The Promise of a Clean Regime | An Independent State of Croatia TL

[Triune Kingdom]

snip

Excellent chapter. You make him a rather sympathetic character, and one does feel somewhat bad for Petar after all he has been through. His father assasinated and then his country is invaded and rapidly collapses, with Croats showing themselves more then eager to put its corpse to rest. He may put more blame then what is deserved on Maček and Croatia, since he only has TTL perspective to go on, and maybe in his mind he believes that if the Croatians remained loyal it would have allowed for a different outcome.

I also like how butterflies have started to wing their way over the Atlantic, and that they have decided to publicize his arrival to US, which caused Croatian protestors in front of the White House. It is also interesting to see that this Croatia gets a substantialy increased support from Croatian immigrants/their descendants in the USA, and how that may colour the perception of US public since it very likely that newspapers are hoing to report on the protest since Yugoslav visit was much mote publicized. I do wonder how Croatia is going to be seen, yes it is a German puppet, but it is a puppet that fought a war against Italy, who is a German ally and it took German intervention to stop the war between them. Interesting times are ahead, especially once Roosevelt has time to take his eyes off Pacific and starts to take a closer look at what is going on in Europe and planning for invasion of Europe. OSS may take a bigger interest in the Balkans, and Donovan did have a lot of pull with Roosevelt. As I said, interesting times ahead.

snip

Well, it is up to you to decide how demoralized the Italians are and what effect that may have on the further course of the war. As for the mainland Italy, while regime may be more unstable, we could perhaps see greater and more direct German involvement in Italian day-to-day affairs, making their control and influence much more felt then IOTL, thus ensuring that taking Italy is no easy feat by any means.

Heydrich avoiding his OTL assasination is surely going to lead to immense changes, and while I have some ideas what can happen, do feel free to bounce ideas off me in PMs.

As for the unrest and partisan activity, it seems that Croatian military is going to be called in to pacify those areas, hopefully after reforms are done and over with. And it is best that they deal with those areas as soon as possible, both to ensure that the insurgents do not entrench themselves, but also for their troops to get valuable experience operating in their smaller formations, hopefully before being forced to confront larger and better equiped opponents. On the other hand, I do not think that much of that unrest is going to last that long, since Coalition is fair towards the Serbs, and is actively trying to improve their lot in life.

As for the Samovoz, I too think so, even if it is flawed, a bad AFV is better then nothing, especially if the opposing side has nothing that can take it out. And nobody really expects that Croatia somehow manages to produce the best vehicle in the world, with neither the know-how, nor needed facilities. It still means that Croatia has another weapon at its disposal and that it is less realiant on the German charity in regards to the weapons. And to be fair, I would dare to say that Croatian personnel does not have the knowledge to operate AFVs in any other way then as direct support to the infantry, since any prewar knowledge they had was more or less based on French doctrine.

As for the economy, I must say that I am very pleased how you are handling it. Oil is definetely going to be nationalised, it is simply too important resource, but some other things may see partial nationalizations, where state either has a controlling share or at least a substantial one. Things like mines and ironworks, whose production is of interest to Germany as well, and which can serve as a valuable source of foreign exchange.

All in all, great work and I just hope that you continue with this.

 

[John_Smith]

Perhaps he should have seen it coming.

Alas, he did not. He felt rough hands pushing him forward, making him stumble over himself as he found it increasingly difficult to breathe while his head was covered by an uncomfortably heavy piece of worn cloth likely meant to cover his eyes from witnessing what was about to happen, but really intended to silence any would-be protests coming from his mouth, but he thought himself an honorable man. Or at least he liked to think he was. Quietly resigned to his fate, he knew no words, no matter how furiously spoken or righteously pronounced, would be appropriate to make him atone for all his mistakes and to save him from this predicament. He knew better than to beg, it was beneath a man of his beliefs to be stooping so low, and merely for the price of his life.

It was already in shambles to begin with. His decision of stepping up to take over the leadership position of the Commissioner Government of Milan Aćimović in July 1941 was the one that had cost him dearly. After that mistake, every possible thing that could have gone wrong simply did. Instead of having his ideals help him lead his nation through the tumultuous times of Axis occupation while hoping for King Peter's return, they only hindered him every step of the way. All his executive decisions were overturned by the Military Commander in Serbia, all his suggestions were promptly ignored no matter how accommodating they appeared, everything that the man attempted to do to help his own people fell on deaf ears within the upper echelon of the disastrous food chain that the Germans established in his homeland. Even the few victories were bittersweet, such as his rescue of Colonel Beraha and a dozen other people at risk of certain death, but they were very quickly overshadowed by the realization that thousands upon thousands of innocents perished in places of horror such as Banjica, Crveni krst, Kruševac and Trepča. [1]

His hopes of establishing contact with Peter through Draža Mihailović proved to be less than successful, as the commander-in-chief of the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland was not all too forthcoming to the idea, mostly keeping to himself and hiding most information beneath a façade of light-heartedness and good-natured humor. His numerous agreements with Kosta Pećanac (such as the legitimization of his Black Chetniks as the legal police force of the Commissioner Government) also left much to be desired, as they began to clash with Mihailović's Chetniks instead of maintaining peace and crushing Communists that had ravaged the nation during the final days of 1941. He unsuccessfully negotiated for the Bulgarian Army to leave southeastern Serbia during most of his tenure, as well as composing a memorandum proposing a more lenient German policy towards Serbia, one that is much more similar to that of Croatia [2], but he received no responses.

The straw that finally broke the camel's back came in July 1942, when Draškić and chief of Belgrade police Dragomir Jovanović [3] exchanged insults and unflattering phrases in front of the whole Council of Commissioners over what to do with the rapidly destabilizing situation within the country. After Jovanović boasted of saving countless lives by exchanging the would-be Serb inmates of Banjica with Romani prisoners, Draškić spat in his face whilst staring him down. Before the quarrel could escalate any further, the Head Commissioner left the office while others stood there in shock. That same day, a resignation letter was found in his former office with Draškić's own signature on it, speaking of honor, duty and obligations he intended to fulfill, but was powerless to do so, and the intense feelings of guilt and shame that washed over him as he witnessed his countrymen being torn apart by the Germans.

Now, at least symbolically free of the shackles bestowed upon him by his unwise decision-making, he packed up the most important of his belongings and exchanged his officer's uniform for a civilian one with a sorrowful gaze. With his wife, he decided to try and find Pavle Đurišić and his troops in Montenegro, hopeful of receiving an audience with the man he believed disassociated himself from Mihailović's Chetniks. Under the cover of the night, and well aware of the danger he put himself in by hoarding all the documents that held any importance in his office into his briefcase before he left the dreaded government building once and for all, the two quickly made their way south, sporting fake identities that they had hoped would prevent anyone from finding out, with Draškić being forced to wear a hat all the time because of his peculiar injury sustained in the First World War [4]. Just as July turned into August, Draškić suddenly turned to his wife after another restless night and spoke to her, already surprising her by the action, as she had considered her husband to be a man of few words since the beginning of their marriage.

„Love.“

„Y-yes?“

„We have got to split up.“

„What? I can't do that, not to you!“

„It is not safe. I can't fathom seeing you suffer even more because of all my sins.“

„Panta, you are exaggerating…“

„This is not the land of the honorable, nor will it ever be. I have to repent for everything I have done, to restore what little honor still hangs onto my name, or die trying. I've said my peace.“

He still shuddered at the sounds of her quietened sobs echoing in the lush green forested background as her form grew smaller and smaller in the distance, and his own that followed soon after, but he could at the very least find solace in the fact that sending her to the safety of southern Croatia with half of his documents was a good decision, even if it caused insurmountable heartache within him.

Unaware of the developments around the former Nikšić area, not even half a day after his tragic separation from his wife, he was discovered by a wandering platoon of Italian soldiers who saw through his mask in no time, and promptly arrested him. A piece of cloth was wrapped around his eyes, making much of the goings-on around him hard to discern, but soon after he found himself in a damp, confined room in an unknown location, being interrogated by none other than the Governor of Montenegro himself – Alessandro Pirzio Biroli. The man's presence was indeed menacing, but Draškić's tough army-trained exterior still did not budge as the military man divulged no information to Pirizo Biroli that the latter did not already know, only further enraging the Governor.

A whole day had passed, and no matter how many times the Italian's guards roughed him up, the former Head Commissioner still remained silent, and just before the clock struck midnight, Biroli had declared him guilty of treason, espionage and countless other unfounded offences that were made up on the spot, but Draškić was beyond caring at this point. With a twisted grin on his face, the former Olympic team saber silver medalist proclaimed that the execution would occur immediately that day with a rather unusual method in accordance to Roman tradition – falling.

The execution method for murderers and traitors… He could not help but think of the cruel way that fate had played with him, for a man who lived his entire life following the code of dignity and pride to die in such a humiliating way was truly an ironic epilogue to a now futile story. Now he understood – there was no happiness that just people were to be rewarded with, that distinction belonged to those who had no qualms about getting their hands dirty to get what their hearts truly desire, and he could live with that, ironically enough.

Kneeling atop the ledge of a large, tall building, as he took his final, labored breaths within the constrictive cloth, he felt a hot breath on his right ear, whispering into it with wicked pleasure.

„Any last words?“

God, he could feel that shit-eating grin on the face of that Italian policeman. But instead of feeling the need to wipe it off his face with a fist as he would have liked back in the army, he instead felt cathartic, like the weight of the world suddenly dissipated from his tired shoulders, and with a moment of clearness within his bones, he uttered in his sternest tone.

„Do your duty.“

​

Anderba, formerly named Nikšić, underwent a complete redesign by the time of Draškić's execution. Farinacci, likely under Mussolini's influence, pursued the same policy of reinventing the Roman Empire of modern times, but with a much heavier hand than his predecessor. As a form of punishment following the bloody Battle of Nikšić, the White Duce [5] designated Alessandro Pirzio Biroli to oversee the construction of a true neo-Roman city built upon the foundations of the former castrum. The few remaining Montenegrins and Serbs were forcefully relocated to the surrounding countryside while Italian architects from all over the nation slowly arrived to the destroyed town.

Wanting the new town to resemble the ancient Roman ones as much as possible, it was decided that two large streets, one going north to south and the other from east to west, would form the backbone of the gridiron-shaped settlement which would intersect in the middle, on the so-called Wolf Mother Square, where a fairly large, twenty meters tall bronze statue of a she-wolf was positioned, its gnashing teeth pointing to the northeast, no doubt a symbolic gesture of Farinacci's animosity toward the Soviet Union [6]. The choice of the imposing wolf was obvious – honoring one of the most significant beings in Roman history, according to legend, at the very least, the she-wolf that fed the two little boys and protected them from the dangers of the world near the Lupercal cave.

Approximate replica of the Wolf Mother of Anderba
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As for new people moving in, the Second Duce of Fascism had a solution for that particular issue as well. By promoting Montenegro (Anderba specifically) to the poor peasants from southern parts of Italy as the wondrous land of opportunity, he ensured a stable number of new arrivals every week or so, plus the influx of Italian-speaking refugees fleeing from a steady Allied advance in North Africa strengthened the numbers significantly. Taking inspiration from the Nazis and their plans with the SS, Farinacci encouraged male Italian soldiers, peasants and everyone else to take as many Slavic wives from the area and father as many children as possible to make the Italian demographic picture more stable in his eyes.

In order for his expansive plan to come into public consciousness, three sprawling documentaries were published throughout 1942 by Istituto Luce [7] that promoted the former Montenegrin city, most famous of whom was Anderba – Life on the Frontier (Anderba – Vita alla frontiera), a 48 minute propaganda piece praising the gubernatorial administration to high heaven and showcasing many benefits of a new life on the east coast of the Adriatic. Needless to say, this ploy worked, and thousands of people poured in from all over Italy. Carpenters, bakers, engineers, cooks, farmers, journalists, judges, tailors, just to name a few, and a new radio station being built right in the heart of the city as well. By the end of May 1942, there were around twenty three hundred people in and around Anderba, actively working on expanding the city's boundaries while creating a brave new world of their own. All the newcomers brought with them the unique Romance language that had certainly left its mark during the war, and even after it, on the Montenegrin language which adopted a number of Italianisms similarly to the language of the Croats in Dalmatia. Montenegro would take up many things from its neighbor to the west, the most apparent result being shown to the entire world during the Third Balkan War that enveloped the peninsula in the 1990s.

With Sekula Drljević in an internment camp in Italy and Krsto Popović refusing to join the pro-Axis side, the duty of appeasing the Montenegrins and Serbs of the small Governorate befell Pavle Đurišić, whose Chetnik troops made a deal none too dissimilar to the one between Momčilo Đujić and the Governor of Dalmatia, where Đurišić's Montenegrin Chetniks were allowed to police the entire nation under a new name – the Chetnik Militia (Četnička milicija in Serbian, Milizia chetnica in Italian); while Italian troops were relocated to places that needed them most (East, North Africa) or completely demobilized due to their incompetence. The capital of the governorate was moved to Anderba on Pirzio Biroli's orders, and the whole Nikšić municipality received a special, highly autonomous status within the Governorate that allowed it to basically become part of the Province of Cattaro in all but name.

