CalendarZ

    • English English
    • español español
    • français français
    • português português
    • русский русский
    • العربية العربية
    • 简体中文 简体中文
  • Home
  • Religious Holidays
  • National Holidays
  • Other Days
  • On This Day
  • Tools
    • Date converter
    • Age Calculator
  1. Home
  2. On This Day
  3. May
  4. 13
  5. Dragoljub Mihailović

Events on May 13 in history

Dragoljub Mihailović
1941May, 13

World War II: Yugoslav royal colonel Dragoljub Mihailović starts fighting with German occupation troops, beginning the Serbian resistance.

Dragoljub "Draa" Mihailovi (Serbian Cyrillic: ; 27 April 1893 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army (Chetniks), a royalist and nationalist movement and guerrilla force established following the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941.

Born in Ivanjica and raised in Belgrade, Mihailovi fought in the Balkan Wars and the First World War with distinction. After the fall of Yugoslavia in April 1941, Mihailovi organized the Chetniks at Ravna Gora and engaged in guerrilla warfare alongside Josip Broz Tito's Partisans against occupying German forces. Opposing strategies, ideological differences and general distrust drove them apart, and by late 1941 the two groups were in open conflict. Many Chetnik groups collaborated or established modus vivendi with the Axis powers, which along with British frustration over Mihailovi's inaction led to the Allies shifting their support to Tito in 1944. Mihailovi himself collaborated with Milan Nedi and Dimitrije Ljoti at the end of the war.

Mihailovi went into hiding after the war but was captured in March 1946. He was tried and convicted of high treason and war crimes by the communist authorities of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, and executed by firing squad in Belgrade in July. The nature and extent of his responsibility for collaboration and ethnic massacres remains controversial. In May 2015, Mihailovi's verdict was overturned on appeal by the Supreme Court of Cassation of Serbia, citing his trial and conviction as politically and ideologically motivated.

Dragoljub MihailovićDragoljub Mihailović
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Kraljevina Jugoslavija / Краљевина Југославија; Slovene: Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Serbo-Croatian: Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca / Краљевина Срба, Хрвата и Словенаца; Slovene: Kraljevina Srbov, Hrvatov in Slovencev), but the term "Yugoslavia" (literally "Land of South Slavs") was its colloquial name due to its origins. The official name of the state was changed to "Kingdom of Yugoslavia" by King Alexander I on 3 October 1929.The preliminary kingdom was formed in 1918 by the merger of the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (itself formed from territories of the former Austria-Hungary, encompassing today's Bosnia and Herzegovina and most of today's Croatia and Slovenia) and Banat, Bačka and Baranja (that had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary within Austria-Hungary) with the formerly independent Kingdom of Serbia. In the same year, the Kingdom of Montenegro also proclaimed its unification with Serbia, whereas the regions of Kosovo and Vardar Macedonia had become parts of Serbia prior to the unification.The state was ruled by the Serbian dynasty of Karađorđević, which previously ruled the Kingdom of Serbia under Peter I from 1903 (after the May Coup) onward. Peter I became the first king of Yugoslavia until his death in 1921. He was succeeded by his son Alexander I, who had been regent for his father. He was known as "Alexander the Unifier" and he renamed the kingdom "Yugoslavia" in 1929. He was assassinated in Marseille by Vlado Chernozemski, a member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), during his visit to France in 1934. The crown passed to his 11-year-old son Peter. Alexander's cousin Paul ruled as Prince regent until 1941, when Peter II came of age. The royal family flew to London the same year, prior to the country being invaded by the Axis powers.

In April 1941, the country was occupied and partitioned by the Axis powers. A royal government-in-exile, recognized by the United Kingdom and, later, by all the Allies, was established in London. In 1944, after pressure from the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the King recognized the government of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia as the legitimate government. This was established on 2 November following the signing of the Treaty of Vis by Ivan Šubašić (on behalf of the Kingdom) and Josip Broz Tito (on behalf of the Yugoslav Partisans).

References

  • Kingdom of Yugoslavia
  • Dragoljub Mihailović
  • Serbia

Choose Another Date

Events on 1941

  • 17Mar

    Franklin D. Roosevelt

    In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
  • 26Jul

    French Indochina

    World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the seizure of all Japanese assets in the United States.
  • 17Sep

    Great Patriotic War

    World War II: A decree of the Soviet State Committee of Defense, restoring Vsevobuch in the face of the Great Patriotic War, is issued.
  • 12Dec

    Hungary

    World War II: The United Kingdom declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.
  • 14Dec

    Thailand

    World War II: Japan signs a treaty of alliance with Thailand.

About CalendarZ

CalendarZ

In addition of showing the dates of significant holidays and events; CalendarZ enables you easily check out the time remaining to a certain date and all other details.

Our Partners

WoWDeals : All Deals in One Place

Quick Navigation

  • Home
  • Upcoming Holidays
  • Religious Holidays
  • National Holidays
  • Other Days
  • Blog
  • Age Calculator
  • On This Day

© 2025 CalendarZ. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us / Privacy Policy

English   |   español   |   français   |   português   |   русский   |   العربية   |   简体中文