User:Antidiskriminator/Drafts of articles/Association of Serbian Chetniks "Petar Mrkonjić"

Association of Chetniks for Freedom of Honor and Fatherland
The Chetnik association in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia existed as single unique association in period between 1921 and 1924 under name Association of Chetniks for Freedom of Honor and Fatherland (Удружење четника за слободу части и отаџбине). The members of the association were Chetnik veterans but also "new Chetniks". The members paid for their uniforms which were in grayish olive color with hats (similar to Papakha) made of lamb fur. Their flag was black or Yugoslav three color flag with skull and bones. The members of Chetnik associations were also Croats and Slovenians, but their members were predominantly Serbs. A network of Chetnik subcommittees were established on the territory today encompassed by Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on the Serbian nationalistic platform. The regional boards established in Muslim populated places, usually named "Osman Đikić" had additional purpose - to develop their Serb national conciseness.

Two more associations of Serb Chetniks merged into - Udruženje srbskih četnika «Petar Mrkonjić» za kralja i otadžbinu
In 1924 two more associations were established: Association of Serb Chetniks for the Kingdom and Fatherland and Association of Serb Chetniks "Petar Mrkonjić" with similar internal structure. Besides Chetnik associations, there were large number of other similar organizations, most notably SRNAO which program had main basis in the ideas of Greater Serbia. On the other hand, the Chentik associations had programs based on "uncompromised" integral Yugoslavism, unitarism and "Yugoslav nationalism". In 1925 two Chetnik associations announced that they are negotiating about merging into one assotiation.

Yugoslav preparations for Chetnik guerrilla warfare in WWII
On 28 February 1929, based on the proposal of the Chief of the General Staff the Minister of Army General Hadžić signed an order for members of the Yugoslav Army to follow Instructions for Chetnik Warfare (Упут за четничко ратовање), which was secret until it was published in 1938.

After the outbreak of the World War II in September 1939 the General Headquarter of the Yugoslav Royal Army was aware that Yugoslavia is not ready for the frontal war against the Axis forces and that neighboring countries can easily ignite the civil war in Yugoslavia. Therefore it organized preparations for guerrilla warfare and in 1940 reached decision to establish Chetnik Battallions. Since Croat members of the Yugoslav government did not allow mention of Chetnik in the name of the headquarters for these units, the Yugoslav Army HQ named the supreme command of the Chetnik Battalions as Supreme Storm-trooper Command (Vrhovna jurišna komanda) renamed on 1 April 1941 to Supreme Chetnik Command (Vrhovna četnička komanda). Hitler himself was concerned with possibility of guerrilla warfare in Yugoslavia and sent his envoys to Kosta Pećanac to try to recruit them for German side. All Chetnik Battallions and their command were captured in Axis invasion of Yugoslavia. The Chetnik movement active during the World War II was not established by the pre-war Chetnik organizations, but they had indirect influence to it because of the awareness about the possibility to successfully organize a guerrilla method of warfare against much more superior enemy.

In April and May 1941 the HQ of Yugoslav Royal Army entrusted Kosta Pećanac with task to establish guerilla Chetnik detachements. According to pro-Chetnik work authored by Radoje and Živan Knežević, in the night betwen 22 and 23 April, Draža Mihailović and a group of guerilla fighters under his command destroyed the railway between Zavidovići and Han Pijesak. According to same source the same group attacked German unit north of Han Pijesak on 23 April 1941 while the first serious conflict between Chetniks and Germans occured on 28 May 1941 in village Ljuljaci on the road between Kragujevac and Gornji Milanovac.