Đurišić's troops, much like the previous year, were still too entrenched in their extremist beliefs, and only weeks after their official legalization by the Governor, a number of atrocities was committed in the far north, in the region of Sandžak populated with Muslims. Executions, much like Draškić's that came in early August, were anything but respectful, with Chetnik-trios [8] slaughtering people indiscriminately based on doubt of allegiance alone. Communist or Muslim, it did not matter to the indoctrinated paramilitary officers, they were merely lambs for the slaughter in their eyes. The most outrageous of the war crimes committed in 1942 by the Chetnik Militia was the massacre of two hundred Muslims in a small mosque in Seošnica [9], close to Rožaje in the northeast, when a squadron of militiamen led by Đurišić himself rounded everyone up in the small place of worship before painting the walls red with their blood, to quote one of the perpetrators in a post-war interview.

Unfortunately for Đurišić's cause, his underestimation of the Sandžak Muslims would result in what many would later describe a blood feud between the Orthodox Slavs and Sandžak Muslims that would culminate the following year (but last for many more years afterwards in reality) in one of the bloodiest battles the region had ever seen up to that point. Some of the more prominent Muslims, such as Hasan Zvizdić and Ćazim Sijarić, declared their quiet cooperation with the Partisans in order to finally put a stop to the crimes of the Chetnik Militia as well as receive immunity from retribution in a post-war Communist Yugoslavia in one of their secret meetings with Communist negotiator Božidar Adžija.

Chetnik Militiamen about to execute an unconscious Muslim peasant through heart extraction in Sjenica, summer 1942
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While the Chetniks murdered, the Muslims defended themselves, the Italians watched the first two in bemusement and the Germans tried reinstating some sort of order in Commissioner Serbia, a series of unorthodox events played out in Anderba that were truly difficult to explain. Beginning in April 1942, a number of reports were received by the Chetnik Militia headquarters located on 13 Italo Balbo Street telling stories of different people witnessing half-men, half-wolves wandering about and frighteningly growling at them if they were too close to comfort for them. Lending even more credence to their fairy tales were the numerous cases of wolf pelts scattered all around the town as well as prominent howling sounds emanating throughout the night.

Even Đurišić's own Militiamen were not immune from paranoid episodes, with many of them refusing to continue their jobs after witnessing the Werewolves (Vukodlaci in Serbian, Lupi mannari in Italian) rummaging through the bushes around Anderba and subsequently failing to subdue them. It seemed as if the Sect of Romulus (Romulova sekta in Serbian, Setta di Romolo in Italian), named after the kinslaying founder of the city of Rome that the Wolfmen supposedly worshipped in their elaborate underground lairs, would soon be come one of the largest hindrances to the Italian regime, instead of Communists and everyone Đurišić decided to turn against. Things became so grave, in fact, that several squadrons of the Militia scrubbed the city and the surrounding countryside each and every night, but they still could not find anyone, or anything connected to the Werewolves aside from tiny objects resembling fangs scattered on Wolf Mother Square.

Adding more fuel to the fire was the appearance of the Smiling Face (Nasmejano lice in Serbian, Faccia sorridente in Italian), a simple drawing of frightful connotations. Drawn with a questionable crimson color on buildings both sizable and small, the artwork instilled even more fear and paranoia within the populace, and no one was able to discern where exactly it came from, or what it was foretelling for the future that grew more and more haunting as time went on.

The Smiling Face of questionable origins, ominously drawn onto many walls throughout Anderba
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Indeed, while the people of Anderba had their own battles to fight, the Germans in Commissioner Serbia had their own struggles to overcome, the most glaring of which was the replacement for Draškić the Turncoat (Draškić Izdajnik in Serbian). They decided to separate the position of Head Commissioner and Commissioner of Internal Affairs in hopes of finding a relatively popular figurehead that would represent the government to the wider Serbian population. Regrettably for the Nazis, nobody was interested enough in turning up, prompting them to force someone of their own accord. Miloš Trivunac was chosen as the man with the plan – a well-known professor, writer, Germanophile and founder of the Department of German Language and Literature at the University of Belgrade, a perfect choice from the Nazis' perspective as the symbolic leader of the Serbian people, whilst Bogoljub Kujundžić inherited the Ministry of Internal Affairs from the public enemy, at least in the eyes of the pro-German, pro-Commissioner propaganda, and his micromanaging style of work proved more than reinvigorating for the crumbling Commissioner regime at first, but all good things must come to an end, and this could not be proven more true than in the case of Commissioner Serbia in the later stages of the war.

As the public at large tried to recover from Draškić's purported escapades, a group of officers of both movements of the Chetniks in Serbia (Kosta Pećanac and Draža Mihailović, respectively), tried to set aside their differences in hopes of creating a detailed plot to take down the Commissioner regime in favor of a unified Chetnik front against the Axis that would allow the Western Allies to land in Dalmatia or Montenegro once the tide of war turns in their favor. Needless to say, only time will tell if 1943 will be the year that killed the government or not, when the conspiracy finally starts to turn from ideal fiction to grim reality.

*****
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[1] All concentration camps also existed in OTL Serbia during WWII, though ITTL Banjica is much larger, and has claimed a lot more victims because of Jasenovac not existing.
[2] Both of the actions were attempted by Milan Nedić, OTL leader of Serbia at the time, but much like Draškić, both of them received no responses in the end.
[3] The guy really did do that IOTL. His agents were also infamous for their brutality during interrogations of prisoners, something that he inherited from the Gestapo he collaborated with since.
[4] Draškić lost a piece of his skull during the First World War (can be seen in the infobox photo, as well as the one posted in Chapter III.III), and apparently King Alexander I kept it as a lucky charm of sorts all the way until his death in 1934.
[5] Nickname received because of his white uniform. ITTL Mussolini is referred to as the Black Duce for the same reasons.
[6] Bit of a parallel drawn with the statue of Ban Josip Jelačić on the square of the same name in Zagreb, which had its gaze pointed north towards Hungary.
[7] Italian corporation involved in the production and distribution of propaganda films and documentaries intended for being screened in cinemas, founded in 1924.
[8] Special three-member units of the Chetniks that (quite literally) slaughtered their opponents (Communists, alleged collaborators, everyone that got in their way). One of the most prominent Chetnik-trio leaders was Orthodox priest Milorad Vukojičić who was canonized as a saint by the Serbian Orthodox Church in 2005.
[9] Parallel to the 1941 Glina massacres IOTL when a gang of Ustaše under the command of Minister of Justice and Religion Mirko Puk murdered a group of Serb boys and men within an Orthodox Christian church before setting it on fire.

 

[John_Smith]

Excellent chapter. You make him a rather sympathetic character, and one does feel somewhat bad for Petar after all he has been through. His father assasinated and then his country is invaded and rapidly collapses, with Croats showing themselves more then eager to put its corpse to rest. He may put more blame then what is deserved on Maček and Croatia, since he only has TTL perspective to go on, and maybe in his mind he believes that if the Croatians remained loyal it would have allowed for a different outcome.

I also like how butterflies have started to wing their way over the Atlantic, and that they have decided to publicize his arrival to US, which caused Croatian protestors in front of the White House. It is also interesting to see that this Croatia gets a substantialy increased support from Croatian immigrants/their descendants in the USA, and how that may colour the perception of US public since it very likely that newspapers are hoing to report on the protest since Yugoslav visit was much mote publicized. I do wonder how Croatia is going to be seen, yes it is a German puppet, but it is a puppet that fought a war against Italy, who is a German ally and it took German intervention to stop the war between them. Interesting times are ahead, especially once Roosevelt has time to take his eyes off Pacific and starts to take a closer look at what is going on in Europe and planning for invasion of Europe. OSS may take a bigger interest in the Balkans, and Donovan did have a lot of pull with Roosevelt. As I said, interesting times ahead.




Well, it is up to you to decide how demoralized the Italians are and what effect that may have on the further course of the war. As for the mainland Italy, while regime may be more unstable, we could perhaps see greater and more direct German involvement in Italian day-to-day affairs, making their control and influence much more felt then IOTL, thus ensuring that taking Italy is no easy feat by any means.

Heydrich avoiding his OTL assasination is surely going to lead to immense changes, and while I have some ideas what can happen, do feel free to bounce ideas off me in PMs.

As for the unrest and partisan activity, it seems that Croatian military is going to be called in to pacify those areas, hopefully after reforms are done and over with. And it is best that they deal with those areas as soon as possible, both to ensure that the insurgents do not entrench themselves, but also for their troops to get valuable experience operating in their smaller formations, hopefully before being forced to confront larger and better equiped opponents. On the other hand, I do not think that much of that unrest is going to last that long, since Coalition is fair towards the Serbs, and is actively trying to improve their lot in life.

As for the Samovoz, I too think so, even if it is flawed, a bad AFV is better then nothing, especially if the opposing side has nothing that can take it out. And nobody really expects that Croatia somehow manages to produce the best vehicle in the world, with neither the know-how, nor needed facilities. It still means that Croatia has another weapon at its disposal and that it is less realiant on the German charity in regards to the weapons. And to be fair, I would dare to say that Croatian personnel does not have the knowledge to operate AFVs in any other way then as direct support to the infantry, since any prewar knowledge they had was more or less based on French doctrine.

As for the economy, I must say that I am very pleased how you are handling it. Oil is definetely going to be nationalised, it is simply too important resource, but some other things may see partial nationalizations, where state either has a controlling share or at least a substantial one. Things like mines and ironworks, whose production is of interest to Germany as well, and which can serve as a valuable source of foreign exchange.

All in all, great work and I just hope that you continue with this.

I'm glad I managed to flesh out the characters in a believable way and not show my own personal biases, so thank you! Indeed, Peter is young, and does not possess enough experience to manage his way around politics, which shows from Jovanović's influence over him, especially with how he portrays the Croats as traitorous backstabbers deserving of punishment.

Even if Peter's arrival is publicized much more than the protest, I still think the Croat government is at a big advantage due to the noticeable support coming from the diaspora, and that is going to mean a lot, perhaps not now, but some time later when Roosevelt has to make a response to Churchill's plans about the Balkans.

And there is also the other direction, where Germany might loosen up a bit after Farinacci shows off his strength by slaughtering another village in the Balkans just like Heydrich would have. Again, anything is possible following Mussolini's fall, and even he might throw himself into everything even more if Farinacci stumbles a bit too many times along the way.

Of course, Normandy might just become a bit more bloody, as if it did not already need that IOTL... I shall, definitely, because I still have much research to do concerning Heydrich's policy and the French resistance that will be hit by the Man with the Iron Heart.

I agree, but voting-tendencies of that population must also be taken into effect, it is, and will be hard to change minds of people in, say, former Vrbas Banovina, where everyone leaned toward parties like the JRZ that actively opposed the HSS and other members of the Coalition, but again, it is quite open-ended, and can swing either way just like the situation within Italy.

If it is just enough to curb the Partisans' power then it will certainly be enough, quality or not, and if the Home Guard finally stabilizes then it will be even easier to have those vehicles be manned properly against any threats of that stature.

Thank you! Now only to put those things to paper... It will be a difficult task, but I'll try my best to show a reasonable economic policy of a saner Croatia, or at least a Croatia with a sane, experienced politician at the helm.

 

[Triune Kingdom]

Excellent chapter.

Draškić getting executed, as well as government changes does not bode well for the stability of Serbia, especially considering that Communists are only gaining strength.

Chetniks are causing a lot of problems, especially in Muslim held areas, which are slowly turning to Communists since Croatia seems unable to stop their raids and atrocities. Homeguard needs to start doing something, since even a single regiment should be able to reduce and stop quite a few of their raids.

Italians are making themselves much more unlikeable to the local populations, and since Italian position is becoming much shakier with each day, they are in some rough times.

But, forshadowing of the things to come is especially nice. Third Balkan War does sound interesting, but does that mean that Montenegro aligns with Croatia in that war?

Good work, it is very nice to see what is going on in neighboring countries, and how that changes things around.

 

[John_Smith]

Excellent chapter.

Draškić getting executed, as well as government changes does not bode well for the stability of Serbia, especially considering that Communists are only gaining strength.

Chetniks are causing a lot of problems, especially in Muslim held areas, which are slowly turning to Communists since Croatia seems unable to stop their raids and atrocities. Homeguard needs to start doing something, since even a single regiment should be able to reduce and stop quite a few of their raids.

Italians are making themselves much more unlikeable to the local populations, and since Italian position is becoming much shakier with each day, they are in some rough times.

But, forshadowing of the things to come is especially nice. Third Balkan War does sound interesting, but does that mean that Montenegro aligns with Croatia in that war?

Good work, it is very nice to see what is going on in neighboring countries, and how that changes things around.

