The Path of the “Styrian Battalion” – From Idealism to the Transformation in 1942 Cover Image

Pota »Štajerskega bataljona« – od idealizma do preobrazbe leta 1942
The Path of the “Styrian Battalion” – From Idealism to the Transformation in 1942

Author(s): Pavlina Bobič
Subject(s): Military history, Political history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), History of Communism, Fascism, Nazism and WW II
Published by: Študijski center za narodno spravo
Keywords: first national underground movement; major Karel Novak; officer group; resistance movements outside LF; chetniks; Slovenia;

Summary/Abstract: The beginning of the World War II and occupation in Slovenia in 1941 confronted the leading traditional parties with a dilemma of political and national survival and initiatives for military uprising against the occupier. Underground legions began to form and groups that were uniting under organization of military units as well as uniting in their loyalty to the Yugoslav government in London, in support to Western intelligence, and the idea of a post-war restoration of the monarchy. At the same time, the traditional camp encountered activities of the Communist Party, which, with tried and tested tactics of illegal propaganda and uncompromising use of force, effectively intervened in Slovenian (political) space. Major Karel Novak took over, as the commander of the Royal Yugoslav Army in Slovenia, a military formation of resistance against the occupier, which at the same time led his units to a clash with the revolutionary side under the cloak of the LF (Liberation Front). The first national underground movement, the so-called the Styrian Battalion, tried to combine the idea of the liberation struggle with the uprising against the Communist violence. The traditional politics significantly intervened in this idea.

  • Issue Year: 5/2021
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 61-92
  • Page Count: 32
  • Language: Slovenian
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