People's Liberation Army of Macedonia

Not to be confused with National Liberation Army (Albanians of Macedonia).

People's Liberation Army of Macedonia Народноослободителна Војска на Македонија Narodnooslobodilačka vojska Makedonije
Flag of the Federal State of Macedonia, used by the PLAM
Active	1941 – 1943 (Partisan detachments) 1943 – 1945
Country	Macedonia (region)
Allegiance	Yugoslav Partisans (Allies of World War II)
Size	1,000 (1941) - 66,000 (late 1944, after mobilization)[1]
Anniversaries	August 18 October 11
Engagements	National Liberation War of Macedonia (part of the Yugoslav Front of World War II)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Mirče Acev Mihajlo Apostolski Metodija Andonov-Čento Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo

The People's Liberation Army of Macedonia (Macedonian: Народноослободителна Војска на Македонија, transliterated: Narodnoosloboditelna Vojska na Makedonija, NOV), often referred to as the Macedonian People's Liberation Army and the National Liberation Army of Macedonia, was a Communist resistance army formed in present-day Republic of Macedonia during the People's Liberation War of Macedonia in the Second World War. The term is also used to denote the participation of Macedonians in the Yugoslav Partisans as well as other Communist resistance organisations operating in Macedonia during the Second World War. The movement's full official name was People's Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia,^[2] (NOV i POЈ) (Serbo-Croatian: Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odredi Jugoslavije; Slovene: Narodnoosvobodilna vojska in partizanski odredi Jugoslavije; Macedonian: Народноослободителна војска и партизански одреди на Југославија).

History

The anti-Axis resistance started on 11 October 1941, with the emergence of the Macedonian Partisan military units which, during the course of the war, grew into the People's Liberation Army of Macedonia. The date of the creation of its major unit, the Mirče Acev battalion, on August 18, 1943 on Mount Slavej^[3] between Ohrid, Lake Ohrid and Kičevo (is officially celebrated in the Republic of Macedonia as the Day of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia).

On 11 November 1943, the 1st Macedonian Kosovo Shock Brigade was formed in western Macedonia by merging two Vardar Macedonian and one Kosovo battalion. The second — larger ethnic Macedonian military unit was the 2nd Macedonian Shock Brigade, formed on 22 December 1943 just across the border in Greek Macedonia.^[4] On 26 February 1944 in the village of Zegljane, near Kumanovo, the 3rd Macedonian Shock Brigade was formed. These three brigades were the nucleus of the People's Liberation Army of Macedonia, which after constant battles became stronger in numbers. From 7,000 partisans in the late 1943, until the final military operations in the Yugoslav National Liberation War in April 1945, the People's Liberation Army of Macedonia had increased to three Corps, seven divisions and thirty brigades, all with a total of 100,000 regular soldiers.^[5]

The Army was led by the Main Headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army and the Partisan Units of Macedonia, headed by Mihajlo Apostolski.^[6]

Commanders

• Mirče Acev
• Kuzman Josifovski-Pitu
• Mihajlo Apostolski
• Metodija Andonov-Čento
• Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo

Orders of battle

Units of the Macedonian National Liberation Army were organised within the framework of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia.

Brigades

• 1st Macedonian Auto-Brigade
• 1st Macedonian Cavalry Brigade
• 1st Aegean Assault Brigade
• 1st Macedonian Brigade
• 2nd Macedonian Brigade
• 3rd Macedonian Brigade
• 4th Macedonian Brigade
• 5th Macedonian Brigade
• 6th Macedonian Brigade
• 7th Macedonian Brigade
• 8th Macedonian Brigade
• 9th Macedonian Brigade
• 10th Macedonian Brigade
• 11th Macedonian Brigade
• 12th Macedonian Brigade
• 13th Macedonian Brigade
• 14th Macedonian Brigade Dimitar Vlahov
• 15th Macedonian Brigade
• 16th Macedonian Brigade
• 17th Macedonian Brigade
• 18th Macedonian Brigade
• 19th Macedonian Brigade
• 20th Macedonian Brigade
• 21st Macedonian Brigade
• 11th Macedonian Brigade (41st Macedonian Division)

Corps

• 15th Corps (operated in Zemun)
• 16th Corps
• Bregalnica-Strumica Corps

Divisions

• 41st Macedonian Division (General Staff of Macedonia)
• 42nd Macedonian Division (15th Corps)
• 48th Macedonian Division (15th Corps)
• 49th Macedonian Division
• 50th Macedonian Division
• 51st Macedonian Division
• Kumanovo Division

See also

• Military history of the Republic of Macedonia
• Army of the Republic of Macedonia
• National Liberation War of Macedonia
• Communist Party of Macedonia
• Resistance during World War II
• Allies of World War II

References

1. ^ The Slavonic and East European review, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London, 1991, p. 304.
2. ^ Trifunovska, Snežana (1994). Yugoslavia Through Documents:From Its Creation to Its Dissolution. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 209.> ISBN 0792326709
3. ^ “НОБ на Македонија“ Јован Поповски. Скопје, 1962
4. ^ "Историја на Македонскиот Народ" Александар Стојановски, Иван Катарџиев, Данчо Зографски. Скопје, 1988
5. ^ Зимските операции на Македонска војска 1943/44 – Раде Гогов, носител на "Партизанска споменица 1941" [1]
6. ^ History of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia - World War II - Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia Official site

External links

• Macedonia during World War II