And another splinter group of Chetniks from both major movements planning on an anti-Nazi takeover some time in 1943... Certainly a horrific time to be any young person in Serbia just trying to live your life in peace whilst paranoid from all the thinking about who might come to your house next and slaughter your entire family - be it the Chetniks, the ZBOR, the Reds, ... There are plenty to choose from, and almost no shades of difference in their actions. The Commissioner government is in for a bad time, I can tell you that.

Things are bad in Croatia for the Muslims living in the borderlands, but the Sandžak Muslims are in an even more untenable position, where the Home Guard cannot intervene at all (Sandžak is not a Croatian territory, unlike the short period of OTL) and the only ones that can protect them are the Communists which just ransacked their villages during Operation Durmitor, but some influential Muslims have done it out of desperation nonetheless, just like the two I mentioned above.

Of course, and if Farinacci's policy is taken into account, it seems as if Montenegro might see Foibe massacres on steroids if Commies take over during the latter stages of WWII. Even more bloodshed in the making, and not a single way of stopping it, it seems...

It was an interesting idea that suddenly bloomed in my mind, but we are very far from that occurring, but just think of the War of the Five Kings from ASOIAF and how complicated it was, that is what I'm hoping to emulate (and is all I'm going to reveal). If this timeline gets finished and if this idea keeps growing, then it might just become my next story.

Thank you, I'm glad the chapters are interesting enough in the way they portray other territories affected by the PoD, not just Croatia proper!

 

[Triune Kingdom]

snip

Well, it seems that you have planned quite a bit of excitment for the future, and I am eagerly awaiting future chapters.

Serbia seems to be destined for even greater chaos and disorder in the future, as various fractions are both unable to work with each other as well as actively planning to betray the Germans. That is going to cause some problems alright.
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As for the Sandžak Muslims, one really cannot blame them for siding with Communists, as the people there are left with really no good option. They lack even the rudimentary protection they had OTL, and since Homeguard is not allowed in, they can only turn to the Partisans or else be butchered by the Chetniks. On the other hand, that area is likely going to become a running sore for Croatia, since it will allow for Partisan groups entrance in Croatia, forcing them to devote troops to the area.
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Italians on the other hand are going with their policies like they have already won the war, and these policies have already pissed off quite a few people, something that does not bode well for the Italian population in the entire region, both native and immigrants. Foibe of OTL will seem like a slap on the wrist, considering they have managed to anger every South Slavic nation with access to the Adriatic, all off which have subtantial numbers of Italians very close by. Main question is how will individual nations act when/if Italy capitulates, in regards to the Italians living on their (often reclaimed) lands. Or so it seems....
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Dude, ASOIAF wishes they could have the amount of political fuckery, bloodshed and sheer brutality present during a single average day in WW2 Balkans.

But, on the other hand Third Balkan War does sound interesting.
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All in all, you always bring interesting developments with each new chapter posted, truly a magnificent story.

 

[John_Smith]

With a heavy sigh, he reclined back into his seat, making his exhausted form even smaller than it usually was. He looked into the light emanating from a small lamp settled atop his desk. The old thing had lost the power it once had, barely lighting up even the pile of most likely important papers found next to it, making his only functioning eye thankful for the unintentional, merciful accommodation. As he played back the tense meeting that had occurred less than an hour ago, he could not help but feel his throat drying up, begging for even a drop of water to soothe his woes and try to forget the face of the cold man he had debated with only moments ago.

​

No words, no matter how veiled in honesty, manifold promises coated with niceties and kind descriptions, none could quite pierce the unshakeable façade the Slovene Colonel built around him, and the Ban was uncertain if he could ever, in this lifetime, at least, be able to have him by his side.

„Your Excellency, as much as I would like to accept your countless offers, they are merely meaningless words until I can see actions speaking for them. Until then, they are as good as a heap of leaves haphazardly blown around by the fall wind. Until such time, I cannot, in good conscience, consider you an oathkeeper while the fate of my people hangs in balance.“

Novak's measured responses only agitated him further, and he could not, even after sixty three years of experience on this Earth, get an assuring impression from some Slovene soldier who wielded such a surprising amount of power in this war that is slowly threatening to break apart the nation's ever dividing leadership.

„Sacrifices can show more than earnestly the commitment you have towards your goals, and your willingness to do everything that is needed to further your own ideas.“

Perhaps he just preferred speaking condescendingly to his elders. That seemed like a real possibility too, all things considering.

„Now I ask you – Are you willing to end some of your closest relationships with people in the name of a higher purpose?“

…

„It is a heavy burden you must carry, Your Excellency. Of course, if you share your misery with the right people, the pain becomes that much easier to bear. Only issue that still remains is finding those kinds of people that you can confide in without such fears of being stabbed in the back.“

„I shall do whatever is needed.“

„I have my reservations about that, but time will tell, now won't it?“

The implications were abundantly clear – Manus manum lavat. Though if one hand is to wash the other, it would have to become dirty first, and Maček became more and more stressed as he slowly began connecting the dots during his evaluation of the Slovene officer and his cohorts. Admittedly, some pieces of the complicated puzzle fit in much more apositely with the others, but it still did not make his dilemma any clearer to resolve.

„Everything can change in a year. Just think to this exact date last year and where you were then, the things you had, the people you loved… Now you may not have any of those, you may be a poor man with nothing to his name and with a cold, cold heart freezing his chest, a man with empty wind blowing through his lungs, all because of pride. It always comes before a fall, so do not let it get to your head before it is too late.“

He grew ever more paranoid with Novak's cryptic diatribes, and he could not help himself but always get lost in trying to decipher them every time after hearing the man speak in person. After four months of trying, he felt little progress achieved in that regard, though he still retained some hope of success and connection with him some time in the future. As early as humanly possible would be nice, he thought to himself dejectedly, knowing full well that empty hopes of someone else answering his prayers were just that – empty hopes. He had to make a significant difference himself, because no one else was willing to do it in his name.

Alas, young Slovene men were not the only thing on the old Ban's mind, as the recent information coming from Serbia and the Italian colony of Anderba only served to put him on edge. Maček grinds his teeth in quiet contempt for the horrifying situation he has put the entire former nation into last year. He hears a faint sound of cold liquid leaking in his left ear as violins and accordions loudly play at a wedding right down the street from his home. Perhaps this was how he had felt all those years ago, when he still had some semblance of happiness and contentment with his life. The sounds only started to echo stronger as his tired fingers diminuendoed their work on the typewriter, and he desperately pushed the rushes of nostalgia away from his thoughts eager to return to the glory days.

He still had the Germans to worry about. The pesky Nazis still observed the growing conflict within the Home Guard with keen interest, but they did not even plan on dipping their toes in the proverbial sea of discord whose waves grew taller and more crazed as time went on.

The two officials he deemed most important – Siegfried Kasche and Glaise von Horstenau, were the ones considered as necessary to keep on his side by Kemfelja, Čanić and the rest of the Reformists, though he had no idea how to delicately approach either of them.

The relationship with Horstenau was rocky at best. Maček's aborted arrest in the early days of the War for Dalmatia, Horstenau's ban on usage of airplanes by Croatian pilots during the First Republic, just to name a few. Although the German Plenipotentiary General's support of the Treaty of Friendship between Croatia and Romania improved things in some regards, the Ban was still apprehensive of just how interested the man would be in supporting Čanić's men.

Siegfried Kasche, on the other hand, closely resembled what Maček imagined Hitler's ideal Nazi would look like. Loyal to a fault to none other than the Reich, putting its interests before his own, but he had to admit that for all his perceived extremes and affection towards severe measures of action, he enjoyed his full support, from initiating the East Coast War and saving him from arrest the day after, as well as quietly voicing his concern at the Home Guard's unsatisfying performance during the first two Enemy Offensives. Of course, Kasche also demanded that young Croats be recruited and sent to fight in the East, as well as for all Croatian Jews to be hunted down and shipped off to Banjica, things to which Maček complied or simply looked the other way, no matter how much it stung him.

The idea to meet in Esplanade Hotel's coffee shop in early hours of the morning was Maček's own, after picking up that it was Horstenau's favorite place in Zagreb for dining, but in reality only hoping to get on his good side with this simple gesture. The initial plan worked, even if his bones ached from the insomnia that grew sporadically present in his life and the distance his feet had to cover on his way to the luxury hotel.

Esplanate Hotel in Zagreb, site of the early August meeting between Maček, Kasche and Horstenau (photo from 1934)
​

Upon shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with the two men, the older of whom already gorged himself on some fried eggs and bacon [1], Maček initiated the conversation while trying to avert his gaze from the alluring smell of Horstenau's food and Kasche's coffee.

Unfortunately, not much time had passed before the obviousness of the three men's unyielding personal views came to a head. Maček sighed quietly as he looked into Kasche's sharp eyes.

„You have got to understand that I would not have called this meeting if it were not of utmost importance.“

„I can see that, but it is hardly deserving of a pat on the back.“

„What I need right now is your support, Mister Kasche, as well as yours, Mister Horstenau. The Supreme Commander's power only grows stronger, and his influence that extends into other branches of the government is truly worrisome for me as well as my colleagues.“

„Are you implying what I think you're implying?“

„The only important thing here is that as long as Kvaternik presides over the armed forces, the risk of this regime crumbling before your very eyes is apparent, I daresay even inevitable. Men with such lust for power can never be satiated enough, not as long as they have someone else to look up at from their present positions…“

He felt bile rising in his throat as he calumniated the man that had saved his country from certain doom barely over a year ago, and yet the need within him to do so anyway, to sputter exaggerated lies and deceitful statements just to further his most trusted allies' goals, burned harsher than ever.

„I must attest to His Excellency's words. Kvaternik, for lack of a better word, bungled his whole sector during Operation Durmitor, and were it not for the Wehrmacht's timely interventions, he might've bled there up until now without much thought. His strategic record is less than stellar when fighting guerrilla units, and with the sudden disappearance of over seven thousand Communists, not to mention the thousands of refugees from the northwest pouring into Croatia that need safegua---„

„Enough.“

With a single word, Horstenau managed to silence the youngest man in order to help himself find proper words to respond to Maček and Kasche's claims.

„If you do not think I already know all this, then you truly are foolish, Mister Ambassador. I am in no position to directly interfere with bringing down such a structure, not to mention the sheer implications of tearing down the old system and replacing it with a new one. If such a venture proved to be of a poor concept and execution, then I fear that not only will Kvaternik take a fall, but you as well.“

Harsh words, but nevertheless more soothing than fine lies.

„If this farce is still unresolved by the end of this year, then I fear that the game will be over for you. The Royal Croatian Home Guard needs to be a stable force in the region, to safeguard its territory so that other German troops may go fight in the East. It is either you, or Kvaternik, and make sure all this rolls over quietly, we do not need another revolt like Tito's from last year.“

Kasche jumped into the conversation again.

„Militärbefehlshaber [2] Heydrich also expressed interest in forming Croatia's own SS fighting units meant to counter the cowardly Reds. Apparently, by January 1943, Heydrich wishes to form an Orthodox Christian-exclusive professional division [3] that would maintain peace in the unstable borderlands along the Drina River. Also, some rumors say that a Muslim unit would be raised as well, if enough volunteers arrive. Of course, this is just a lot of hearsay, but if it came from the Führer himself, then I have no reason not to trust it.“

He scratched the stubble on his chin thoughtfully as he played back the conversation that had occurred almost fourteen hours ago, and while he felt like falling asleep in a second, the thoughts that he at least had Siegfried Kasche on his side and Horstenau unwilling to interfere at all, put some peace into his unsteady heart. Whilst the Slovenian National Council (Novak specifically) remained a wild card in the whole game, Maček would, by the end of the month, already begin taking measures to bring them into the fold, even if it meant damaging many of the things he had held close to his heart by that point in time. The King's plotting did not concern him, as he intended to win this, despite not knowing exactly how, in only four and a half months time. All for a higher purpose…

*****
​

[1] According to this Serbian documentary about the NDH, breakfast of bacon and eggs in Esplanade Hotel's coffee shop was Horstenau's favorite IOTL.
[2] German for Military Commander. Full name of Heydrich's position now is Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich (Military Commander in France).
[3] IOTL, with the instability of the NDH, Muslims started seeking autonomy and protection from Germany due to many massacres perpetrated against them by both the Chetniks and the Ustaše. In 1943, after many disagreements over the NDH's policy towards the Serbs (even culminating in pro-autonomy Muslims writing to Hitler in November 1942 wanting to see the Reich annex Bosnia and Herzegovina!) as well as lack of representation in the government and the faux parliament led to the Himmler-approved formation of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian). ITTL, Serbs are seen as the most endangered of the ethnic groups, due to large populations in the Bosnian Frontier, Lika and the borderlands close to the Drina that still do not feel too trusting toward the King and the Ban, which results in Himmler and Heydrich wanting to see an Orthodox Christian and a Muslim division raised in Croatia (plus all the Gothic Aryan purity nonsense transcending religious lines that was more than rampant IOTL as much as in this one, with some refinements to fit Maček's lax approach toward the Serbian people in comparison to Pavelić of OTL).

