The Minor Armies

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The Minor Armies

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1. The Axis Minors

Traditionally, the Bulgarians, Hungarians, Rumanians, Slovakians and other sundry Axis forces rarely get a mention in history books. Politically, German's European allies were a rather strange band of bed-fellows whose only common bond was their attitude towards Soviet Russia. The notionally-independent Slovakia did share the Reich's totalitarianism, but not the Nazi ideology. Finland was a parliamentary democracy. Hungary too was democratic, albeit right-wing and under German occupation (with a vacant throne). Rumania was ostensibly a monarchy with a military ruler who suppressed the Fascist Party with German tacit approval. Tsarist Bulgaria was ruled by King Boris III's fascist regime, and remained loyal to Germany until the king's mysterious death in 1944. During the late '30s and early '40s, Hitler was very much a skillful political realist who was not unduly concerned with the ideological color of "friendly" governments if they were of use to him; and to Germany the oil and mineral resources of the Balkans were as vital as its territory and people, which guarded the Reich's southern flank and insured access to supplies of Turkish chrome. But all the Minor Axis powers shared a mutual suspicion of each other, stemming largely from old squabbles over territory following the earlier scattering of their peoples and the division of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the Great War (in which Bulgaria and Rumania fought on opposing sides). Moreover, most of these states were also internally divided socially and politically due to their mix of nationalities and numerous competing ethnic groupings. National cohesion was further eroded by regional language differences, and all suffered from weak economic systems aggravated by the disunity. Such internal and international disputes over self-determination and territory were a feature of the Balkans, not just among the Minor Axis powers but among some of the lesser Allied states there as well (for example, Yugoslavia and Greece). As such, the Axis alliance in the Balkans was no united, homogenous monolith ready and eager to do all of Hitler's bidding.

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2. THE ALLIED MINORS

To understand the Axis successes of 1939-41, one must also understand their opponents. Although the Axis leadership had contempt for their eventual enemies, the larger Allied powers were, despite the myths, equally indifferent to the interests and plight of the minor Allies and put their own cynical desires to hamper or weaken the Axis forces above the consequences for their new "allies". The Western Allies did nothing to help Poland (when German western defenses were weak), and had already allowed Hitler to bloodlessly destroy the only democracy in central Europe (Czechoslovakia) and her superb army. Their meddling in Norwegian affairs provoked a German invasion. British encouragement of the anti-Axis coup in Yugoslavia brought the latter disaster. When the Greek dictator Metaxas refused British help, Churchill observed "one cannot force little dogs to eat mutton" and his envoy later gave the dictator's successor an exaggerated notion of potential British aid. Yugoslavia's Prince Paul would complain, with good reason, "You big nations are hard. You talk of honor but you are far away." On the other hand, the minor Allies did little to help themselves, neglecting their own defenses and stubbornly pursuing neutralism because the best option—collective security—had been discredit. in 1914 when entangling treaties dragged nation after nation into the private feud between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Also, like the minor Axis powers, the minor Allied powers were not necessarily on friendly terms with one another and there was little military cooperation between neighbors like Belgium and Holland, between Greece and Yugoslavia, or between Poland and the surrounding states (the Polish government alienated potential Balkan allies with strident nationalistic policies which provoked rather than placated Hitler). Norway, like a certain movie actress, just wanted to be left alone.

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3. The Neutral Powers

The neutral powers were countries that remained neutral at the beginning of World War II. Several of these countries suffered invasions in spite of their efforts to be neutral. These included Germany invasion of Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940—then Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg on 10 May 1940. On the same day, 10 May 1940, the British, having already invaded the Faroe Islands in April, invaded Iceland and established an occupying force (subsequently replaced by the then-neutral United States). The Soviet Union invaded Lithuania on 15 June 1940 and Latvia and Estonia on 17 June. In the Balkans, the Italo-Greek War began on 28 October 1940 and Yugoslavia was invaded in April 1941. Iran was also attacked and occupied by Britain and the Soviet Union in August 1941. Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland held to the concept of armed neutrality, and continuously amassed soldiers to defend their nation's sovereignty from potential invasion. Thus, they maintained the right to become belligerent if attacked while in a state of neutrality. The neutral powers attacked by Germany between 1939 and 1941 together fielded upwards of three million soldiers. However, although were armed with inferior weapons, often caught isolated and unprepared, and with leadership that sometimes was less than inspiring, the Germans usually made short of these armies. On the tactical level the combat was not necessarily one-sided, given that high motivation at times making up for what these once-neutral soldiers lacked in modem arms. While superior use of mobile forces gave Germany the strategic advantage and the ultimate outcome was never in doubt, the Germans had some hard tactical lessons to learn along the way.

