Bombing of Podgorica in World War II

The bombing of Podgorica in World War II was carried out by the Allies from 1943 until 1944 at the request of the Yugoslav Partisans.

Between the two World Wars, the city of Podgorica had a population of 13,000.

On 6 April 1941 the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers. The state was de facto dissolved and Montenegro, in which Podgorica was the largest city, became independent as a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. This arrangement lasted until the Italian armistice on September 8, 1943, in which the fascist Italian forces capitulated. Germany then occupied Montenegro. Not until Germany's involvement was the city bombed. During the last years of the war Podgorica was one of the bigger cities on the route of German troops withdrawing from Albania and Greece, so the decision was made to bomb the city.

The Podgorica airfield was bombed by P-39 Airacobras of the USAAF's Twelfth Air Force on 25 October 1943. By December, the German troops began setting off bomb sirens in the city, resulting in many citizens taking shelter in nearby caves.

The most intense bombing of Podgorica occurred on 5 May 1944. 116 USAAF B-24 Liberators participated in the attack, which dropped 270 tonnes of bombs on the city. The attack resulted in only four German casualties and approximately 100 Chetnik deaths, while 400 Montenegrin civilians were killed. Chetnik casualties included major Đorđije Lašić. During the course of the bombing a Catholic church and an Orthodox cemetery were damaged and the Glavatović mosque was destroyed.

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