 

[John_Smith]

This is it, the final chapter of the year... It was relatively short and sweet, with not as much information being revealed as usual, but I still wanted to have something nice posted for the final day of the year. As always, make sure to post your thoughts and opinions about the chapter or the story in general, any predictions or critiques you have, anything of the sort.

I would also like to thank you for your support during this whole rough year as well as the patience to wait for irregularly published updates, I truly cannot express my gratitude enough for that

Here's to another year full of new chapters, twists and turns that hopefully nobody is expecting, and I would like to wish you all happy holidays and an even happier new year full of opportunities, happiness and fortune that will follow you in your life!

 

[Triune Kingdom]

Very interesting and very, very worrying at the same time.

Maček seems to be trying to build up opposition to the Kvaternik, but Slovenes seem to be unwilling to go against Kvazernik just now. Further concessions will be necessary I am afraid to bring them fully to the Maček's side. It also seems that Maček is feeling incredible pressure, both from the responsibilities of his office, but also from events happening elsewhere, especially in Serbia which shows him what could happen to him too, and almost did happen during the Italo-Croatian war over a year ago.

His meeting with German representatives would also serve as additional pressure brought to bear. While Kasche does seem sympathetic, Horstenau still holds most of the power, and I do not think that Maček can expect much help from Germans in ousting Kvaternik out. On the other hand, if barely mediocre performance of the Homeguard against guerillas continues, Germans will get involved, because while Croatia did earn a lot of sympathy and respect during the Dalmatian war, reserve of those things is far from endless.

If I am not mistaken and I understood their meeting, Germans will accept Kvaternik being removed, as long as it does not impact their interests and there is no confusion/infighting and possible armed uprisings? But, the worst thing is that Kvaternik has to go, else Germans will definetely get involved, thus starting the process of completely subsuming Croatia, so by the end Croatia is but a facade, with each and every important function under German control. And considering how well established the Kvaternik is in the public eye as the longtime defender of Croatia, from immediate postwar clashes with Hungary, to fighting the Italians, to say nothing about his connections with highest echelons of Nazi Germany, task of replacing will be challenging to say the least.

Worst thing is that Croatia militarily is behind where they were IOTL, since it is already August of 42, and they are lagging several months behind in regards to military organization. OTL decision to form brigades came about in April/May of 42, and every month that confusion reigns and Homeguard is incapable of performing its tasks adequately, is something that may come back to haunt Croatia. Still, it is not all doom and gloom, there is no Vojnica so Homeguard is not starved out out of equipment and personnel, most of their men are volunteers, so morale problems would be greatly lessened, and they have some people (such as Vokić) who have at least an idea how to conduct anti-partisan operations, with some homegrown knowledge how to train and to persecute such campaigns. Nevertheless, removal of Kvaternik and reorganizing Homeguard HAS to happen, the sooner the better.

Lastly, Heydrich sniffing around with his ideas of Croatian SS formations is "problematic" to say the least.

Great work, best wishes to you and yours in the coming year.

 

[Inter2010]

As a Croat, I must praise this timeline. For the first time I read a TL of alternative Croatia not ruled by Ustashas or Communists. Well structured and detailed.

 

[Triune Kingdom]

As a Croat, I must praise this timeline. For the first time I read a TL of alternative Croatia not ruled by Ustashas or Communists. Well structured and detailed.

It is nice to see somebody other then me commenting on this TL, and a Croatian as well.

Do feel free to add your thoughts and ideas to the thread, my constant fear is that we are creating an "Echo Chamber" of sorts, with myself constantly pushing the envelope of what Croatia could realisticaly do, and John_Smith is maybe pressured by me. A voice of reason would really help curb some of my worst ideas, and would really add to the realism, as well as to the TL in general.

 

[Inter2010]

It is nice to see somebody other then me commenting on this TL, and a Croatian as well.

Do feel free to add your thoughts and ideas to the thread, my constant fear is that we are creating an "Echo Chamber" of sorts, with myself constantly pushing the envelope of what Croatia could realisticaly do, and John_Smith is maybe pressured by me. A voice of reason would really help curb some of my worst ideas, and would really add to the realism, as well as to the TL in general.

Thanks.

In this TL, Croatia is limited as it is in reality. Perhaps it would be much better if the Croatian state was proclaimed on the territory of pre-war banovina. The rest of Bosnia should be under Muslim and Serbian autonomy and some kind of protectorate, but not directly annexed into Croatia. Such Croatia would be a stable state. Partisans wouldn't have the basis of building their army, and the Chetnik units would face a highly motivated Domobran units.

First and foremost, the very idea of a monarchy is in opposition to fascist ideals. I understand the idea behind it (connecting with Goring), but its significance has significantly decreased after Barbarossa. The survival of the republic would give the Maček greater legitimacy.

Killings of Muslims forces Muslims to join partisans and Tito now have new troops. Himmler would soon create the Muslim SS division as in reality.

I'm not quite sure what the significance of the Latin League is. Really, Hitler would never let the attack on Hungary as long as Barbarossa was active. Međimurje would most likely stay Hungarian until the end of war.

Furthermore, I'm not convinced that the Italians would put Pavelic if Maček had already led the country. He was, like what, third option? They simply would simply annex what they want and leave the rest to Croatia.

Yugoslav government in exile is in real problem. Without represials against Serbs, there is high chance that Allies will recognize Croatia at the end of the war, especially if Soviets did the same.

I'm advising the successful Valkyrie and the resulting chaos.

Nije puno, samo neka osobna razmišljanja.

 

[Triune Kingdom]

Sorry for taking this long to answer you, I saw your answer, but completely forgot about it.

In this TL, Croatia is limited as it is in reality. Perhaps it would be much better if the Croatian state was proclaimed on the territory of pre-war banovina. The rest of Bosnia should be under Muslim and Serbian autonomy and some kind of protectorate, but not directly annexed into Croatia. Such Croatia would be a stable state. Partisans wouldn't have the basis of building their army, and the Chetnik units would face a highly motivated Domobran units.

At first, bofore the war with Italians, lands that did not belong to Banovina, but were under their control, were called "Neprisvojene Zemlje". I believe they took them because there are sizeable numbers of people, both Muslim and Catholic, that either wished to be part of the newly established Croatia, seeing it as a better option then uncertain future under either German or even Serbian rule.

As for resistance to Croatian rule, I would say that TTL Croatia is much more stable then OTL. Chetniks will and did make their appereance, but without Ustaša atrocities Serbian population will have a lot less reason to join either Četniks or Partisans. We must be aware that both Serbs and Muslims have representation in Croatian Government at the moment, and the state is neither abusing them, or actively working on exterminating them. And I will say that Croatia putting up a fight against Italy has given Government enough credibility in the eyes of the people, and that morale of Homeguard is going to be miles ahead OTL, but Homeguard does still face several large problems.

First and foremost, the very idea of a monarchy is in opposition to fascist ideals. I understand the idea behind it (connecting with Goring), but its significance has significantly decreased after Barbarossa. The survival of the republic would give the Maček greater legitimacy.

True, but considering that Italians wanted to get the best deal they could after suffering another humiliation, it is not hard to imagine insisting on Croatia being ruled by Italian Royal Family, if only for symbolic/propaganda reasons. I think the only reason that Italians actually managed to get away with it is because Germans were busy with planning Barbarossa, and possibly said that they would get involved if Croatia and Italy could not come to an agreement.

Killings of Muslims forces Muslims to join partisans and Tito now have new troops. Himmler would soon create the Muslim SS division as in reality.

Yes, Muslim killings may have pushed some Muslims towards Partisans, but fact is that Partisans really do not have that much attraction for the people, especially with relatively sane Croatia in the play. Only reason why these Muslims went with Partisans is because Homeguards is poorly led and organized, suffering from Kvaternik and other old officers ways of leading a campaign. Tito and Partizans will not enjoy the fraction of support they had in OTL, and once Homeguard gets its act together we may very well see some very hard times ahead for the Partisans.

I'm not quite sure what the significance of the Latin League is. Really, Hitler would never let the attack on Hungary as long as Barbarossa was active. Međimurje would most likely stay Hungarian until the end of war.

I would not say that it was solely aimed against Hungary, in an effort for both countries to restore lost territories. As I understand it, it was idea of Filip, to create a grouping of small Axis nations, which cooperate in economics and military, as @John_Smith said, a Axis proto-EU of sorts.

Furthermore, I'm not convinced that the Italians would put Pavelic if Maček had already led the country. He was, like what, third option? They simply would simply annex what they want and leave the rest to Croatia.

You are most likely correct, they would accept Maček over Pavelić, but there was one small problem. Maček was not an piece of shit traitor, who was willing to turn over a sizeable part of his country to another nation, instead they fought it out, and while Croatia still lost some territory, at least they made a fight of it. Pavelić on the other hand went to ruin my hometown, in his "Republic of Ragusa" which is neither Republic nor Ragusan, where he and his merry band of butchers get to murder every "undesireable" they can get their hands on.

Yugoslav government in exile is in real problem. Without represials against Serbs, there is high chance that Allies will recognize Croatia at the end of the war, especially if Soviets did the same.

I'm advising the successful Valkyrie and the resulting chaos.

I am afraid that I must disagree with you slightly on this point. While Yugoslav government in exile is recognized as a legitemate goverment of Yugoslavia, they really have little to offer to the Allies, and lest we forget, this is late summer of 42, and war is still far from won, and Allies need men, ships, aircraft.....

Unless there was some significant departure from OTL, Yugoslav forces are rather small to say the least. There are Četniks, but considering the likely greater interest Allies will have in the area, it will not take long until they found out that Četniks do cooperate with Italians and Germans to a substantial degree. As for regular forces, they have roughly a battalion of infantry, which OTL was attached to a Indian Brigade during Italian campaign, 2 torpedo boats and a submarine, and 10 floatplanes. They really do not have a lot off pull with Allies at the moment.

Add to that Churchills interest in Croatia flipping sides and providing the Allies entrance to the "Soft Underbelly" of Europe, as well as protest in front of the White House, and Yugoslav goverment will have a lot less pull.

That is what we hope for I think, Allied recognition and spending the Cold War as a Western aligned nation. I hope that is so, if not my notes on merits of Mirage III versus F-104 would be quite useless.

Nije puno, samo neka osobna razmišljanja.

Neka.

I do hope you have more, since it oftentimes seems that I am only one that comments on this thread, and I would like to see more activity here.

 

[Inter2010]

Sorry for taking this long to answer you, I saw your answer, but completely forgot about it.

No problem, I'm glad we have our TL here.

At first, bofore the war with Italians, lands that did not belong to Banovina, but were under their control, were called "Neprisvojene Zemlje". I believe they took them because there are sizeable numbers of people, both Muslim and Catholic, that either wished to be part of the newly established Croatia, seeing it as a better option then uncertain future under either German or even Serbian rule.

Makes sense. Strategic depth of territory is a problem for Croatia even today, let alone in WW2.

As for resistance to Croatian rule, I would say that TTL Croatia is much more stable then OTL. Chetniks will and did make their appereance, but without Ustaša atrocities Serbian population will have a lot less reason to join either Četniks or Partisans. We must be aware that both Serbs and Muslims have representation in Croatian Government at the moment, and the state is neither abusing them, or actively working on exterminating them. And I will say that Croatia putting up a fight against Italy has given Government enough credibility in the eyes of the people, and that morale of Homeguard is going to be miles ahead OTL, but Homeguard does still face several large problems.

It should be much more stable. However, I'm deeply convinced that even without Ustashas idiots there would be a Serbian uprising and that the Germans and the Italians would be constantly interefered into Croatian internal affairs. Especially Italians, and especially after short war. However, without Ustashas and with some attempt of democracy, Croatia would have a lot to offer to the Western Allies. Croatia might eventually have Finland's status.

True, but considering that Italians wanted to get the best deal they could after suffering another humiliation, it is not hard to imagine insisting on Croatia being ruled by Italian Royal Family, if only for symbolic/propaganda reasons. I think the only reason that Italians actually managed to get away with it is because Germans were busy with planning Barbarossa, and possibly said that they would get involved if Croatia and Italy could not come to an agreement.

Italians are largely dependent on Germans so I don't think Hitler would have the patience to listen constant weeping of the Italians. Croatia, would be at least a stable state that don't require a lot of German resources. I suppose that Maček would be closer to the Germans than to the Italians and if he decide that Croatia should stay republic, I guess that Germans would accept this.

In our time, Pavelic offered himself a monarchy. Savoys were not interested at all.

Yes, Muslim killings may have pushed some Muslims towards Partisans, but fact is that Partisans really do not have that much attraction for the people, especially with relatively sane Croatia in the play. Only reason why these Muslims went with Partisans is because Homeguards is poorly led and organized, suffering from Kvaternik and other old officers ways of leading a campaign. Tito and Partizans will not enjoy the fraction of support they had in OTL, and once Homeguard gets its act together we may very well see some very hard times ahead for the Partisans.

Perhaps the creation of a Muslim legion within the Domobranstvo would make things easier? Well, if Maček don't react quickly, Tito's propaganda will start to spread. Purging Domobranstvo of old officers should significantly increase efficiency.