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4. Royal Albanian Army

In September 1928, Albanian President Ahmet Zogu declared his country a constitutional monarchy and himself its monarch as King Zog I. He also named himself Field Marshal of the Royal Albanian Army. The Royal Albanian Army depended on Italian arms, Italian trainers and even Italian officers. Zog survived over 600 blood feuds and at least 55 assassination attempts, but when Queen Geraldine bore him an heir, Benito Mussolini decided to convert Albania from client state to conquest before a dynasty could be established. By April 1939 the Royal Albanian Army consisted of 15,000 men, with probably about half that many actually under the colors when the Italians invaded. Seven infantry battalions made up most of the Royal Army’s strength. Each had a territorial recruiting district, but conscription had not been enforced in large segments of the country so three of the seven battalions drew their manpower from Tirana, the capital. Battalions was named for a mountain: Daijti, Deja, Gramos, Kaptina, Korata, Tarabosh and Tomori. An infantry battalion had three infantry companies and one machine-gun company. Each infantry company in turn had three platoons (Togë), led by a lieutenant (Togër) assisted by a sergeant (Nentogër). A platoon had 35 men split into three squads of 11 men each, all armed with rifles. Albanian infantry platoons did not include an organic machine gun. Machine guns were kept at the battalion level, in a company of three platoons, each of those having four Austrian-made Schwarzlose weapons or Italian-made Fiat guns. Other than the three battalions (Deja, Daijti and Korata) placed to defend the capital from angry tribesmen, Albanian battalions in April 1939 were still at their peacetime establishment, with two infantry companies at full strength and the third plus the machine-gunners only at cadre levels. The Royal Albanian Army disintegrated after Italy's occupation of 7 April 1939. Aside from Albanians recruited directly into the Italian forces, the conservative, anti-Communist and anti-Royalist Balli Kombetar (named for its founder) arose in southern Albania to fight the Axis in late 1942. A few weak battalions were formally organized, but they showed the same reluctance to fight the Italians as the Chetniks did, for fear of German reprisals. In early 1944, moreover, the Balli Kombetar changed sides and collaborated with the Germans against the Communist partisans. Their leadership truly believed that Germany might allow Kosovo to remain an Albanian holding after the war. To foster German support, 20 battalions joined the Germans in various anti-partisan missions to drive the guerrillas back through the year. But eventually, the partisans, with British help, prevailed. The Bath Kombetar forces fell apart as the Germans evacuated Albania in late 1944.

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5. The Belgian Army

The Belgian Army dates from the war of independence against the Dutch during 1830-31. The Belgian Army was virtually destroyed in the First World War, and it was rebuilt largely on the French model. Francophiles made up 90% of the officer class. After the devastation of the Great War, Belgium concluded various defense agreements with Britain and France while maintaining a 12-division army until 1923. But growing increasingly neutralist (and poor), the government reduced these forces in 1926. Like the French, the Belgians adopted a “Maginot Line” mentality, modernizing the fortress zone around Liege. The center-piece was Eban Emael. Its loss on the first day of the German invasion was a hard psychological blow. Although steadily pushed back, the Belgian infantry surprised the Germans with their tough resistance. Some 5,400 Belgian soldiers were killed in the 18 days of fighting. The Belgian Army totalled 550,000 men. The army comprised six active and 12 reserve infantry divisions: two of Chasseurs Ardennais, two of cavalry, plus two Gendarmerie, two Frontier Guards, two Fortress, two AA and five artillery regime, a battalion of "Frontier Cyclists", a five-battalion Special Fortress unit, eight engineer battalions, 45 "Static" battalions to guard communications and bases, nine territorial battalions and sundry sup-port/training units. The little armor Belgium had was no match for the panzers; the reserve divisions used obsolete weapons; and the AA guns in service were too few to protect her installations. An active division had three regiments, each of these with three battalions and a heavy weapons battalion, and included some 108 LMG (Browning M30), 52 HMG (Maxim 08), 108 light mortars, nine medium mortars or infantry guns, and six AT guns. Battalions usually consisted of three companies and a HMG company. Shortly before the war broke out, a program had been begun to increase the mobility of the army. By 10 May, one of the two divisions of the Ardennes Rifle Corp had been equipped with vehicles, as had both light cavalry divisions. Each active division also had a company of light tanks attached for recon-naissance duties. After the defeat in 1940, significant numbers of Belgian soldiers and civilians escaped to Britain to join the Belgian forces in exile. The Belgian government, under Hubert Pierlot, evacuated to London where it remained until the liberation in 1944. Belgian soldiers formed the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, more often known as the Brigade Piron, after its commanding officer, and was involved in the Normandy Invasion and the battles in France and the Netherlands until liberation. Belgians also served in British special forces units, forming a troop of No.10 Commando which was involved in the Italian Campaign and Landings on Walcheren. The British 5th Special Air Service (SAS) was entirely made up of Belgians.

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6. The Bulgarian Army

The Bulgarians were more anti-Soviet than pro-German, and their deep mistrust and fear of Stalinist Russia ensured that they only declared war against Britain and America (on 13 December 1941) so as not to antagonize their powerful neighbour. Bulgaria's leaders had good reason to be cautious, for in the German-Soviet discussions of November 1940 it became clear to Hitler that Stalin sought greater "influence" in Bulgaria, and covert Soviet activity was uncovered there shortly afterward. Despite their common 1914-18 experiences and their similar misgivings about communist Russia, and their appetite for territorial expansion, Bulgaria's affiance with Germany was not unconditional. Therefore, Bulgarian troops spent the war conducting rear area garrison and anti-partisan duties, in which role her forces were brutal and efficient. German troops were allowed to pass through Bulgaria during the Balkan campaign, and Bulgarian forces provided token flank protection along the coast in the German drive through the Greek "Metaxas Line" defences. Tsar Boris' suspicions concerning Yugoslavia appeared dedicated when a coup overthrew the latter's pro-German Regent, Prince Paul, and threatened the flank of the German 12th Army—to the extent that General von Kleist's panzers were hurriedly redeployed to put down this uprising in Belgrade. Indirectly, this would delay Hitler's invasion of Russia, which Bulgaria refused to join (much to his annoyance).
As a reward for these services, Bulgaria "acquired" 50,000 square kilometres of new territory; apart from anti-partisan activities in Greek and Yugoslavian Macedonia, Thrace and Salonika, her troops would spend three years protecting German supply lines in western Macedonia and Serbia. Formally annexed by Bulgaria in May 1941, this region was policed with such brutal efficiency that no significant partisan movements emerged there until 1944. Bulgaria's army reached a total of 21 infantry and two cavalry divisions and two frontier brigades by the summer of 1944 (of which seven divisions were under German operational control guarding supply lines). The occupation forces were mostly reservists, whose discipline was lax. Most members of these were middle-aged and of peasant stock; their behaviour towards the local population was usually atrocious. The best troops, in the line divisions, were deployed along the frontier with Turkey until 1944, to counter any possible Allied invasion from this direction. Measured by the standards of the major Allied and Axis powers, even these troops were generally of poor quality, with all but ten Bulgarian divisions possessing obsolete equipment, horse-drawn transport, and few a.-tank weapons. The few AFVs that Bulgaria used came from Germany (although not all German-built). Had these forces been deployed against the R. Army, they would have been more a liability than an asset given their inadequacies. But in the a.-partisan role, they served the Axis coalition well and helped pacify large parts of German-occupied Yugoslavia as well. The Germans, despite all the above, regard. the Bulgarians as their most politically reliable Balkan ally due to their hatred of the Greeks and fear of Turkey (her traditional enemy, under whose rule most Eastern European states had suffered for so long, and which was commonly perceived as a likely recruit to the ranks of the Allies sooner or later).
In 1944, however, as Soviet forces near. Hungary's frontiers, Tsar Boris M conveniently died and a pro-Allied coup occurred on 9 September. The new government (after hurried negotiations with Britain) followed Rumania's example and switch. sides. The Bulgarian army was purged of its more reactionary officers and, under Soviet command, attempted to frustrate Germany's retreat from Greece and the Aegean—albeit, not too successfully. Morale under Soviet command was, if anything, even worse than under the often arrogant and patronizing Germans. This was due mainly to past Soviet-Bulgarian hostilities, political friction and the general Soviet attitude towards satellite nations. By 1945, the Bulgarians had advanced into Austria, its troops linking up with British forces on 13 May. In 41 months of anti-partisan duties as an Axis ally, her 100000 occupation personnel lost about 1000 soldiers and policemen killed; under Soviet command, Bulgaria's 450000-man army lost 31910 killed, wounded and missing.

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7. The Croatian Home Guard

Croatia underwent dismemberment into German and Italian spheres even before the Royal Yugoslavian Army capitulated, and the "independent" state of Croatia was formalized on 10 April 1941. The new army's forces were raised by conscription to serve alongside the German and Italian military. The Italian-Croat Blackshirt Legion (one artillery and two infantry battalions) gave valuable support to the Italians before its destruction in the retreat from the Don. The German-Croat Legion (one artillery and three infantry battalions) was lost at Stalingrad (some Croats captured there changed sides to help form the 1st Yugoslav Brigade in the Soviet army). The rest of the Croatian army was of poor quality and was deployed in parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbian partisans. In addition, the Croat Ustashi militia was also available, commanded by Ante Pavelic. Organized in five, later 15, 700-man battalions, two railway security battalions, the elite "Black" Legion and the Poglay Bodyguard Battalion, its quality was patchy. Some units were quite well organized and disciplined; others contained mostly riff-raft and criminals. There were also four Gendarmerie regiments with 6,000 men each under Pavelic's command. In September 1942 four specially-created mountain brigades were raised. Two volunteer regiments a mobile Gendarmerie brigade and a Ustashi "defensive” brigade were also created. But by 1942, the partisans controlled northern Bosnia in spite of all this, and the Croats abandoned the countryside in order to hold open the major towns and lines of communication. In 1943, four rifle brigades (with artillery) equipped for operations in hilly terrain were also raised, and the Ustashi battalions were reorganized into eight brigades of four battalions each. The German SS formed the multi-national German-Croatian Gendannerk (15,000 men in 30 battalions), and later a division railway security. The Germans also filled out their notorious 7th SS "Prinz Eugen" mountain division and two Bosnian Moslem formations with local recruits. But even all this could not solve Croatia's security dilemmas, which the Italian armistice only compounded. By 1944, the Ustashi (some 114,000 strong) were providing the main support for Pavelic's regime. There were another 33,000 men in the Croat Legion (sent home earlier by the Germans), while the Croatian army itself numbered another 90,000—of whom, however, only 20,000 were combat troops. In December 1944, the entire mass was placed under Ustashi command, and all personnel were pooled to form 17 divisions. But partisan and allied operations, and accelerating defection, reduced this to one battle-worthy formation: the 1st Croatian "Storm" Division.

