets were advancing in the balkans, they crossed the border into Yugoslavia on 30 September 1944, Belgrade was liberated by partisan forces and soviet forces on 20 October 1944 almost a month after the Soviets crossed the border. At the same time, The Germans were evacuating Macedonia and Albania. Skopje was liberated by partisan forces and Bulgarian on 13 November 1944 and the Albanian partisans liberated there country at the end of the month. On 7 March 1945, the Yugoslav Committee of National Liberation and the Yugoslav government-in-exile merged into the Provisional Government of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia and also formed the partisans in to the Yugoslav People's Army with 4 army's (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th) on the frontlines. The next month in April, Sarajevo was liberated on the 6th. The Yugoslavs liberated Istria on 1 May 1945 and linked up with the New Zealanders. Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945, ending the European theatre of World War II officially, but the last axis forces in Yugoslavia surrendered on 25 May 1945 at the Battle of Odžak.

Notes

1. the Government of National Unity from October 1944.
2. the Yugoslav People's Army from March 1945
3. the government-in-exile merged with the Yugoslav Committee of National Liberation to form the Provisional Government of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia on 7 March 1945.