I would not say that it was solely aimed against Hungary, in an effort for both countries to restore lost territories. As I understand it, it was idea of Filip, to create a grouping of small Axis nations, which cooperate in economics and military, as @John_Smith said, a Axis proto-EU of sorts.

Hm, well, regarding, Filip...Yugoslav Queen was Romanian. How would this affect Romanian-Yugoslav (Serbian)-Croatian relations? This move would be either Croatian victory inside European Royal circles either grave mistake.

Yeah, so prototipe EU. This should be interesting.

You are most likely correct, they would accept Maček over Pavelić, but there was one small problem. Maček was not an piece of shit traitor, who was willing to turn over a sizeable part of his country to another nation, instead they fought it out, and while Croatia still lost some territory, at least they made a fight of it. Pavelić on the other hand went to ruin my hometown, in his "Republic of Ragusa" which is neither Republic nor Ragusan, where he and his merry band of butchers get to murder every "undesireable" they can get their hands on.

Yeah, I agree. Germans would most likely solve this war in Italian benefit, but I don't think they would tolerate such idiots in the middle of Barbarossa. Sincerly, I can't find any benefit that Italians would gain by installing Pavelić into power in one coastal city.

I am afraid that I must disagree with you slightly on this point. While Yugoslav government in exile is recognized as a legitemate goverment of Yugoslavia, they really have little to offer to the Allies, and lest we forget, this is late summer of 42, and war is still far from won, and Allies need men, ships, aircraft.....

Unless there was some significant departure from OTL, Yugoslav forces are rather small to say the least. There are Četniks, but considering the likely greater interest Allies will have in the area, it will not take long until they found out that Četniks do cooperate with Italians and Germans to a substantial degree. As for regular forces, they have roughly a battalion of infantry, which OTL was attached to a Indian Brigade during Italian campaign, 2 torpedo boats and a submarine, and 10 floatplanes. They really do not have a lot off pull with Allies at the moment.

Add to that Churchills interest in Croatia flipping sides and providing the Allies entrance to the "Soft Underbelly" of Europe, as well as protest in front of the White House, and Yugoslav goverment will have a lot less pull.

That is what we hope for I think, Allied recognition and spending the Cold War as a Western aligned nation. I hope that is so, if not my notes on merits of Mirage III versus F-104 would be quite useless.

Neka.

I do hope you have more, since it oftentimes seems that I am only one that comments on this thread, and I would like to see more activity here.

Allies have a problem, and no Teheran conference has yet been held. But here I see a big difference. Soviet Union recognized Croatia. This would mean that Tito does not have Moscow support? If that is a case, there is no agreement to help Tito. Chetniks are in open collaboration ot at the best they're doing nothing. Most likely, there would be no post ww2 Yugoslavia.

Budem pokušao, u svakom slučaju hvala na dobrodošlici.

 

[Triune Kingdom]

Makes sense. Strategic depth of territory is a problem for Croatia even today, let alone in WW2.

Still, in regards to strategic depth this Croatia is must better off then its OTL counterpart, at least in some ways, and a bit worse off in others. Main problem areas are the Southern border with Italy/Ragusa and Eastern borders with Serbia and Montenegro.

In South, Italians are actively prosecuting Croatian population and aiding the Chetniks there, but on the other hand there is no demilltarized zone of OTL, which Croatian troops were forbidden from approaching. Here Homeguard has a much greater autonomy and range of movement, which will hamper both Chetnik and Partisan activity in the area.

Serbian border, especially areas of Eastern Bosnia are the greatest problems I believe. They are relatively undeveloped areas, with little infrastructure in place, population that is not inclined towards the Croatian state, and border is porous to say the least. We can expect a lot of problems there, coming from both the Chetniks and Communists, and I fully believe Croatia is going to struggle there.

It should be much more stable. However, I'm deeply convinced that even without Ustashas idiots there would be a Serbian uprising and that the Germans and the Italians would be constantly interefered into Croatian internal affairs. Especially Italians, and especially after short war. However, without Ustashas and with some attempt of democracy, Croatia would have a lot to offer to the Western Allies. Croatia might eventually have Finland's status.

There was an uprising of sorts, but that seems to be generally caused by Italians agitating and arming Serbs from territories which they took after Italo-Croatian War. But, we must not underestimate the amount of power given to the Serbian population, since they are represented in government, and actually control few ministries as well, which will ensure quite a few Serbs that Croatian state is not their enemy. We should also consider the amount of Serbs in Homeguard and Gendarmerie, most of them being prewar professionals who will stay in service, instead of being forced out and then persecuted, thus pushing them towards Partizans/Četniks as IOTL.

As for post war, John has been very tight lipped about it even in PMs, but Croatia's worth to the Allies mainly depends on where Iron Curtain comes down. As for Finlandization, I must admit that is something I never really thought about, but it is a valid idea, well worth considering.

Italians are largely dependent on Germans so I don't think Hitler would have the patience to listen constant weeping of the Italians. Croatia, would be at least a stable state that don't require a lot of German resources. I suppose that Maček would be closer to the Germans than to the Italians and if he decide that Croatia should stay republic, I guess that Germans would accept this.

In our time, Pavelic offered himself a monarchy. Savoys were not interested at all.

Croatia is much more German oriented and influenced then it was IOTL, at least then it was in this point in time. Croatia managed to win itself quite a bit of goodwill during the conflict with Italy, since everybody loves an underdog and we must not forget crazy racial theories Nazis had, which somehow ends up with Croatians being (Ostro?)Goths.

As for the Monarchy, I believe it was almost a perfect storm type of situation, where all stars aligned and Croatia ended up as a Monarchy. We must not underestimate the amount of humiliation Italy suffered against Croatia, and they were very desperate to portray the conflict as a victory to its people, so they probably insisted heavily on Italian monarch on Croatian throne, fascism be damned. Italy also faces a lot of problems both at home and abroad, with Facist Council likely being split, people unhappy over the course of the war and situation in N.Africa where Italian troops are rapidly being sidelined by Germans.

I would not be suprised that Croatia managed to reduce the amount of territory being turned over to Italy by accepting Filip and his Italian princess. Lastly, there are Germans, who probably threatened to stomp both nations if they do not play nice and stop bickering, which likely smoothed over many of the problems both sides had with peace treaty.

Perhaps the creation of a Muslim legion within the Domobranstvo would make things easier? Well, if Maček don't react quickly, Tito's propaganda will start to spread. Purging Domobranstvo of old officers should significantly increase efficiency.

These SS units are not going to be under Homeguard jurisdiction in any way, shape or form, these are SS formations first and formost, and while they will cooperate with Homeguard units, they will be under German command.

Tito and Partisans are much weaker, and while they may try to use that as a propaganda, it is not like nobody knows that Croatia is technicaly still under German control, Croatia does have a very long leash, but it is leash nevertheless.

It is not just the matter of getting rid of the old officers, Homeguard needs a very deep reform to make it into a force capable of both persecuting counterinsurgency operations, as well as still being capable of fighting a conventional war. We are talking about reorganizing from divisions to brigades, changing the training of all the ranks, getting sufficient and adequate equipment and weapons for the task.... That is not something that is either quick nor easy to do in peacetime, let alone in the wartime.

Hm, well, regarding, Filip...Yugoslav Queen was Romanian. How would this affect Romanian-Yugoslav (Serbian)-Croatian relations? This move would be either Croatian victory inside European Royal circles either grave mistake.

Yeah, so prototipe EU. This should be interesting.

I do not know the details very much, but it did not bother the Romanians much OTL I suppose. How much other European Royal Houses may actually care I also do not know, since it seems that most of them are either in exile, occupied or collaborating.

Do not get excited too much over proto-Royalist-Axis-EU. This is not the soft cuddly version of today, we are talking about two dictatorships, who are generally united only in their hatred of Hungary and by "loyalty" to the Nazi Germany.

Sincerly, I can't find any benefit that Italians would gain by installing Pavelić into power in one coastal city.

Carving off another part of Croatia, while installing a loyal lapdog nearby in an effort to try and destabilize Croatia by his proximity.

Allies have a problem, and no Teheran conference has yet been held. But here I see a big difference. Soviet Union recognized Croatia. This would mean that Tito does not have Moscow support? If that is a case, there is no agreement to help Tito. Chetniks are in open collaboration ot at the best they're doing nothing. Most likely, there would be no post ww2 Yugoslavia.

Budem pokušao, u svakom slučaju hvala na dobrodošlici.

True, S.U did recognize Croatia, and Croatia did not declare war on anybody yet. So interesting times are ahead. As for Tito, Stalin did not reinforce a failure, and Tito may find that he must obey Moscow orders or else, since there is a possibility of Croatia becoming a Western aligned nation on the Balkans. We could easily see a NATO Croatia with Warsaw Pact rump "Yugoslavia" enacting a smaller version of Cold War in the Western Balkans, and Tito is not going to be able to play "Unaligned" since the West already have a alternative in the area.

Do try, I actually very much enjoy somebody else commenting here for a change.

But, please be aware, these are my own thoughts on the matter, and I might be very much mistaken. I must also add that politics are very much my weak spot, and I find military matters much more interesting since I posess much more knowledge on the matter. Just ask John, I nearly killed the poor man with PMs. Just take everything I posted with a grain of salt.

 

[John_Smith]

Nice to see so many comments and opinions here! Unfortunately I do not have a chapter ready yet, I'm struggling to find the right words to sufficiently explain further developments of the Čapljić Plan, but I'll try and address some of the things @Triune Kingdom and @Inter2010 spoke of quickly.

As to why Pavelić still got his peace of land to torment... Farinacci, with his pride wounded after the War, wanted to establish a state that would challenge the Republic's (later Kingdom's) claim as the rightful Croatian nation, which is not illegal in itself, and what Farinacci wants most (other than the restoration of Italian/Roman glory) is not having the Germans pissed off at the Italians once more. Simply annexing the coast around Dubrovnik would send a bad precedent toward the Croats, who Farinacci still needs to control the east coast of the Adriatic. The situation between the Kingdom and Ragusa is quite similar to OTL's North and South Korea, except imagine if the US and the SU each had a land border with the two little nations... Quite a barrel of gunpowder that is, now it all depends on how long everyone will be able to hold the matchstick before the heat simply becomes too much and it gets dropped into it.

The border with Serbia is quite messy, where not even the Croatian government can still spread its influence. Mindless violence, paranoia and crippling anxiety seem to have become the norm in the area for all non-Serbs, as Mihailović still has no intention of stopping the destabilization of Croatia any time soon.

The monarchy really was a surprisingly functional compromise to all sides. Italy is ensured an heir of Italian blood on the Croatian throne, the Germans get a prince of their own on the throne, and the Croats don't really mind it (seeing as they still view the Germans as their saviors from Yugoslav oppression). Unfortunately, Filip has his own desires for power, and as time passes, the diarchy with Maček seems more and more concerning to his own ambitions (from his perspective), and the trust between the two seemingly never gets a chance to grow into something great for the country. As long as their relationship continues to deteriorate, Croatia runs the risk of collapsing in on itself (if you also consider the Home Guard conflict that is still brewing ominously in the background).

As for post-war stuff, I seriously haven't a clue as to how it might look. I'm not really the type of writer that plans ahead, I much prefer improvisation and natural bouts of inspiration, and as I continuously learn of facts that I had never even considered before, the story changes with them as well. I just have a rough idea of how I'd like it to turn out, but my hopes were already dashed before as I studied the period more, but I don't really mind it, because it is as exciting for me to write as much it is for others to read it.

Axis EU stuff: For now, it is just an alliance between the two nations, nothing more, those are very much Filip's own dreams. More nations have got to join, but for now, the entire Croat government prefers taking care of its internal affairs and issues rather than any geopolitical alliances. Maybe in 1943, but definitely doubtful for '42. And yes, imagine today's EU, but every law has its loopholes and things that basically ensure that your freedoms are nonexistent. Kind of like Article 13 on steroids... Not a European Union I'd ever want to live in, even if I really hold no sympathy towards the EU of our world.

Muslims and Orthodox Serbs and Croats will receive their respective SS units, if Heydrich is to be believed. The SS will act completely independently of the Home Guard, will have a German-speaking Nazi chain of commanders and will only cooperate with the Croatian armed forces if need be. But the only men they are loyal to are Heydrich, Himmler and Hitler, no one else.

As for royal families intermarrying and all the complex intrigues those developments bring forth... To be frank, I don't really know, I have not thought about it much, but it all depends on the institution of the King himself surviving the War, it can go either way, honestly, and the legacy he leaves behind will definitely be important.

 

[John_Smith]

The Čapljić Plan, as grandiose and as well-funded by the government as it could possibly be, was not limited only to agriculture and oil refineries. While the recently renamed IBM focused most of its funds toward improving peasants' and farmers' lives, alleviating their pains by buying seeds, cattle, grain and machinery (combine harvesters and tractors) and even constructing some of it (such as simple two-wheel tractors), a single company could hardly bear the burden that such an expansive program entailed. Želimir Mažuranić, Čapljić's right-hand man, admitted to King Filip in one of their meetings that IBM's money was becoming insufficient as the constant outpouring of new ideas slipped from paper into reality.

