Legion of Death (military unit)

The Legion of Death (Legija Smrti) was a regimental-size Slovenian anti-Communist militia of the Second World War. It consisted of three battalions and was formed in August 1942 when the Blue Guard Styrian battalion was incorporated into the Anti-Communist Volunteer Militia, the anti-Communist militia of the Fascist Italians who occupied Slovenia at the time. It mainly fought against the Communist Yugoslav Partisans. The unit reached a strength of 1,731 members in October 1942, but plans for further expansion were never realized. The unit was mainly led by former Yugoslav Royal Army officers. When the Italians capitulated in 1943, the unit was disbanded and its members absorbed into the Slovene Home Guard units.