Yugoslav Campaign

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## Yugoslav Campaign

### Also known as

Comintern Invasion of Yugoslavia

The **Yugoslav Campaign** was a significant large scale and elongated military operation that occurred during the Third World War, which began when the Comintern forces launched an invasion of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in July 1965, just four months following the start of the war. The Comintern forces sought to invade Yugoslavia in order to reach Italy, Turkey, and Greece, as well as to relink with Albania. Additionally, the fact that Yugoslavia was anti-Soviet and had its own branch of communism which did not align with the rest of the Communist Bloc made it a target for invasion. The Yugoslav Campaign was fought between the Comintern forces, which were primarily composed of Soviet and other Eastern Bloc forces, and the Yugoslav People's Army, which was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The campaign was characterised by intense fighting and numerous military engagements throughout Yugoslavia.

The initial invasion of Yugoslavia by Comintern forces was primarily focused in the east in the Socialist Republic of Serbia in order to capture Belgrade, however the Comintern forces attempted to secure Belgrade but failed as they were set back by fierce Yugoslav opposition along the Danube River. But despite these successes achieved by the Yugoslavian forces, the Comintern forces made significant gains in the early days of the campaign, occupying large sections of Serbia and then committing yet another offensive directed from Hungary into SR Croatia and from Albania and Bulgaria into SR Macedonia, the Yugoslavian forces nevertheless continued to persist against overwhelming Comintern forces but Yugoslavia continued to lose significant ground to the Comintern invaders. In order to stabilise the newly occupied regions, the Soviet government established a puppet state under the leadership of Vuk Šiljan named the Democratic Republic of Yugoslavia, although this move was unwelcomed by the Yugoslav population and continued to rise up against the Comintern occupation forces reminiscent to that of Partisan tactics implemented during the Second World War.

As Yugoslavia continued to lose territory in paramount to the Comintern offensives, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia officially joined the Allied Powers, with the Allies offering military support against the Comintern forces by late 1965, the Allied intervention proved to be a turning point in the Yugoslav Campaign, as it allowed the Yugoslav forces to regroup and launch counterattacks against the Comintern invaders. The Allied intervention in the Yugoslav Campaign made it a significant front during the Third World War. The decision to intervene on behalf of Yugoslavia was based on strategic considerations, as Yugoslavia's geographical location provided a crucial link between Western Europe and the Middle East. The Allied support for Yugoslavia began with the airlifting of supplies and military equipment to Tito's forces, the Allied contribution was largely initially based on patrolling the Adriatic Sea and granting aerial support with air bombing missions and airlifting military equipment and supplies to Yugoslav forces defending crucial settlements during the invasion prior to the arrival of the first Allied expeditionary forces in Yugoslavia. By late 1965, Yugoslavian forces in Croatia were relieved by Italian forces, and furthermore, other Allied divisions were deployed aerially and by sea to Yugoslavia in order to aid in the defence of the country.