Aleksandar Ehrmann received company, when not long after him, Leo Miler [1] was declared an honorary Aryan, and a few others soon followed, Ivan Rikard Ivanović [2] included. In fact, after meeting Filip for the first time, Ivanović was so pleasantly surprised by the man that he became one of the most vocal supporters of the United Monarchy up until his death. Miler, on the other hand, was a well known, and in some circles quite beloved businessman who was the perfect choice to share Ehrmann's safety, not only because of his sizable fortune, but also for the large brick factory and brickyard in Karlovac that he inherited upon his father's passing which were desperately needed, to quote Mažuranić.

When everything was said and done, architecture could finally be taken care of. The working class was specifically taken into consideration, with numerous government-funded workers' settlements (radnička naselja) emerging on the outskirts of larger cities (e.g. Zagreb, Sisak, Varaždin, Zenica, Split, Sarajevo, etc.) that offered comfortable and affordable housing for people to enjoy after finishing their laborious shifts. The names assigned to those places, though, seldom varied, and it was not long before people started noticing, and beginning to make fun of only four different names [3] assigned to over a dozen different neighborhoods scattered around the country.

Construction of Antunovo (workers' settlement outside Osijek) in progress, summer 1942
​

Advertisement for the new suburban housing was truly astonishing, and it was quite noticeable how much money the government actually invested into spreading the word. Radio programs were littered with short commercials where many famous people (actors such as Janko Rakuša, priests like Alojzije Stepinac and writers such as Zlatko Milković) recommended the government's new economic policy in glowing terms. Countless posters were glued to walls across the cities, eagerly displaying scenes from the suburban life of a satisfied common worker, even catching the attention of those that found no benefit from whatever the colorful posters were offering.

Contrary to the American suburbs of the early Nuclear Age, which prided themselves on being founded upon the ideals of the American dream and what later came to be referred to as the nuclear family, with a strong sense of community accompanying it, the Croatian version proved to be quite different. Due to the weaker purchasing power of the working class, the houses that the government built specifically for it proved to be a far cry from the comely, albeit formulaic homes of the United States, and the workers' settlements soon came to be viewed as crime-ridden and poor by the middle and upper classes of the inner cities. One additional, noticeable difference, though, came in the form of the their affability – whilst American suburbs very soon came to be criticized for their exclusivity and isolationism with regards to class and ethnicity, that line was much blurrier, if not nonexistent in Croatia where suburbs became some of the most ethnically diverse areas of the nation. No experts nor historians can exactly pinpoint the exact reason why this had occurred, but many begrudgingly accept the simple answer of such differences mattering very little when life itself was a difficult one for everyone living there, concerning both finances and job opportunities in general, and a sense of camaraderie and friendship developing from mutual struggles and suffering.

Architecture itself was not necessarily limited to seemingly unimpressive thousands of identical houses on the edge of the cities. A large amount of plans for public works, schematics and publicized projects became known throughout newspaper publications, with many opulent men taking interest in the ideas as well, helping the state fund many of them, such as the expansion of the Sarajevo airfield into a full fledged modern airport that was finished in early 1944. Other similar projects included luxury hotels aimed at German tourists (such as the one on Plitvice), cultural centers in various locations, even places of worship for the three respective national faiths, post office buildings, art galleries, just to name a few.

Rough sketch of what later came to be the modern Sarajevo airport, located in Butmir
​

As a man of culture who is appreciative of fine art, one of Filip's personal goals was the adoption of Heimatstil [4], believing fully in German architect Paul Schultze-Naumburg's quote.

„Best German architecture of the past creates in the observer a sense of it growing from the ground itself, like the rest of the fruits of nature, like a tree whose very roots deeply permeate the soil and become one with it. That is what develops within us an understanding of Heimat [home] and the feeling of a connection between blood and Erde [earth].“
​

Thanks in no small part to his intimate connections with Hermann Göring, the Golden Lion got into contact with Albert Speer, reports of whose masterpieces certainly did not miss both Filip's ears and eyes. He politely inquired Hitler's chief architect during one of their meetings of possibly creating schematics of a building that would fuse the fates of Croatia and its eternal ally Germany, their blood, and their earth.

Speer, as expected, did not disappoint him, for he was soon in possession of a sketch of quite a beautiful, nigh monumental construction that left him breathless when looking at it. It featured the Parteiadler [5] looking imposingly onto the would-be visitors that were to enter the sprawling halls by pushing the knob in the shape of a fierce lion, his dynasty's pride and fortune. The change in styles, from the unattractive interwar modernist structuring to the new, utilitarian Nazi architecture was quickly taken notice of by many, and Filip's opponents jumped at the opportunity to proclaim their King a German in Croat's clothing, much to his chagrin, but as he looked upon the first town hall that was completed in Karlovac, he could not help but forget the unimportant insults while his chest swelled with joy at what he felt was another symbol foreshadowing his family's successful rise to power and its triumphs at keeping it, even if he had some more matters to attend to before he could finally proclaim it as truth…

Speer's sketch of the Heimat, a building that would soon replace many town halls throughout the Kingdom
​

The Drina Borderlands (Drinsko pograničje) were not on Filip's mind, unfortunately enough, with the King far too preoccupied with pursuing his own passion projects. Underdeveloped, under constant threat of Chetnik bands of marauders that pillaged and razed non-Serb villages in the area without second thought, with the Gendarmerie struggling to gain the upper hand in the ceaseless bloody conflict to maintain peace in its lands. The mess of the situation was, therefore, left to the Ministry of Traffic to sort out.

Regrettably, Mihailović's men were not the only problem for the area, as the accursed ministry (ukleto ministarstvo; term oft attributed to Supply and Nutrition Minister Rudolf Horvat) had its leaders drop like flies and its policies change aimlessly, without much forethought. In merely sixteen months, the Maček Government had already seen five men be called Minister of Traffic, and three of them had died while in office. Ivan Pernar (HSS), inaugural holder of the title, perished during the War for Dalmatia, Alija Šuljak (HMO) served only as interim minister until Edhem Bičakčić [6] (HMO) took office, and then he died from a sudden heart attack on the second day of the new year. He was followed by Ademaga Mešić [7] (HMO), an experienced old man, by all means, but it all mattered little since he suddenly died in a car crash in early August 1942 before his plans could really be set into motion. Many believe it had occurred due to the driver's poor eyesight, or because of a malfunctioning car, but some (mostly HMO members) still suspect foul play. Now, Hilmija Bešlagić (HMO) [8] was voted into office, and with the fourth program drafted, it is up to him to try and break the superstitious belief that had already formed around his Ministry, all this while many already dismiss his program as a premature failure, all this while thousands of poor peasants still have to fend for themselves with little more than hayforks and axes…

Irrigation systems were built along the Neretva (close to the Adriatic Sea) and the Bosna (confluence of the Sava river) rivers, allowing for large plantations to be grown, which eventually resulted in a surplus of Mediterranean citrus fruits (tangerines, lemons, oranges) and crops of wheat, mustard and barley that have been planted on fertile alluvial soil being exported to other countries of the Axis bloc (Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany). Starvation was a constant threat since even the Banovina, but finally, after three years of food scarcities, ration stamps and hyperinflated prices, most citizens of Croatia (from lower to upper classes) could finally breathe a sigh of relief at the positive developments.

A field of white mustard close to the Bosna
​

Electricity was also taken into consideration as well, though progress was quite slow on that front, with a deal being negotiated between Finance Minister Juraj Šutej and the Siemens subsidiary located in Zagreb regarding the availability of electricity in all corners of Croatia, the issue of which lasted for quite some time, though ultimately it was largely successful. An ambitious plan was put forth, to create an artificial lake in Herzegovina utilizing the power of the Neretva river and its tributaries with the generous help of newly acquired generators and electrical substations from the company itself. The project was incredibly expensive, and the Zachlumian Lake [9] (Zahumsko jezero in Croatian) was worked on until the end of the war, when it was finally opened, offering popular activities such as fishing, swimming and boating to the public all the while producing large amounts of hydroelectric power to provide for the remainder of the country.

The saltworks in Tuzla began to be thoroughly modernized and improved with whatever budget was left remaining in the government's coffers, and it was followed by the increased output of iron mines in Vareš and Ljubija, whose ores were sold at differing prices (sometimes favorable, more often than not too cheaply) to help the German war effort in a number of agreements between Forestry and Mining Minister Džafer Kulenović and Siegfried Kasche. Not all valuable silver-colored ore found itself in German hands, with all of the remaining bits and pieces being split between the shipyard in Split, the ironworks in Zenica and the IBM in Brod na Savi, the latter of which utilized minted iron for strengthening railroads, building new locomotives for both civilian and military use whilst one third was stored in Split, not really being used for anything until a sudden discovery that happened at the later stages of the Second World War.

*****
​

[1] Had to change his name from Müller to Miler and convert to Catholicism in 1938 because of the rampant emergence of antisemitism in Yugoslavia. Owned several brick factories and brickyards, a chemical laboratory he converted into a flourishing plantation of fruits and vegetables on a location known as Miler's Hill (Milerov breg) and a mine in Kosovska Mitrovica. He was adored by his employees for providing them with a Catholic church built specifically for them in front of a brick factory of his, organizing night school lessons, having a kitchen serving them hot meals, and even a workers' orchestra… With each new information I find about this man, I like him even more. Sadly, he was murdered in Jasenovac in 1941 after Pavelić ignored Stepinac's plea for mercy, but ITTL, with a more sensible and sympathetic Maček at the helm, the priest's hopes are not dashed, and he lives on.
[2] Belonged to one of the richest families of royal Yugoslavia thanks to Ivanović's IPOIL A.D. (refinery of mineral oil in Osijek), sugar refineries, steam mills, IVANAL A.D. (first aluminum factory in the Balkans that began its work in 1937), etc. ITTL the aluminum factory was nationalized by Italy, and Ivanović sees the opportunity of aligning himself with Croatia by giving them money and material in exchange for having his rightful property restored to his name in the future as well as safety from the Gestapo.
[3] IOTL the workers' settlement built in Zagreb was named the Workers' Settlement Dr Ante Starčević (Radničko naselje dr. Ante Starčević) after the founder of what is today the Croatian Party of Rights, whom the Ustaše regime worshipped as the founder of their ideology. ITTL, out of respect for his fallen allies and men that he ideologically supported, Maček requested that the new neighborhoods across the nation be named after Stjepan Radić (Stjepanovac), Antun Radić (Antunovo), Matija Gubec (Gubec-grad) and August Košutić (Augustinec).
[4] Essentially what Nazi architecture was – a blend of stripped-down neoclassicism typified by Speer, a utilitarian style typical for major infrastructure projects and industrial or military complexes and a vernacular style that drew inspiration from traditional rural architecture. While IOTL the only trace of Nazi architecture in Croatia was the Heimat Workers' Hall in Osijek (built in 1941, destroyed in 1981; presumably built by Speer, although unknown if true, however in this story there are no qualms about it), ITTL with a much larger influence of Germany and a Germanophile head of state, it is reasonable to assume there would be many more Nazi-looking buildings in Croatia.
[5] During the Third Reich, the traditional Imperial Eagle of the German flag was referred to as the Party's Eagle, and was utilized heavily in Nazi heraldry.
[6] Died pretty much on schedule, just like OTL.
[7] IOTL Mešić left the JMO out of protest for his party joining the coalition formed around the JRZ in 1935, believing that it abandoned the goal of an autonomous Bosnia. This led to a group of influential ex-JMO members joining the HSS and forming the MO HSS (Muslim Organization of the Croatian Peasant Party). ITTL, after the Kulenović brothers draft a new political program for the HMO, the MO HSS decides to rejoin the party (also done as a sign of good faith for the Republican Coalition's future).
[8] Bringing it full circle, seeing as Bešlagić was Minister of Traffic and Public Works of the Independent State of Croatia IOTL at this time.
[9] Equivalent to OTL Jablanica Lake (named after the medieval principality that controlled the area where modern-day Jablanica is), but with more care put into introducing native and endemic species into the new ecosystem (the whole thing got wrecked IOTL because of negligence and half-assed maintenance that resulted in numerous invasive species being introduced to the ecosystem, in turn threatening not only the lake, but the entire Neretva river) because hey, Heydrich is still alive, can we at least spare the poor innocent fish in this story?

 

[Triune Kingdom]

The Čapljić Plan

Nice work, Croatian industry, or at least IBM, keeps developing and financial problems are somewhat mitigated by Jews and financial injection they provide. While this may allow quite a few richer Jews to escape the SS, by being proclaimed honorary Aryans, one can not help by think about those who can not pay for their lives. Germans will not be fooled for long either, and other ways will have to be found if they want to help the Croatian Jews, while being mindful of the Holocaust.

