Kingdom of Montenegro ( 1941 – 44 ) The Kingdom of Montenegro or the Independent State of Montenegro existed from 1941 to 1943 as a puppet protectorate of Fascist Italy , a component of the envisioned Italian Empire . The Italian Fascist regime saw Montenegro as a future part of an Imperial Italy that would span the Adriatic coast to northern Greece ( incorporating the lands once controlled by Venice ) , where local populations would be forced to adopt Italian national identity , and colonization by Italians would be promoted ( as it was in Italian - held Albania ) to eventually displace all non - Italian populations . History . After the invasion of Yugoslavia by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy on April 6 , 1941 , and subsequent Royal Yugoslav Army surrender on April 17 , 1941 , Sekula Drljević , leader of the Montenegrin Federalists in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia , established the " Provisional Administrative Committee of Montenegro " , which operated as the collaborationist organ of Fascist Italy . The Committee was disbanded on 5 May 1941 and a " Montenegrin Council " was formed to oversee the Italian occupation and create the semi - independent protectorate of Montenegro . The Fascist regime intended to make Montenegro part of Imperial Italy , which would span the Adriatic coast to Albania , with the intention of assimilating the local populations . King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy ( influenced by his wife Queen Elena , daughter of the former King of Montenegro ) imposed on Benito Mussolini the creation of an independent Montenegro against the wishes of the fascist Croatians of Ante Pavelić and the Albanians ( who wanted to divide Montenegro between themselves ) . The Kingdom of Montenegro was created under fascist control when Krsto Zrnov Popović returned from his exile in Rome in 1941 to attempt to lead the Zelenaši ( " Green " party ) , who supported the reinstatement of the independent Montenegrin monarchy . This militia were called the Lovćen Brigade . Montenegro was nominally a Kingdom , but the last King ' s grandson Prince Michael Petrović - Njegoš refused the crown , declaring loyalty to his cousin , young King Peter II of Yugoslavia . Two Romanov princes , Prince Nicholas Romanovich of Russia and his father Prince Roman Petrovich also refused the crown , so Italian governors ran Montenegro instead . On July 12 , 1941 , the rule of Sekula Drljević was inaugurated . At the beginning of 1942 , however , the country suffered the outbreak of civil war as the Partisans and Chetniks fought against Montenegrin separatists and Axis forces . As World War II progressed , the conflict within Montenegro became extremely chaotic and vicious as virtually every combination of alliances were made and broken between the warring sides and factions . Also active within Montenegro were the Second Serbian Volunteer Corps . The nation ' s borders essentially existed only on paper . Particularly after the spring of 1942 , much of the Sandžak region , which was included in the Independent State of Montenegro , was not actually controlled by its proclaimed government . In addition , the area of the Bay of Kotor was annexed by Italy until September 1943 . At the end of September 1943 , the puppet Independent State of Croatia of Ante Pavelić annexed the Italian Province of Kotor . By October 1943 , Drljević was exiled from Montenegro . In 1944 , while in the Independent State of Croatia , Drljević formed the Montenegrin State Council , which attempted to act as a government - in - exile . The Montenegrin People ' s Army was later formed by Ante Pavelić and Drljević out of the defeated Pavle Đurišić - led Chetnik forces . After the departure of the Italian governors , Montenegro remained under the direct control of German troops , with a terrible and bloody guerrilla war ravaging the area . During this period , tens of thousands of innocent civilians were killed by the Nazis . In December 1944 the German troops withdrew from Montenegro and Josip Broz Tito ' s Partisans assumed control , ending the existence of the Kingdom of Montenegro . Military . During the Italian administration of Montenegro , their armed forces in the country were made up of the following : Religion . The main religion in Montenegro was Serbian Orthodox . There was also a significant Muslim population and a smaller Catholic one . The Serbian Orthodox Church was divided into the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and the Eparchy of Budimlje - Nikšić , both led by Joanikije Lipovac . Lipovac was killed in the aftermath of the war by Yugoslav communists after trying to flee the country in 1945 . The Catholic Church was divided into two dioceses , the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bar and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje .