Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Joanikije Mićović, during a liturgy in Lijevče Polje, in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity of Republika Srpska, called Chetnik commander Pavle Đurišić "a great hero of invincible character."
At the same event where he spoke of Đurišić as a hero, Mićović thanked the Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, Budimir Aleksić, who attended the liturgy.
This moving and God-pleasing sermon inspired our editorial team, in several installments, to bring Pavle Đurišić's war journey closer to our readers and, finally, to explain why this event is commemorated in Lijevče Polje.
Part I: Pavle Đurišić's coalition potential
To begin with, we thought it would be nice to verify the metropolitan's claim about the character of the main character, while in the second part of the text we will address the "invincibility" of Đurišić and his units and try to get a little closer to the heroism that the speaker so inspiredly admires.
Pavle Đurišić is actually from Podgorica. He was born in that city in 1908, where he completed elementary school and junior high school. After that, he moved to Berane, where his entire life would be connected. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1930, and after serving in Sarajevo, in 1934, at his own request, he returned to Berane.
Only a few months after the occupation and division of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, its peoples and nationalities raised a series of uprisings that were very different in character and scope. The specificity of the uprising in Montenegro is its massiveness, as about eight percent of the total population directly participated in it. Captain Pavle Đurišić also played an important role in these actions.
After the Italian army's counter-action, divisions began within the rebel movement, as today's politicians would say.
As early as September 1941, the first contacts of a part of the insurgents, or rather the “officers’ wing”, were made with Draža Mihailović, and at the end of the same year they met with Đurišić and joined this organization. The content of these conversations is evidenced by a written instruction describing the goals of this cooperation: the creation of a Greater Serbia, the cleansing of “national minorities and non-national elements and the settlement of poor, nationally correct families”, the “action” on “Arnauts, Muslims and Ustashas” was specified, and the mobilization of the “national element” was proclaimed.
Shortly thereafter, on January 3, 1942, Pavle met with representatives of the Italian Venezia Division, which was responsible for the Andrijevica, Kolašin, and Bijelo Polje districts. From that moment on, Pavle Đurišić's very close and intensive cooperation with the Italian occupier began, which would last until the very end of this fascist state.
Thus, a few days later, open armed struggle between Pavle Đurišić's units and the NOP began. The major offensive of Italian, Chetnik and federalist forces against the NOP in the spring of 1942 was a prelude to the preparation of a political agreement between these forces, which established rights and obligations, and specified the way in which Montenegro at that time functioned.
The 12-point agreement was established on July 24, 1942, and brought news on both the political and military fronts. In addition to promises of “honorable and loyal behavior towards the Italians” and cooperation in “establishing peace,” a Montenegrin National Committee was established to deal with important issues related to the implementation of the agreement.
From the perspective of today's political repercussions of this cooperation, it is worth noting that, "from selected nationalists", three detachments were formed, commanded by Pavle Đurišić, Bajo Stanišić and Krsto Popović (yes, yes, Zrnov!).
In order to understand the relationship with the Italian occupier, it is worth mentioning an excerpt from Pavlov's speech on the occasion of the visit of Governor Pirci Biroli to Kolašin. In an inspired speech before the man whose units had burned the country and killed and interned thousands of people on the very spot, he concludes:
"Your Excellency, for all the good deeds you have done for the Serbian people in Montenegro with your wise policy, you enjoy their greatest love and respect."
Since the goal of our text is not to create a biography of Đurišić, but rather to clarify the statement of the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church, we will skip a large number of very important events, which we will return to later in our text, because we want to continue examining the alliances that our character hero made throughout the rest of his career.
After the German occupiers, fearing the Allied landings in the Balkans and in preparation for the Battle of Sutjeska, disarmed the Chetnik formations without resistance, Pavle was interned in Poland. A few months later, he appeared in Belgrade and, in a series of meetings, made new friends. During those days, he held meetings with the head of the quisling administration in Serbia, Milan Nedić, and then with the leader of the fascist organization ZBOR Dimitrij Ljotić, and finally with the German representatives Neubacher and von Weix.