But, I am very much interested in what "United Monarchy" is. Ujedinjena Monarhija or perhaps Sjedinjena Monarhija in Croatian, does sound like a very interesting idea.

radnička naselja

This is one of my favourite parts of the chapter, with goverment providing cheap and decent homes for the workers. Moving them from slums and inadequate housing of cities, as well as providing affordable housing for people coming to cities to work. The differences between OTL USA suburbia and Croatian equivalent is also a very nice addition, seeing how Croatian version is firmly lower class housing, with better off people living in cities. The poster was also an extremely nice touch, nice bit of work there.

Architecture

Other buildings are also not ignored I see, and its certain that many Croatian cities will be completely unrecognizable to people from OTL. Very much liked the portrayal of influence Germany has on Croatia, which extends into fields people usually do not think about. Monumental buildings, such as various governmental buildings, and especially Sarajevo Airport will be a long term reminder of that period in time, but nice touch with Plitvice hotel built to accomodate mostly (if not exclusively) German guests.

Filip seems to be taking some flak for it, but considering that he is a German, calling him a "German in Croat's clothing" is more or less stating a fact. But, that forshadowing at the end, sounds like he is planning a purge.

Drinsko pograničje I poljoprivreda.

Lack of care for these areas is problematic to say the least, this may come to haunt them in the future. Hopefully after the string of bad luck the Traffic Ministry will get to work, as will the Homeguards to bring law andborder to these areas, lest they become a bleeding sore. I am somewhat suprised that they are not somewhat more proactive with policing and administrating these areas, and allowing all manners of guerillas free reign to butcher, rape and pillage at will. Well, Homeguard is for intents and purposes paralyized due to conflict boiling within, and Oružništvo is probably simply not up to task of confronting paramilitary formations, more suited for chasing poachers, illegal loggers and highway robbers.

As for agricultural improvements, I can say that I am very much happy about them. They have done a lot, allowing them not only to keep the people fed, but unless I am mistaken, to remove ration stamps, if only for some basic food items. They also have enough to even export the surplus, and that stands to become a rather nice way to acquire some foreign currency, and more "luxurious" items will certainly become a highly valued item in various Axis (and even a few Neutral) nations. Good work.

Electricity

This is one of the most highly ambitious projects they have undertaken, but also one which could bring the most benefits. It is a large source of work for unskilled labour, but it is also a highly visible project, whose benefits will be felt amongst the population strongly.

I do hope it is not only project of electrification, merely the largest and the most expensive one. Many smaller hydroelectric dams could be built for a fraction of a cost and labour, and while they would be limited in their impact on the country as a whole, they would still enable many smaller towns and more rural areas to electrify.

Industry

Good point about saltworks, refrigeration is almost completely unknown in Croatia by this point in time, and canning is relatively small scale, mostly fish if I recall correctly. Salt is still a very needed item, not just for preservation of food, but also for various livestock.

Iron mines (and likely other mining operations such as coal) expanding their operations and output is good news, Croatian foreign exchange is likely to be very healthy for some time at least. But, I do wonder about where the iron goes. I understand both Zenica Ironworks and IBM as being largest domestic recipient of their output, but why Split Shipyard? Unless they are planning to build ships sending valuable resource there seems strange, instead of using it in other industries or exporting it.

Lastly, the part about "sudden discovery", what type of discovery we are talking about? Shiny kind or a bit more explosive kind?

Excellent work, you keep exceeding my expectations, I do hope you keep up your great work.

​

hey, Heydrich is still alive, can we at least spare the poor innocent fish in this story?​

​

​

Hah. "Yes, we were a German created puppet state, provided manpower for their industry and military, fed our resources into their economy and generally did everything they asked of us. But, we were amonst the first to develop sustainable model of industrialization, and led the world in using renewable sources of energy, so we have that going for us.

Sorry, a flash of inspiration.

 

[John_Smith]

Snip.

The situation for the Jews of Croatia is still very dire indeed, and only those with the money and influence have any chance of successfully saving themselves from the Gestapo, but with the SS units soon coming to Croatia, courtesy of Heydrich, they will be in an even worse position, but more of them will survive than IOTL, that is certain (a two-year-long grace period is still a lot IMO), and as long as Filip treads carefully with his generous handouts of immunity, the government should be in a favorable position with the Germans.

You will see soon enough, but you got Sjedinjena Monarhija right.

I'm very glad I managed to explain the difference between the two well, that was the main motivation behind me going for the introduction of Croatian suburbs, and I hope that will not be the last we see of them.

Croatia really will resemble a mini-Germany much more so than OTL, with the leadership so fiercely loyal to the Reich (half of it, at the very least), but even if it is damaging for Filip's post-war image, all those projects (the ones that evade destruction) will prove to be more than useful for whatever regime takes hold after WWII.

That is true, but with him hoping to kiss up to the people, the last thing he needs is to be portrayed as a German puppet only playing the role of a patriotic Croat, and most of his opponents address him as just that behind his back, which will only serve to antagonize both sides of the argument once Filip finds out about it.

The Ministry of Traffic got screwed really badly, simply due to unfortunate circumstances (as some might say...), but if Bešlagić manages to survive the curse, then I would say that the east of the Kingdom will finally be able to catch a break. As for Oružništvo, an enormous problem is the fact that the process of lustration (or deyugoslavization, as Mile Budak and his HOSP call it, i.e. removal of all personnel affiliated with the former Yugoslav regime from both the military and other institutions and their subsequent replacement with people loyal to the new regime) is quite slow, an issue that had arisen due to Maček's reconciliatory nature and his hopes of not destabilizing his nation further by alienating large parts of the institutions. With that in mind, and with Serb-majority Gendarmerie detachments in eastern Bosnia (which in itself is populated mostly with Serbs), those officers simply do not want to go against their own (seeing as Chetniks are majority Serbs), which explains the weakness of the Hrvatsko oružništvo in that area.

It was the sensible thing to do for the government, especially when they do not have to pour so much money into the army to slaughter entire villages of suspected communists, Chetniks and Serbs as it was done IOTL. Now the citizens can at least rest more easily, knowing that they received food from their political leaders, which will only increase the support for the regime and make any communist/royalist incursions into its territory that much bloodier.

Indeed, Zahumsko jezero is merely the largest one, but certainly not the only such project. With the remaining money being spent on that, progress is already being made in that regard, and it will work quite well in quiet areas (whilst places such as eastern Bosnia get screwed again, unfortunately enough, due to frequent sabotaging and overall destruction).

The Split shipyard, since it does not get much work ITTL (why would it? The navy is nonexistent, and the few fishing boats they have are almost exclusively made from wood) serves as storage for iron, and construction of a few new fishing boats from iron serves as reassurance that the Shoresmen (Primorci; name assigned to the people living in the littoral, since I had in mind the slow development of regional identities in different parts of Croatia due to its large size, just a fun little development in my mind without much purpose) are all well fed with fruits of the Adriatic. As for the surprise... well, it's a surprise, would be a shame to spoil it prematurely.

 

[John_Smith]

A hearty laugh escaped his lips as he observed his second pawn being removed from the game. His opponent was a formidable one, he had to admit, and not even his cool outward stature could withstand the dry, cynical wit of the man sitting on the opposite side of the small makeshift table. Despite that, his grin felt more than justified, especially when Đuro Gruić's biting words were not the only reason for why he could hardly contain his eagerness at the coming days.

​

It was a real miracle Gruić even survived the horrid winter. The burly General was paraded around the numerous Partisan units that had dispersed following Operation Winter '42, and as time went on, the burdens of cold and abuse made themselves known on the old soldier's face. Once plump and adorned with thick brown chevron mustache just above his pursed lip, it was now drawn, wrinkles forming on his rough cheeks, hair dappled with shades of gray and lines cut deeply into his forehead, making the prisoner of war look three decades older than he really was. The march across Mount Igman truly changed the man, and his boisterous demeanor was soon replaced with a quieter, more defeatist-sounding one. Tito did not mind the change at all, though. All that mattered to the Marshal was that Gruić survived the entire ordeal and that he resided with him safely on Mount Cincar [1].

All he needed now was an opportunity – well aware of the closeness between Gruić and Croatian Supreme Commander Kvaternik and the instability that is emerging from the Teutons and the Reformists being at each others' throats, he decided that a prisoner exchange would be in order. Many of his comrades were still imprisoned in Lepoglava, being unable to replicate the successes of Božidar Adžija, Otokar Keršovani and others from last summer. Plus, he thought to himself, it would add additional insult to injury for a nationalist such as Gruić to be exchanged for heathen communists, Tito smirked to himself inwardly. He only had to time it all perfectly. Chaos was what he desperately needed, and the situation within the Home Guard was going in that direction like clockwork.

Tito extensively planned on further destabilizing the Home Guard by undermining Supreme Commander Kvaternik (pictured holding a speech before the National Parliament)
​

Comrade Ranković warned Tito continuously of his men growing restless because of his inaction. Broz did not know if one of his most trusted associates hurried him for reasons of grief and vengeance, for his wife had perished merely months ago in a Gendarmerie-backed ambush on the outskirts of Zenica [2], or his justifications laid in pure strategy, believing the moment to be just right to finally strike at the heart of the capitalist beast. Either way, his suggestions urged him to call a meeting in the cave where he was currently situated, with men he believed were most influential in respective areas of soon-to-be Yugoslavia due to their ethnic background.

Communist theorist Milovan Đilas (representative of Montenegrins) was the first of many to appear, with painter Moša Pijade (designated representative of Serbs west of the Drina), revolutionary Andrija Hebrang (Croats), aforementioned Aleksandar Ranković (Serbs east of the Drina), chief organizer of the Dalmatian guerrilla resistance Vicko Krstulović [3] (Croats of Littoral Croatia, Governorate of Dalmatia and Province of Cattaro), Major Mihailo Apostolski (Macedonians) and workers' rights advocate Pašaga Mandžić (Muslims in Croatia) soon joining the two men, while Edvard Kardelj and Boris Kidrič (Slovenes) as well as priest Murat Šećeragić (Muslims in Sandžak) [4] were unable to attend due to different circumstances. Knowing very well that the meeting about to start will take much time from the day, Tito ordered his guards to take Gruić away from the room so his confidants could have all the secrecy for themselves. Following an exchange of pleasantries and basic information, Tito got right to the point.

TITO: Give me the report on the situation in Macedonia, Comrade Apostolski.

APOSTOLSKI: Inconvenient. Even after Šarlo's [5] fall, there are still many loyalists left, and I fear there is not enough of us to successfully combat them.

TITO: What of Comrades Uzunovski and Koliševski?

APOSTOLSKI: Comrade Koliševski is still in captivity in Pleven. His imprisonment is likely the reason why the Party has so much trouble catching on in Macedonia. Comrade Uzunovski attempted to organize a regional committee in order to bind the pro-Bulgarian faction into the KPJ, but it turned out to be a failure in the end.

TITO: The Bulgarians are giving you far more trouble than they're worth. Considering the reports of your military successes, I suggest you keep forming more guerrilla detachments, no matter the number of recruits, we need all the men we can get to overpower the BKP [6] and fix Šarlo's mistakes. Macedonia shall be ours, comrades.

APOSTOLSKI: It shall, Marshall. We pledge our lead to you, and we will see to it that Macedonia becomes ours.

TITO: How are things progressing in Albania?

ĐILAS: Painfully slowly, to say the least. The movement itself is still quite fresh, and green in battle to boot, though Hoxha appears more than willing to negotiate the status of the PKSH [7] within the KPJ, a stark contrast to Macedonia which should be taken into account. According to some of our sources, one of them distinguished himself in battle after which he executed about eighty Carabinieri that had surrendered to him. The Red Dread [8] is what they call him.

HEBRANG: Indeed, Mehmet Shehu, I believe his name is.

ĐILAS: Correct. It is men like him that we need and should have on our side at the nearest possible opportunity.

Tito nods casually while puffing his pipe, already pondering over the possibility of integrating Albania into a post-war socialist Yugoslavia.

TITO: And Montenegro?

Đilas' breath hitches as he pulls his chair closer to the table.

ĐILAS: Dreadful.

Tito casually raises his eyebrow as he sends his Montenegrin ally a questioning gaze, his faux gentlemanly appearance never leaving his body language.

ĐILAS: Farinacci's colonization policy completely destroyed Nikšić and the surrounding countryside. All Slavs were either expelled from their ancestral homes or forced six feet under. Italians desecrate our homes, and Pavle Đurišić sees to it that all their wishes are fulfilled. His Chetnik Militia butchers the Muslims in Sandžak and persecutes anyone who they deem unworthy of whatever it is those monsters believe in. Just see what happened to Draškić--

PIJADE: Good riddance.

ĐILAS: I agree, but there was no trial. Nothing. Just a night in the cells full of beating and torture before they dropped him off a building.

MANDŽIĆ: And how do you propose we counter that?

RANKOVIĆ: The Italian police apparatus steadily increases in the nation, sucking up all potential recruits for our cause. We have got to be quick and decisive, military action should be, in my opinion, pursued as soon as possible.