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8. The Danish Army

Since the disastrous war in 1863 with the Prussians over Schleswig-Holstein, the Danish kingdom had adopted a rigidly neutral stance. At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral. For most of the war, the country was a protectorate and then an occupied territory of Germany. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December 1939. On 9 April 1940, Germany occupied Denmark in Operation Weserübung. The Danish government and king functioned in a relatively normal manner in a de facto protectorate over the country until 29 August 1943, when Germany placed Denmark under direct military occupation, which lasted until the Allied victory on 5 May 1945. The "army" consisted of two divisions. Jutland and Sjaelland, named after their home provinces. The latter, based at Copenhagen, had three regiments (1st, 4th and 5th), while the former was headquartered at Viborg and had four (2nd, 3rd. 6th and 7th). In theory, Danish units were relatively well-equipped. A regiment, about 3,000 men, had 256 LMG, 56 HMG. 24 medium mortars, and six AT guns. However, when the Germans struck on 8 April, the Danes just had some 6,000 men in arms. No official resistence was put up to the German invasion, but the Danes lost 26 men in the opening skirmishes. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish institutions continued to function relatively normally until 1945. Both the Danish government and king remained in the country in an uneasy relationship between a democratic and a totalitarian system until 1943 when the Danish government stepped down in protest against German demands that included instituting the death penalty for sabotage. Just over 3,000 Danes died as a direct result of the occupation. A further 2,000 volunteers of Free Corps Denmark and Waffen-SS, most of whom originated from the German minority of southern Denmark, died fighting on the Eastern Front while 1,072 merchant sailors died in Allied service. Overall, this represents a very low mortality rate compared to other occupied countries and most belligerent countries. Some Danes chose to collaborate during the occupation by joining the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark, Schalburg Corps, HIPO Corps and Peter Group. Most of Denmark was liberated from German rule in May 1945 by British forces commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery; the easternmost island of Bornholm was liberated by Soviet forces, who remained there for almost a year. On 5 April 1946 the last Soviets left Bornholm. The end of German rule is in Denmark known as Befrielsen (the Liberation). On 24 July 1945, the British occupation force, contrary to Danish expectations, decided that the refugees must stay in Denmark until the situation in Germany had stabilized. The first refugees were returned to Germany in November 1946 and the last ones in February 1949.

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9. The Finnish Army

The Finns fought three different wars from 1939 to 1945. Finland participated in the Second World War initially in a defensive war against the Soviet Union, followed by another battle against the Soviet Union acting in concert with Nazi Germany and then finally fighting alongside the Allies against Germany. The first two major conflicts in which Finland was directly involved were the defensive Winter War against an invasion by the Soviet Union in 1939, followed by the offensive Continuation War, together with Germany and the other Axis Powers against the Soviets, in 1941–1944. The third conflict, the Lapland War against Germany in 1944–1945, followed the signing of the Moscow Armistice with the Allied Powers, which stipulated expulsion of German forces from Finnish territory. By the end of hostilities, Finland remained an independent country, albeit "Finlandized", having to cede nearly 10% of its territory, including Viipuri (Finland's second-largest city or fourth-largest city), pay out a large amount of war reparations to the Soviet Union, and formally acknowledge partial responsibility for the Continuation War. Notwithstanding all of the above, Finland was not one of the Axis powers. The Finns did not share the goals of their German co-belligerents and for political and strategic reasons usually refused to take offensive action after 1941. The Finnish Army, before becoming an active ally of Germany in 1941, was practically an Infantry structure, with little Artillery or mechanization of any kind and almost all the material available to them was foreign-made. As well as having some trucks available, the Finnish High Command had not acquired any Half Track Vehicles, and had only 13 Vickers light tanks (including those of the 4th Armored Company Detached). No nationality can lay claim to having fought as valiant and skillful a defense of their homeland as the Finns of 1939-44. Extremely individualistic, patriotic, and ruthless, totally at ease in severe weather conditions, the Finnish soldier was tactically superior to his foe and fanatic in his resistance. The superiority of the Finnish soldier was based upon a deeply ingrained quality of "sisu"—determination and individuality. This trait was evidenced in combat where the Finnish soldier rallied quickly and often without the intervention of his leaders. The war caused great damage to finnish infrastructure and the economy. From the autumn of 1944, the Finnish army and navy performed many mine clearance operations, especially in Karelia, Lapland and the Gulf of Finland. As part of the Paris Peace Treaty, Finland was classified as an ally of Nazi Germany, bearing its responsibility for the war. The treaty imposed heavy war reparations on Finland and stipulated the lease of the Porkkala area near the Finnish capital Helsinki as a military base for fifty years.

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10. The Greek Army

Greece had been a traditional foe of Turkey for generations and achieved their independence from the Turks in 1830 after almost ten years of fighting. The Greeks War with Turkey occurred again in 1897, and from 1912 to 1913 Greece participated in the series of conflicts called the Balkan Wars. The Greeks then became somewhat unwilling participants during the First World War, and fought another war against the Turks in 1920-22. The growing recession and ever-changing governments precipitated that, in August 1936, General Metaxas seized power. He and his followers were pro-German Anglophobes who regarded Bulgaria as Greece's greatest potential threat, and so constructed the strong "Metaxas Line" in north-west Greece to meet this apparent danger. The formal organization of the Greek Army in 1941 shows the paper strength of an infantry regiment was 1,100 men and 58 officers. Support weapons consisted of 36 LMG (Hotchkiss Bette). eight HMG (St. Etienne M07), four medium mortars and two field or mountain guns. Regiments com-prised two battalions, each with three rifle companies and a HMG company. The two cavalry regiments each had four sabre squadrons, a machinegun troop (with 12 HMG) and four mortars. When the Italians invaded Albania in October 1940, the Greek Army was mobilized—totalling some 430,000 men. In the mountainous region bordering Albania, the Greeks not only held their own but pushed back the ill prepared Italians. Nevertheless, neither of the belligerents were adequately prepared for the harsh conditions, and the Greeks suffered 60,000 casual-ties over the winter. When the German invasion came in April 1941, the Greek Army was not in the best position to oppose it. German mechanized units quickly cut off the Greek forces in Macedonia, forcing their sur-render. The remaining forces, with their British allies, retreated south. Here the -Army of Epirus" surrendered on 20 April, and the British began to evacuate the mainland two days later. The Greeks suffer. 15,700 casualties against the Germans. The Greeks proved to be more effective in the mountains fighting a guerrilla war, although the partisan forces were split between a number of opposing factions. The communists were the first to organize an effective military force—ELAS—in February 1942 (eventually fielding 25,000 men). The British belatedly sponsored a right-wing coalition of monarchists and adherents of the former Metaxas administration—EDES-EKKA—with 5,000 fighters. The two factions initially maintained an uneasy alliance, but from October 1943 through February 1944, an all-out civil war broke out between ELAS and EDES-EKKA. The Germans were the main beneficiaries, regaining a foothold in the mountains and using the schism to recruit a large number of anti-communist collaborators.

