Battle for Novi Pazar
| Battle for Novi Pazar | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II in Yugoslavia | |||||
|
|||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Albanian Kingdom Nazi Germany
|
 Chetniks Communist Party of Yugoslavia
|
||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Units involved | |||||
|
|
||||
| Strength | |||||
| 3,150 | Unknown | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 144 Albanians and 136 Muslims | 287 Serbs | ||||
| Civilian victims of terror: 115 Serbs and 61 Muslims | |||||
The Battle for Novi Pazar was a battle fought between November and December 1941 during World War II, between the Chetniks and Muslim-Albanian forces under Axis command in the city of Novi Pazar, Sandžak in the German occupied Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Despite launching three assaults, the Chetniks failed to capture Novi Pazar.
During World War II, the territory of Sandžak was the subject of territorial disputes between Germany, Italy, as well as the local Muslim and Albanian populations. Due to the multiple insurgent, ethnic and religious groups in the region, persecution and genocide of Jews, Muslims, Serbs and Romani people characterised the conflict in Yugoslavia.
The Axis invasion of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941 and within several days, it was conquered by Axis forces. On 17 April, German troops, the 60th Infantry Division and the 8th Panzer Division, captured the city of Novi Pazar. Yugoslavia was then partitioned between the Axis powers. On April 23, it was agreed that the city would fall within the German occupation zone.
The Uprising in Montenegro occurred on 13 July 1941 and spread into areas of Sandžak. To prevent the uprising from spreading further, Italian forces used various Muslim irregular units from Sandžak, Metohija and Kosovo to intimidate and expel local Serbs, who were considered to be supporters of the movement. During the month, several groups spread disorder in regions surrounding the towns of Rožaje, Plav, Gusinje, Tutin and Pešter.
The situation in Novi Pazar was sensitive, as local Serbs were ruled over by Muslim governors. At the beginning of August 1941, many Serbs began resisting Muslim rule. On 27 October, an agreement was made to divide the region of Sandžak between Germany and Italy. However, Novi Pazar remained under German control, together with Kosovska Mitrovica and small area of the Sjenica municipality, Duga Poljana.
...
Wikipedia