Vullnetari
Military unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Vulnetari?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Vullnetari ("the volunteer") were a volunteer militia of Albanians from Kosovo set up in 1941 by Italian forces after the successful invasion of Yugoslavia. They served as an auxiliary force for civilian control[3] and protection of villages.[4]
Vulnetari | |
---|---|
Active | 1941—1946 |
Allegiance | Italy (1941–43)
Germany (1943–44) |
Branch | Militia |
Type | Infantry |
Role | Axis auxiliaries |
Size | 5,000[1] — 6,000[2] |
Colors | red and black |
Engagements | World War II in Yugoslavia |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
|
Insignia | |
Identification symbol | black-red band around their arms |
Some of the militia served as frontier guards under both Italian and German rule.[4] The Vulnetari fought only in their own local areas, so they fought against both Partisans and Chetniks, "against whom they showed themselves skilled and determined fighters".[4] The Vulnetari of the region of Đakovica went to Plav and Gusinje to support the Italian counteroffensive during the Uprising in Montenegro.[5]
Independently, Vulnetari units often attacked ethnic Serbs and carried out raids against civilian targets.[1][6] According to Serbian scholars, the Vulnetari burned down hundreds of Serbian and Montenegrin villages, killed many people, and carried out plundering campaigns in Kosovo, and neighboring regions.[7]
At the end of World War II, the militia was used to protect retreating German forces. After German forces retreated through Kosovo, members of the Vulnetari militia dispersed in their villages.[8]