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11. The Dutch Army

Although some regiments of the Dutch Army have a pedigree dating back to the 1600s, the army of 1940 had its direct roots in the Napoleonic Wars. After the Belgian war of independence the Dutch essentially stayed out of European power politics. The decade preceding the First World War was the last time a major modernization of the army took place. In 1936, a modernization program was launched but most weapons were still of pre-1918 vintage when the storm broke. The Dutch ordered a full mobilization when the Germans invaded Poland. Unlike the Belgian and French armies, the Dutch had not suffered the terrible losses of the First World War. The German invasion of 10 May came as a distinct shock, and this shock was translated into a hostility that the Germans had not expected. The Landmacht was organized, militia-fashion, with a potential annual intake of 20-60 thousand men serving for 11 months, and then receiving refresher courses over the next six years. But although 73,000 men were declared liable for military service in 1938, only 19,500 were inducted. When Holland's forces were mobilized in April 1940, there were 270,000, including reservists, available in a home defense force of limited versatility, with a professional cadre of just 6,500 officers. The rest varied in age from 20 to 40. With the extra two divisions add in 1940, Holland fielded just 11 divisions grouped into four corps (based at Amersfoort, Amsterdam, Arnhem and Breda) each of two infantry divisions and three artillery regiments. There was also a light division (of two bicycle regiments), four cavalry regime., two of "motor cavalry", the corps motorized artillery, a coastal artillery regiment, an engineer brigade, plus specialist engineer and AA formations (sources vary on their exact titles and duties). The AA and AT capability was token and wholly inadequate, while the armored forces were purely nominal with just 24 armored cars (another 12 newer ones never saw action) and seven tanks. Indeed, there were more AFVs in the Dutch East Indies than there were "at home". The core of the field army was formed by 48 infantry regiments, supported by five hussar regiments and the partially-mechanized light division. Their infantry regiment had three battalions, each of these with three infantry companies and a HMG company. The standard company, following an almost universal pattern, had three (sometimes four) platoons, each of these with three squads. At full strength a regiment had 2691 men of all ranks, 72 LMG (Lewis M20 or 6.5mm Madsen), 36 HMG (Schwarzlose M08/15). six medium mortars, four field guns and four AT guns. Direct support available to a battalion consisted of just 12 HMG and 24 LMG.

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12. The Hungarian Army

Governed by the Regent, Vice-Admiral Horthy, Hungary had a grudge against many of her neighbours due to the aftermath of the Great War. The 1920 Treaty of Trianon was Hungary's equivalent of the hated Versailles Treaty. The kingdom of Hungary was thus very much a traditional German ally. The Empire's subsequent dismemberment reduced Hungary by two-thirds in size and population, deprived her of her navy and—under the terms of the Treaty of Trianon—her army was limited to just 35,000 men. For a nation that proudly regarded itself as the true descendent of a great Empire, this loss of territory, military power and political prestige was anathema. The leaders of Hungary sought to regain the "lost" lands, and developed close links with Italy and Germany during the interwar years. In 1939, Hungary began to rearm, this being a necessity following the 1938 Munich settlement in which Hungary obtain southern Slovakia. Horthy next took back Ruthenia from the Czechs in March 1939. Then in August 1940, Hitler forced Rumania to restore northern Transylvania to Hungary. During the Balkans campaign, Hungarian troops followed in the wake of Germany's forces driving into Yugoslavia, regaining almost all of her "lost" lands. Her major contribution to the Axis war effort was the deployment of a relatively small contingent of troops for Barbarossa. Hungary declared war on Russia on 27 June 1941, and the "Carpathian Group" (a mountain brigade, a "frontier" brigade and the "Mobile Corps") advanced into Soviet-held Galicia, then on across the Dneiper. Incorporated into the German 17th Army, the Mobile Corps fought well at Uman and reached the Donets basin in October after a 600-mile advance, but at the cost of 80% of its motorized equipment and some 26,000 casualties. The Hungarian cavalry, being more mobile and better able to live off the land, served the Germans well: on 6 August 1941, near Molodovka, Hungarian cavalry-men made a brilliant charge to stop a Soviet counter-attack and reseal the Uman pocket. A major reorganization of Hungarian formations took place in mid-1943, and the garrison units in Transylvania were augmented by 27 Szekler Militia battalions. By December 1944, Hungarian forces had retreated into Slovenia, where the 1st Army held its ground at Kosice through January 1945. Budapest was surrounded by Soviet forces, and defended by a few stubborn German and Hungarian units. Two attempts to relieve the capital failed, and the city surrendered in February 1945. The exhausted 1st Army meanwhile retreated into Moravia and dug in, where it remained for the duration. After an abortive German counterattack at Lake Balaton in March, the depleted 3. Hungarian Army retreated westwards, losing the magnificent 1st Hussar Division near Budapest in the process.