These meetings had their concrete outcome, and Pavle received instructions to form a new formation called the Montenegrin Volunteer Corps. He was also awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel and, according to several historical sources, the Order of the Iron Cross. It is interesting to note that a little earlier, he had also received the same rank from Draža Mihailović, or King Peter.
Upon returning to Montenegro, he faithfully serves his new friends.
Already in mid-1944, due to Pavlov's dissatisfaction with the new position assigned to him by Draža Mihailović, the first misunderstandings began between the two, until then, close associates.
After that, when at the end of 1944, the Montenegrin Chetniks and their German allies were forced to leave Montenegro due to the success of the NOB, or as they put it, “go to meet the Allies” while, while targeting the fascists, those same Allies bombed them daily, a split occurred in the Chetnik movement. The option advocated by Pavle was that a front of all quislings should be formed in Slovenia for the final showdown with the NOB, while Draža Mihailović had different ideas.
However, Pavle needed new alliances that would enable him to carry out this complicated combination, that is, to reach Slovenia. Who knows how and who knows by what paths of fate, but an agreement was reached with the favorite and associate of the Ustasha leader, Sekula Drljević.
Yes, with the same Sekula to whom today's fans of Pavle Đurišić attribute the authorship of some verses of the Montenegrin anthem, and which is why, as they say, they cannot accept it as their own.
In general, Pavle did not have these problems, so an agreement was made that made Drljević the supreme commander, and Pavle the military commander of a new formation called the Montenegrin People's Army. Thus, one managed to realize his political dream, and the other found a formula to indirectly conclude a pact with the Ustasha creation of the NDH, whose hospitality he needed.
Montenegrin Chetniks in Zagreb
How this agreement was perceived in the Chetnik Supreme Command is evidenced by a document or announcement that Draža Mihailović sent to subordinate commanders on March 23, 1945: "According to the information received...Pavle Đurišić committed formal treason against the people, the king and this command... Certain parts of the troops of Montenegro and Stari Ras with the Ustashas have taken up positions around Karaula and are clearing the road with mortars...The Montenegrins will join Pavelić's forces under the command of Sekula Drljević..."
After much competition, subterfuge, and outsmarting, and Pavlov's idea to not respect certain routes for movement through this country, the Battle of Lijevče Polje took place, which brings us back to the beginning of this story and the metropolitan's inspired speech and goes to "the great hero of invincible character."
We allow for differences in understanding and perception of the term character, but it is quite difficult, even if the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church himself tried, to accept a person who had cooperation with all the actors of the war drama in World War II as having character. With the insurgents, Italian fascists, German Nazis and all their helpers. And it is especially difficult to attribute character to a person who presented himself as the protector of the Serbian people, and then made a pact with the Ustashas who brutally killed hundreds of thousands of all those they did not like, of whom by far the most were those same Serbs.
If the metropolitan had said that Pavle Đurišić was a unique personality, we could absolutely accept that because we do not know of a World War II actor who actively cooperated with all sides, including the "bloodsuckers of his people." But as the poet said, "they say taste is character, and character is destiny."
We owe the end of the first part of this story an epilogue. The Drljević - Đurišić pact was truly fateful for both of them. The former, after Lijevča Polje, in the spring of 1945, ended up in Jasenovac with approximately 150 of his associates, and his army again recognized Drljević as commander and reached Slovenia. The latter, a little later, was caught up by those who could not forgive him for Pavlo's death and sent him to a better world.
This text is written based on several historical sources, namely documents published in books:
Nikola Milovanović, “The Counter-Revolutionary Movement of Draža Mihailović, Part One”, Belgrade 1984. Nikola Milovanović, “The Counter-Revolutionary Movement of Draža Mihailović, Part Two”, Belgrade 1984. Radoje Pajović, “Pavle Đurišić”, Podgorica 2005. Vlado Marković, Radoje Pajović, “Cooperation of the Chetniks with the Occupier in Montenegro”, Cetinje 1996. Branislav Kovačević, “The Suffering of the Montenegrin Chetniks”, Podgorica 2005. Documents on the Treason of Draža Mihailović, Book I, Belgrade 1945. And Other Relevant Elections
Dragan Koprivica, executive director of CDT
Darvin Murić, editor-in-chief of the Raskrinkavanje.me portal
Bonus video:
