Black Legion (military unit)

Black Legion (1st Standing Active Brigade)
Soldiers of the Black Legion in Sarajevo (April 7, 1942)
Active	3 September 1941 – 8 May 1945
Country	Independent State of Croatia
Branch	Ustaše militia
Type	Mechanized infantry
Role	Anti-partisan and Anti-chetnik operations
Size	Regiment
Nickname(s)	Blacks (Crnci)
Motto(s)	Za poglavnika i za dom spremni! (Ready for Poglavnik and homeland)
Colors	Black
March	Evo zore, evo dana
Engagements	Operation Ozren Operation Trio Battle of Kozara Battle of Kupres Operation Vlasenica Operation Dinara
Disbanded	8 May 1945
Commanders
Notable commanders	Jure Francetić Rafael Boban
Insignia
Identification symbol	Black uniform

The Black Legion (Crna Legija), officially known as the 1st Standing Active Brigade (Prvi stajaći djelatni sdrug) was an Ustaše militia infantry unit active during World War II in Independent State of Croatia. The legion was formed in September 1941 as the 1st Ustaša Regiment. It consisted largely of Muslim and Croatian refugees from eastern Bosnia, where large massacres were carried out by Chetniks and to a small degree by the Yugoslav Partisans. It became known for its fierce fighting against the Chetniks and the Partisans and massacres against Serb civilians. The legion's commanders were Colonel Jure Francetić and Major Rafael Boban and it consisted of between 1,000 and 1,500 men.

The Black Legion was formed in Sarajevo in April 1941 with 12 founding members of which 11 were Croat and one was Bosniak. The force grew to be predominantly Muslim in response to the atrocities carried out against Bosnian Muslims. Its first official name was Sarajevo Ustaše Camp. The unit was formed by pre-war Ustaše members, Jozo Zubić, Drago Jilek and Bećir Lokmić. The unit commander was Lokmić, an Ustaše member stationed in Sarajevo before the war. The unit's first task was guarding of state buildings in Sarajevo.

Its first armed conflict occurred on the railway in Pale, Sarajevo, against Chetniks who wanted to take over the water supply. Soon, they entered conflict with Chetniks on the wider area of Sarajevo, under mountains Igman, Trebević and Romanija. After the battle of Kupres, the Legion's 1st and 2nd battalion were used to form the cadre for the newly formed 5th Standing Active Brigade which was put under the command of Rafael Boban and incorporated into the 5th division of the Croatian Armed Forces in December 1944.