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13. The Norwegian Army

The modem Norwegian Army came into existence when the country declared its independence from Sweden in 1905. Continuing over a century of tradition, most Norwegians between the wars subscribed to the catch-phrase "we want no foreign policy"; their governments displayed an "obsessive concern with neutrality", preferring the "power of international law" to pursuing either foreign policy or a defense program worthy of the name. The norwegian population of 3 million people was protected by an army of just 7,000 men (in theory, 30,000 troops distributed in six divisions). As the government considered that defense against a major invader was not possible, not much attention was devoted to the army in official circles. When the Soviet Union invaded neutral Finland, however, the Norwegians did mobilize a sizable force along their northern frontier, but this was disbanded in March 1940 after the Finns signed the armistice with Moscow. Thus, when the Germans attacked on 8 April 1940, the Norwegian Army was only partly mobilized. As for organization, Norway was divided into six districts (or divisions), with headquarters at Halden, Oslo, Kristiansand, Bergen, Trondheim and Harstad. Each district was to mobilize just one field brigade of two regiments, with other units to be raised as required. Some 16 regiments and ancillary units would be available at full mobilization. In spite of the early loss of Oslo and southern Norway, the Norwegians showed great spirit and withdrew into their mountainous hinterland, joining up with British and French units. Due to the surprise of the German attack, only the 5th brigade at Harstad was fully mobilized. The brigade had two regiments, each with two battalions and a garrison company, plus a battalion of dragoons or cyclists (which served as ski troops in winter) with a motor-machinegun troop, artillery and engineers attached. At full strength, the regiment had 3,750 men with 96 LMG (6.5mm Madsen), 36 HMG (Colt-Browning M29) and eight medium mortars. There were no field guns directly available, and no AT guns at all. The fighting in the north was protracted and resembled a guerrilla war; the difficult terrain and the generally light forces engaged on both sides precluded any major set-piece battles. The Norwegians were soon frustrated by the Britons' inability to operate in deep snow, and these inadequately equipped and untrained allies had to be given snow camouflage, snow shoes and skis by the Norwegians—in return for which almost no weapons nor ammunition were supplied despite numerous British promises. Although the Norwegians did not capitulate until 9 June, Norwegian loss were less than 1,500 killed and wounded.

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14. The Polish Army

The Polish Army arose out of the chaos that reigned in Eastern Europe at the end of the First World War. Marshal Josef Pilsudski, who eventually became commander-in-chief, had formed a Polish army of exile under Austrian control during the war to tight the Russians. The newly-independent state had hardly been established when conflict erupted with Bolshevik Russia. The Russians were decisively defeated in 1920, although they had advanced as far west as Warsaw. Meanwhile, a vicious, but undeclared, war continued with the Germans along the Silesian frontier as the Poles attempted to push their borders farther west than established at Versailles. Pilsudski ran Poland as the leader of a military junta that seized power in the 1926 coup until his death in 1935. While the military-maintained control, it was not until 1937 that the Polish Army began a belated modernization program. This was only partially complete when hostilities opened on 1 September 1939. The Poles, nevertheless, were dangerously optimistic. They were expecting the Wehrmacht to advance on a broad front in the style of 1918, and felt confident that the Germans could be delayed until their own mobilization was complete and the French could launch a major offensive in the west. Perhaps their successes in the early'20s contributed to this overconfidence, but the Poles had made two fatal miscalculations. The Germans had no intention of refighting 1918; and the French, apparently, had no intention of fighting at all (their "major offensive" never materialized). The Poles put up a hard fight, although outclassed tactically and at a great disadvantage strategically. None of their fronts remained stable for more than a few hours, and the Poles generally found that they were taking measures that were too late by the time they could be implemented. With years of bitterness between the Poles and Germans, losses were high. In the 36 days of fighting the Poles lost over 66,000 killed. The Polish infantry regiment was much weaker than its German equivalent in terms of numbers and support weapons. With an establishment strength of 1,900 men and officers, the regiment comprised three battalions—each of these with three or four companies, including a HMG company. Battalion-level support weapons consisted of 30 LMG (the Browning M28—a version of the U.S. BAR), 12 HMG (Browning M30) and nine light mortars. At regimental level were six medium mortars, two field guns and nine AT guns. The pride of the Polish Army, the cavalry, was organized into brigades. Each brigade had three or four cavalry regiment, plus a company of 13 TKS tankettes, an armored car squadron, a cyclist squadron, an ATG platoon engineers, a rifle battalion and a horse artillery battery (four troops of two guns each). Each regiment had four squadrons and a HMG squadron. Each of these squadrons had three platoons.

