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| Serbian Volunteer Corps | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:SerbianVolunteerCorpsBadge.png) Badge of the Serbian Volunteer Corps | |
| Active | 1941–1945 |
| Country |  German-occupied territory of Serbia |
| Allegiance |
|
| Branch | Paramilitary |
| Role | Anti-partisan operations |
| Size | 9,886 (1944)[1] |
| Part of | |
| Garrison/HQ | |
| Nickname(s) | Ljotić's men (Ljotićevci) |
| Patron | St George |
| Motto(s) | "With faith in God, for the King and Fatherland!" |
| March | Vojska Smene |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Kosta Mušicki  |
The Serbian Volunteer Corps (Serbian Cyrillic: Српски добровољачки корпус, Serbian: Srpski dobrovoljački korpus, SDK for short; German: Serbisches Freiwilligenkorps), also known as Ljotićevci (Serbian Cyrillic: Љотићевци),[a] was the paramilitary branch of the fascist[b] political organisation Zbor, and collaborated with the forces of Nazi Germany in the German-occupied territory of Serbia[c] during World War II.
In July 1941, following a full-scale rebellion by communist Yugoslav Partisans and royalist Chetniks, the German military commander in Serbia pressured Milan Nedić's collaborationist government to deal with the uprisings under the threat of letting the armed forces of the Independent State of Croatia, Hungary, and Bulgaria occupy the territory and maintain peace and order in it. A paramilitary militia called the Serbian Volunteer Detachments was formed, the unit, never formally part of the German armed forces, numbered about 3,500 men, mostly Serbian but also included some Croats and Slovenes. It was reorganised as the Serbian Volunteer Corps, at the end of 1942, and placed under the command of Colonel Kosta Mušicki. By 1944, the majority of the Serbian Volunteer Corps recruits were draftees as opposed to volunteers and reached a peak strength of 9,886 men.[11]
After the Red Army entered Serbia and Belgrade was liberated in October 1944, the corps retreated with the Germans into the Slovene Lands. In November it was taken over by the Waffen-SS, and incorporated into the SFK: Serbisches Freiwilligen Korps (Serbian Volunteer Corps), an infantry unit composed of the various Nedić's collaborationist groups on the run. In March 1945, with defeat imminent, it was renamed the Serbian SS Corps (Serbian: Српски СС Kорпус / Srpski SS Korpus; German: Serbisches SS Korps).[citation needed] The surviving members of the three SFK regiments, retreated into Austria where they surrendered to the British on 12 May 1945 near Klagenfurt. Most of the men were returned to Yugoslavia where they were executed on charge of treason.[12]
- ^ Tomasevich 2001, p. 194.
- ^ a b Thomas & Mikulan 1995, p. 21.
- ^ Frieser & Schmider 2017, p. 1087.
- ^ Cox 2002, p. 84.
- ^ Haskin 2006, p. 28.
- ^ Hoare 2014, p. 110.
- ^ Lampe 2000, p. 227.
- ^ Tomasevich 1969, p. 80.
- ^ Hehn 1971, pp. 344–373.
- ^ Pavlowitch 2002, p. 141.
- ^ Tomasevich 2001, p. 191.
- ^ Bishop 2012, p. 134.
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