Welzin's Chetniks

[Hecht]

Dear members,

I'm looking for infos regarding a unit of chetniks commanded by a german officier named Welzin and deployed in northern Croatia (Istra).

Many thanks

[G. Trifkovic]

Hi Hecht,

could you please provide more background info (time-frame, your sources on Welzin and his unit, etc.)?

Cheers,

G.

[Hecht]

Hi Hecht,

could you please provide more background info (time-frame, your sources on Welzin and his unit, etc.)?

Cheers,

G.

Hello G.

No background at all unfortunately.

Just this: 13.08.44, Lovranska Draga (near Opatija, north-western Croatia), anti-partisan operation with men from I.Btl./SS-Pol.-Rgt."Bozen", Res.Geb.Jg.Rgt.138, SD, Kriegsmarine and chetniks (Welzin's unit).
Source: BA-MA, RH 28-188/4.

I've found online that Welzin was a german officier CO of a chetnik unit.
That's it.

Many thanks

[G. Trifkovic]

Hi Hecht,

this is what I've found so far (not much, I'm afraid):

Head of FAT 126's "Meldekopf" in Karlovac, Friedrich Peschke, was seeking to recruit suitable candidates for the creation of an anti-communist guerrilla unit in the area of Ogulin. On an unspecified date he traveled to Trieste where "a large group of Chetniks under German officer Welzin" could be found. He managed to recruit some twenty men under Milan Potrebić who subsequently came to Ogulin. With the help of the local SD officer, who was unsympathetic to Peschke's plans, the Ustasha had some of these men arrested and executed.

(Source: Njemačka obavještajna služba, Belgrade: SSUP, 1958, Vol. V, p. 290).

According to Krešimir Matijević, Chetniks under Potrebić were present in Opatija since before February 1944. In April of the same year, altogether some 450 Chetniks leave Opatija for Postojna, Slovenia. Some 30 Ethnic Croats from their ranks were recruited by the "Gestapo" and sent to various parts of Croatian Littoral and Istria as agents.

(Source: Krešimir Matijević, Vojno politička organizacija četnika u Lici do kapitulacije Italije, Zagreb: Filozofski fakultet, 2006, p. 3).

Cheers,

G.

[Hecht]

Many thanks I really appreciate your help.
What do you mean by "ethnic croats"? cethinks born in Croatia?

[G. Trifkovic]

What do you mean by "ethnic croats"? cethinks born in Croatia?

You'll probably find it hard to believe, but a small number of "real" Croats did serve with the Chetniks during the war. The best known example is that of Zvonimir Vučković, commander of the 1st Ravna Gora Corps and Mihailović's right-hand man. Most of them, however, came from the Croatian littoral, whose cities (especially Split and Šibenik) were hotbeds of "Yugoslav nationalism" in the inter-war era. The local Partisans estimated that, by May 1943, about one hundred youngsters from Split had joined the Chetniks (in the end, there were probably more, but I don't have the exact numbers at the moment).

(Source: Fikreta Jelić-Butić, Četnici u Hrvatskoj 1941.-1945., Zagreb: Globus, 1986, p. 178).

Cheers,

G.

[Hecht]

Thanks, very interesting.

[Hecht]

G.

Do you have any idea of why there were so many chetniks around Opatija early in 1944?
The vast majority of chetniks (Cetnik-Dinara-Division) arrived in that area not before the end of that year.

BTW do you have any info about slovenian chetniks?
I know there were some of them too in Slovenia, but I wonder where exactly.

Many thanks

[Mark V.]

Just to add a few more details. The chetniks which arrived in Opatija in early 1944 came from Trieste. These were elements of the Lika chetnik detachment which in September 1943 managed to retreat across Adriatic to Pesaro, where it was, according to chetnik documents, attached to Sich.Btl.705 as a croatian company (A.Bajt: Bermanov dosje, p.299). At the end of 1943 it was transferred to Bologna and then Trieste and from there to Opatija. Now as mentioned some were then sent to Slovenia. I have some date on the ones sent to Postojna. According to the intelligence reports from the partisan Notranjski odred around 140 chetniks from Lika arrived in Postojna in spring 1944 and formed what is variously described in these documents as "counter-espionage company" or "espionage company" or "Pionier Versuchskompanie", so possibly an Abwehr unit. The company commander was a certain Oberleutnant Count Saurno.

[G. Trifkovic]

Good to see you again Mark, and thanks for the info!

Cheers,

G.

[Hecht]

Many thanks Mark.

Any exact date for the arrival in Triest and in Postojna?
Any clue about the deployment in Opatija?

[Mark V.]

Thanks for he wellcome back, Gaius.

Don't have the date for the chetnik arrival in Triest. In January they were still in Bologna, where they arrived around Christmas 1943 (Bajt). They were sent to Opatija in February (Fikreta Jelić-Butić, Četnici u Hrvatskoj). According to partisan reports, mentioned above, they arrived in Postojna on 19.5.

According to a chetnik report from 20.6. the chetniks were stationed (in June) in the following garrisons: Postojna (74 of which half were battle unworthy, plus 49 which came in June from Lovran and Opatija), Jurdani-Matulje (around 100 chetniks with 1 German Lt. and 5-6 soldiers), Opatija (disbanded, 19 sent to Postojna, 10 to the German command in Rijeka), Lovran (80 chetniks guarding the coastal road), Ucka (disbanded, personell sent to Jurdani-Matulje). At the end of June there followed another reorganization - 3 new outposts were formed along the Sapiane - Ilirska Bistrica railway - manned by 2/3 German and 1/3 chetnik personnel . The chetniks came from Lovran and Jurdani-Matulje (Zbornik NOR tom 14/3, dok.198). It's also possible that Opatija garisson was later reestablished (Zbornik NOR tom 14/4, dok.21). Based on the chetnik documents it appears they were mainly used for railway and road security, probably the same is true for the Postojna group, though I only went through the intelligence reports for the first half of 1944. These reports only mention their regular patrols in villages around Postojna. In July the group was split up and 80 were sent to Kosana (on the Ljubljana - Triest railway near Pivka). The commander of the Postojna unit was Lt. Zarko Korac and for some reason they were listed in later partisan reports as an ustashe unit. Another interesting detail - they wore cuff bands "Lika".

[Hecht]

Many thanks Mark.