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15. The Romanian Army

Despite being an Allied power in the Great War, all Rumanian gains were snatched away in territorial demands from Bulgaria, Hungary and Soviet Russia. Although Britain and France had guaranteed her territorial integrity in May 1939, Rumania became another of the victims when France collapsed and Britain was driven from the continent. In July 1940 the Soviets annexed Bessarabia and northern Bukovnia. The next month she lost half of Transylvania to Hungary, and Bulgaria helped herself to southern Dobrudja. King Carol was forced to abdicate, the General Antonescu became Rumania's leader and signed the Tripartite Pact in November 1940. Although the Romanian army was smaller than other Axis armies allied, her old-fashioned army of 1.8 million had been reduced and modernized with the help of 18,000 German instructors at the request of Antonescu. The Rumanian army of 1939 comprised one guard and 21 infantry divisions, but three of the latter were disbanded as a result of the loss of territory in 1940. There were also a number of brigades which, in the Spring of 1942, were renamed "divisions.” There being 25 line cavalry regiments, of which 18 were organized into six brigades. By 1944, there were also two embryonic and one complete armored division. The 3rd Army, containing the Cavalry Corps, joined the German 11th Army for the assault on Kiev. The 4th Army saw action at the siege of Odessa. The bulk of Rumania's forces, some 15 divisions, were used as occupation troops as the Axis spearheads moved ever east. The 3rd Army remained at the front under German control, together with smaller units and the Mountain Corps (which was sent to the Crimea). The Summer of 1942, the 18th Division and the 1st Mountain Division gained distinction at the siege of Sevastopol, later being moved to the Don region. The 2nd Mountain Division served in the Caucasus. The 3rd Army was deployed in the front of Stalingrad, but the Rumanians collapsed in the face of the famous Soviet offensive, when they were outnumbered nine-to-one. Two Rumanian divisions shared the fate of von Paulus' forces in the city, while others were effectively destroyed in the fighting to the north and west. About 173,000 men in 18 divisions were lost. In the Soviet offensive in the Crimea during April 1944, two formations fell apart. The retreat from the Crimea cost 25,800 dead. What now remained of the Rumanian army was largely deployed in Bessarabia. Her formations crumbled during the Soviet offensive specifically directed against them in August 1944. The King Michael had Antonescu arrested and Rumania abrogated her treaties with Germany to join the allies on 25 August. The Red Army moved into Bucharest on 31 August and a number of Rumanian formations fought alongside them against the Axis.

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16. The Serbian Army

The Serbian region of Yugoslavia was treated as an occupied zone by the Axis, but the Serbs were allowed to raise a limited number of internal security forces. Too, in order to help mitigate the hardships of foreign occupation, the ex-Defense Minister Milan Nedic formed a 17,000 strong Serbian "State Guard", divided into City Police (some 15,000), Rural Police, Fire Service and plain-clothes Village Police; all were equipped with small arms, which were later often passed straight on to the Chetnik guerrillas. Nedic, needless-to-say, was a fervent anti-Communist, Serbian nationalist sympathetic to Colonel Mihailvic's Chetniks and very antagonistic to Tito's movement. The Germans regarded the "State Guard" as unreliable; sure enough, by October 1944, Nedic's forces had shrunk to just 5,000 followers. At that point, they and remnants of the Serbian "Frontier Guard" (once 6,000 men) joined the Chetniks in Bosnia. On 15 September 1941, Nedić proposed that the government should be dismissed and allow neighbouring states to police it, but minister Mihailo Olćan proposed that the puppet government should call upon the Serbian population to form anti-communist units. The next day 234 members of Yugoslav National Movement (ZBOR), Ljotić's and Olćan's pre-war political party enlisted as the first volunteers. On 17 September the Serbian Volunteer Command was formed under the command of Colonel Konstantin Mušicki, a Serbian officer. The command consisted of 12 companies, each 120-150 men strong and grew to five regiments by early 1944 (with an artillery battalion) —a total of 7,000 men with a German liaison staff. Weapons were mixed; besides German arms which were eventually supplied, foreign rifles and machine guns, especially those seized as war booty from the defeated Yugoslav forces were used. Mortars and light artillery were also on hand in varying quantities. The Germans considered it to be the only efficient Serbian force for use against the partisans, and consequently it was absorbed complete into the VVaffen SS in October 1944. Many volunteers came from the student ZBOR organization and others were refugees from the Independent State of Croatia. The men wore olive green uniforms or, in the case of officers, the uniform of the former Yugoslav armed forces, with the Cross of St. George on the right breast. Meanwhile, Czarist emigres in Serbia formed the "Russian Defense Corps" in September 1941 with 3,000 men; three years later it numbered 11,197 men organized into five three-battalion regiments of infantry, with a Cossack battalion. Its low combat value led to its regulation to guard duties.

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17. The Slovak Army

The strong Slovak separatist movement in Czechoslovakia gave Germans an excellent pretext by which to defeat the Czechs without using military force; this was just as well, for the Czechoslovakian army of 35 divisions was highly professional and well-equipped and might have cost the Wehrmacht dear. In March 1939 Hitler summoned the leaders of the Slovakian Populist Party and informed them that, unless they broke away from the Czech state, he would permit the Hungarians to invade their region to regain territory lost in the post-1918 carve-up of Austria-Hungary. Faced with "an offer they could not refuse", the nationalists declared Slovakian independence on 14 March 1939. But such a new and weak nation naturally required German "Protection", and it became an obedient satellite of the Reich—a one-party state under Monsignor Josef Tiso with its own imitation storm troopers, the Hlinka Guards. Slovakia was urged to recruit an army, under German supervision, from the dismembered Czech military, the latter unquestionably the best in central Europe in 1938 and equipped with some excellent home-produced weaponry which the Slovakians inherited. When war broke out, the Slovakian army had just three divisions, but they nonetheless helped to defeat the Poles. A light brigade, partially motorized and with a light tank battalion, of some 3,500 men was placed at Germany's disposal, plus two infantry divisions and sundry support troops. These Armed a corps of 40,393 men, no small contribution for so minor an ally. The most active and effective formation was the elite "Mobile Brigade" that fought at Lemberg, Kiev and on the Mius (during the winter of 1941-42), after which it supported the SS Division "Wiking" in the capture of Rostov before advancing into the Kuban. After Stalingrad, the "Mobile Division" helped cover the retreat from the Caucasus, but was almost cut-off itself at Krasnodar. In 1943, the "Mobile Division” was reorganized as an infantry division, and relegated to a less prestigious coastal defense role, much to detriment of its morale. After many desertions, Tiso requested its return to the Balkans or Western Europe, but their growing unreliability led to them being placed in reserve in 1944 and converted to construction brigades which later served in Hungary, Rumania and Italy. Two more Slovakian divisions were raised to defend the Carpathians, and another was forming in central Slovakia when internal anti-Axis partisans staged their abortive uprising in August 1944. The Tiso regime retained power with the help of the Hlinka Guards, augmented by a small body of loyal troops. At this stage, the ethnic German Volksdeutsche, previously formed into their own units, were transferred en masse to the Wehrmacht in exchange for German personnel of Slovakian origin.