APOSTOLSKI: I might have an idea.

TITO: Let us hear it, Major.

APOSTOLSKI: Last I heard, eastern Herzegovina was granted to the Republic of Ragusa. Militarily, at least?

A series of nods is all the Macedonian man needs to continue.

APOSTOLSKI: Then I propose the creation of token parties armed with little more than a titovka and an improvised firearm. It does not even need to be functional, just something to look convincingly dangerous for Đurišić's Chetniks, and if they are the rabid dogs many describe them as, then they shall give chase after them.

Major Apostolski noticed everyone listening intently to his plan, only further giving him confidence in divulging the rest of it.

APOSTOLSKI: Once they give chase, our men will cross the border into Ragusa with the Chetniks in tow, and once the Ustaše Militia encounters our bait, a clash is bound to happen between the two forces. When it finally does happen, our real troops shall swoop in and take care of the confusing mess. I hope there are communist cells in Ragusa that are able to support this war-game of mine.

Tito smiles inwardly at the intriguing plan.

TITO: There are a few. Kalinovik, Nevesinje, Gacko, Bileća and Ragusa are the largest ones, and they can field about three thousand soldiers in total.

KRSTULOVIĆ: Would it be enough, though?

PIJADE: Pavelić has already alienated the populace far too much, the only areas that are not nearing open revolt are the coastal areas where Croats make up the majority. It certainly is possible, and when we liberate the northern territories, Ragusa is ours for the taking.

HEBRANG: Once we are there, we could relay the message of our triumph to Comrade Stalin… Perhaps then we would finally receive recognition from him as the sole resistance group [9] in Yugoslavia?

MANDŽIĆ: Don't you think that three thousand men, no matter how well trained, will have little to no chance of taking Dubrovnik?

RANKOVIĆ: We cannot wait any longer, we must make a move, our people are already growing doubtful of the things we stand for.

TITO: We will do it. What's necessary is necessary. Numerous false flags will be undergone all along the border, creating as much disorder as possible before our boys come in to take care of things. Is that clear?

KRSTULOVIĆ: Comrade Tito, might I suggest another insurrection, this time in Dalmatia, to start simultaneously with the one against the Pavelić regime? I believe I can muster enough troops in the area to counter Momčilo Đujić and the Dinara Army. And if we are successful enough, the Italians will be left in such a disarray that Šibenik, Zadar and the rest of the coast will be ours for the taking. Commanders Šilja and Lala can certainly give the Chetniks a bloody nose after a whole year worth of experience.

TITO: How many troops?

KRSTULOVIĆ: About three to three and a half thousand.

TITO: You have my permission. We shall plan this out in more detail tonight and tomorrow as well if need be.

All the reports he received from Italy pointed toward the increasing instability of the Farinacci regime. King Victor Emmanuel III seemed powerless to do anything, or was simply too impotent and cowardly to act against the White Duce. Typical bourgeois… Such cowards, Tito thought to himself. Extrajudicial killings were commonplace across both the cities and the countryside, with members of the opposition to fascist rule, regardless of their communist or non-socialist allegiances, being executed in a public show of force meant to strike fear at the hearts of the supposed enemy. Alas, the Marshal of Yugoslavia could only hope that his Italian brethren would emerge from their shadowy hiding spots and finally show the brutal dictator what it means to love one's country.

Member of the Carabinieri abusing Montenegrin civilians in Danilovgrad
​

MANDŽIĆ: And what of our esteemed guest that was escorted out of the room before this meeting?

He spat the words out like venom out a snake's fangs, obviously disapproving of the old General's mere existence.

TITO: He will be taken care of accordingly. There will be better chances for us to exchange him, but I think we all understand that we have to carefully pick the right moment, otherwise all our plans go to waste.

They all nod in acceptance of their leader's opinion.

PIJADE: I do think some drastic measures would have to be undertaken with regards to the Home Guard conflict, prisoner exchange notwithstanding.

TITO: Elaborate, Comrade Pijade.

PIJADE: Our spies within the armed forces [10] clearly point to things going downhill, with the Old Goat [11] too proud to stand down against his far younger and energetic opponents. I say we accelerate this process somewhat.

Đilas observes the Jewish painter skeptically, noticing the same glint the older man had possessed once before, last year after their forces had committed massacres against the innocent populace out of fear from a fifth column striking them from behind. Vague accusations and lies, he was aware, but Pijade was one of the main instigators of Leftist errors (leva skretanja in Serbian), a term coined by other Party members, none of whom really disapproved of Pijade's illegal conduct even if they referred to it as such.

ĐILAS: …You are not suggesting assassination, are you?

His expression was barely discernible, and the Montenegrin had no idea what exactly was going through his comrade's calculating mind.

PIJADE: Perhaps, perhaps not, but you cannot deny that it would make it all fall faster.

HEBRANG: You cannot be serious! Last time this was attempted with Drašković, the Announcement followed, and it took the Party a decade to recover afterwar--

PIJADE: And what else do you propose, then? Waiting is not an option, we already lost too much ti—

TITO: Silence!

The group of people shook in unison, their heads completely whipping around toward the Yugoslav leader, some out of shock, some out of fear.

TITO: It will be taken into consideration, but our future operations in Dalmatia and Ragusa shall take precedence.

The men around Tito submissively agree with him, not wishing to perturb the fifty-year-old any more than they already had.

TITO: Additionally, when the tide turns in our favor, we must be ready to instigate a large revolt, and I see no better way for that to happen than expanding our already existing cells in areas with significant populations that we could appease. Therefore, I am going to send each of you across Yugoslavia, to take care of the locations I have respectively assigned to each of you.

Tito steadily hands out a handful of papers to each attendee of the meeting, giving them time to observe what exactly was written for them.

TITO: Mihailo Apostolski, you have the goodwill of your own people to foster. Milovan Đilas, you shall go to Montenegro in order to assist the local resistance movements there, to create an effective front to counter the Chetnik Militia and Italian colonizers in the area. Moša Pijade, you will go to Lika, Kordun, Banija and Bosnian Frontier to recruit the Serbs that have grown discontent with the King's rule.

RANKOVIĆ: Banija?

PIJADE: Realm of the Old Goat's youngest brother. A rightful prick that one is [12], I know, but what must be done shall be done.

TITO: I advise you to be extra careful. Furthermore, Comrade Hebrang will assemble our forces in northern Croatia and Slavonia, the Chetnik influence there has to be curbed efficiently and quickly, especially now that Mihailović is too busy kissing up to Kujundžić and the new government. Do you, perhaps, have a suggestion as to who should lead the southern push towards the Adriatic?

PIJADE: Comrade Ivković [13], perhaps?

RANKOVIĆ: He is already far too preoccupied gathering recruits east of the Drina. He won't do.

PIJADE: Then Ivan Milutinović, surely? He has got the experience, the valor, and most important of all – since the very beginning, he advocated against cooperating with Đurišić during the First Enemy Offensive.

Hebrang squints his eyes judgmentally, knowing full well that Pijade and Milutinović were among the most vocal supporters of Leftist errors, but he decided not to interfere.

TITO: Done.

Vicko Krstulović (left) and Ivan Milutinović (right), chief adversaries of the Farinacci regime during what later came to be known as the Third and Fourth Enemy Offensives, respectively
​

Pijade only smiles at his former protege, more than happy with the answer he has received.

TITO: Furthermore, I task Comrade Mandžić with protecting the Muslims of Croatia from Chetnik bands. That way, we will show them that we are the only ones able to protect them from Mihailović's ravagers, and I am certain they will repay that kindness with their own weapons.

MANDŽIĆ: Your command is mine to fulfill, Marshal.

TITO: With Golubić out of the picture [14], you have one of the most important tasks to overcome, Comrade Ranković.

The Serbian communist nods simply, his dead-set eyes never betraying emotion, ready to hear what the Marshal had to say.

TITO: We must give a decisive blow to the Chetniks. Pećanac is already wreaking havoc upon Kosovo and further destabilizing the cause of Hoxha and Shehu, and while I do not doubt the Red Dread's ruthless efficacy, we still want the Albanian communists on our side. Mihailović, on the other hand, threatens our position north of the Western Morava river, and we need him gone in order to take full control of our most important asset – Serbia itself. Take care of the matter however you wish, but spare as many of our own as you can during the process.

RANKOVIĆ: I will do as you command.

TITO: Good. Another meeting will be arranged for tomorrow, I want Comrades Krstulović and Đilas there at the break of dawn over the matter of Dalmatia and Sandžak [15]. Is that clear?

The two men's apprehensive gazes answer his command silently.

TITO: With that in mind, I wish you all good fortune in your respective missions, and may we see a strong, unified Yugoslavia left in the wake of our fulfilled duties.

With a raised right fist in the air, all men cheer enthusiastically.

EVERYONE: Aye aye!

TITO: Bratstvo i jedinstvo [16].

EVERYONE: Bratstvo i jedinstvo!

*****
​

[1] One of many locations utilized by Tito during his Pan-Yugoslav tour of sorts during WWII, this story being no exception.
[2] Ranković's first wife. IOTL killed in an ambush in Gacko, and ITTL she isn't any more fortunate, as only the location of her death is changed due to butterflies.
[3] Not to be confused with Vojko, another Dalmatian who already made a name for himself by liberating Split from Italy in June 1941. Vicko, on the other hand, became member of Communist Youth when he was only fifteen, and before then, like many other Dalmatians and residents of Split, he supported the Kingdom of Serbia during World War I.
[4] Šećeragić only became the supporter of the People's Liberation Army following Italy's capitulation IOTL, though ITTL he joins earlier due to a more desperate Tito who is much more willing to make compromises, which was already established earlier with deals between Božidar Adžija and Hasan Zvizdić for protection of Sandžak Muslims from Chetnik repression.
[5] Bulgarophile leader of Vardar Macedonian communists who advocated against open revolt against Bulgarian occupation of Macedonia during World War II. Even after his forced resignation (that occurred as it did IOTL), his policies were still upheld by the Regional Committee of Macedonia until 1943.
[6] Acronym for the Bulgarian Communist Party (Bâlgarska Komunisticheska Partiya).
[7] Acronym for the Communist Party of Albania (Partia Komuniste e Shqipërisë).
[8] Apparently, he really was a cruel and serious man who regularly executed his prisoners, and one of his quotes was used by Soviet politician Anastas Mikoyan at the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in October 1961: „Whoever disagrees with our leadership in any respect, will get spat in the face, punched on the chin, and, if necessary, get a bullet to his head.“
[9] At the time, the Allies recognized the Chetniks as the only pro-Allied guerrilla force in Yugoslavia, just like IOTL.
[10] According to some sources, the KPJ had a number of spies infiltrate the Croatian Home Guard IOTL in order for them to gain valuable intelligence. One notable example includes Džemal Bijedić, who later went on to become President of the Yugoslav Federal Executive Council (Savezno izvršno vijeće).
[11] Derogatory term that Kvaternik's opponents use to address him (stari jarac in Croatian).
[12] Agronomist, IOTL proclaimed Prefect of the Grand County of Krbava and Psat in 1941 due to his older brother's influence. Soon, he became known for persecuting Jews and Serbs from the area, and was likely (from my own perspective, at least) the most openly bigoted of the Kvaternik brothers.
[13] Referring to Milutin Ivković, captain of the Yugoslav national football team at the inaugural World Cup in Montevideo. IOTL he quietly cooperated with the Yugoslav Partisans, for which he had been persecuted and arrested on numerous occasions, before his final arrest by the Gestapo in May 1943 and his execution with a bullet to the back of the head the very next day. ITTL, upon finding out that one of his former teammates (Aleksandar Tirnanić) was executed in retaliation for Operation Durmitor despite his innocence, Ivković decides to completely abandon his lucrative job as a doctor and go into hiding with other Partisans, eager to avenge the deaths of thousands of innocent people.
[14] Without a doubt one of the shadiest guys in contemporary history of the Balkans, Mustafa Golubić was one of the members of Young Bosnia (perpetrators of the 1914 Sarajevo assassination) and the Black Hand (responsible for the overthrow of the Obrenović dynasty in Serbia) as well as a Soviet agent. It is believed that Tito, doubtful of Golubić's allegiance, had one of his subordinates rat him out to the Gestapo, which resulted in his gruesome death in June 1941, same as OTL.
[15] Sandžak is considered as part of Montenegro with large administrative autonomy, and is imagined by the Party to hold the same status in the future as Vojvodina and Kosovo did within Serbia IOTL. The reason for this is because of Sandžak already being part of the Zeta Banovina between 1929 and 1941, so there is some recent historical precedent for such action.
[16] Due to those pesky butterflies flapping their colorful wings, Stjepan Filipović (guy who coined the phrase „Death to fascism, freedom to the people!“ that later became the Partisans' main motto) instead died from a gunshot wound during Operation Durmitor, never managing to utter the famous quote. ITTL, with the noticeable lack of creativity in coming up with a new rallying cry, the Partisans instead use the much less reinvigorating Bratstvo i jedinstvo (Brotherhood and unity).