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18. The Swedish Army

Before the outbreak of WWII, the Nordic countries had made a few attempts to form a defensive alliance. They had all failed, due to a number of reasons but, despite the obstacles, there was a strong undercurrent wishing for closer inter-Nordic cooperation. The Winter War broke out on 30 November 1939. On 12 December the forming of a force was approved by Swedish authorities, the Frivilligkaren (Swedish Volunteer Corps.) Its maximum size was set at 5,000 (and not the requested 7,600) of which no more than 200 could be professional military personnel. On 26 February, the Corps was awarded responsibility for a segment of the front of Finland north of a line through Oulu and Paanajarvi, north of Kuusamo. On 9 April 1940, Germany attacked Norway. Frivilligkaren was still in Finland, in the process of demobilization. A number of the volunteers arrived in Sweden on the morning of 9 April. On their collars, they wore a badge showing four intertwined hands, symbolizing the strong solidarity between the Nordic countries. The earlier Swedish motto "Finland's Cause Is Ours" was replaced by "For Nordic Freedom." Around 300 Swedes fought in Norway, and most of them saw action in the valley of Glama in Osterdalen. Some fought in Trondelag, some in Mo i Rana and a few in northern Norway. On 22 June 1941 Germany attacked the Soviet Union. Germany and Finland were then the aggressors. Still, on 4 July the Swedish government gave its permission for the creation of a new volunteer force organized in a battalion which would be included in the Finnish 55th Infantry Regiment. The Voluntary Battalion consisted of an HQ, three jager companies, and one heavy company (three heavy platoons, one MG platoon, and one AT platoon). The battalion was deployed at Hango, a peninsula the Soviets had demanded to lease for thirty years at the end of the Winter War. On 17 August the Swedes were put in charge of a sector of the front. There were still Swedes who wanted to help the Finns, so a new unit of volunteers was created, Avdelta Kompaniet (the Independent Company). In relation to most of its Finnish counterparts, this company was well-equipped. Avdelta Kompaniet was included in 13th Infantry Regiment, consisting mostly of Swedish-speaking Finns. The powerful Soviet offensive on the Isthmus of Karelia in the summer of 1944 pushed the Finnish defenders back to the final line of defense, around Viipuri. All available reserves, including 13th Infantry Regiment, with the remaining Swedes, were ordered to go to the isthmus. On 20 June, the last 64 men of Avdelta Kompaniet were deployed in the front line, at Naatala. The company lost 53% of its strength and the unit was relieved on that last day, and transferred three miles further west, to be held in reserve north of Tali.

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19. The Yugoslav Army

Officially entitled the "Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1929, Yugoslavia was a crudely-assembled composite. All its constituent peoples had in common was their Slavic ancestry. Established as a monarchy, the political situation was far from stable by 1940. Its 12 million inhabitants were split into Croats, Slovenes and Bosnian (former citizens of Austro-Hungary) on the one side and Serbs plus Montenegrin (i.e., former enemies) on the other. By 1941, Yugoslavia was virtually surrounded by German allies, and under heavy pressure signed a pact of alliance with Germany in March. However, a group of dissident army officers had already been planning a coup for some time and promptly over-threw the government. The German reaction was an immediate invasion. The standing army in Yugoslavia was formed by 148,000 men, with full mobilization totalling 1.4 million men. However, on the day of invasion, only 400,000 conscripts had been called up. The field army had 28 infantry and three cavalry divisions, grouping 52 regiments, with 32 artillery and six engineer regiments for support, plus some small armored units. The regiments had 2,400 men each, 168 machineguns and four field guns. Hardware like AA and AT guns, motor vehicles and communications equipment were lacking; oxcarts were the main source of mobility. On 6 April the Yugoslav Army found itself spread along a frontier of 2,300 kilometers. Militarily and politically, the Yugoslavs were not in any position to offer effective resistance. In some places, individual Yugoslav formations fought well—such as Pirot and Novi Sad. But elsewhere their army usually fell apart quickly. The Croats, ethnic Germans, Italian and Hungarian minorities welcomed the Axis as liberators and numerous violent acts by "fifth columnists" helped them. The onset of snow on 8 April came too late to hinder the Axis advance, and by 10 April the demoralization of the Yugoslav forces was so complete that the drive on Belgrade met little resistance. Belgrade capitulated on the 12th and was formally occupied the next day while the king and his government fled to Athens. Officially, the surrender was concluded on 17 April. The Germans in their haste were less than systematic in disarming the Yugoslavs, and up to 300,000 men are estimated to have kept their arms—forming a considerable pool for the partisan forces that began operating a few months later. Josip Tito's communist force eventually numbered 800,000 men. Although an irregular force, Tito set up a regular army organization for his troop. The smallest unit was a "company" of about 80 men. Nine companies formed a battalion, and three battalions a brigade. Until late 1942. when some British aid began to arrive, the partisans relied on former Yugoslavian army weapons and captured equipment (mostly Italian).