Četniki Jožeta Melaherja – Zmagoslava v Slovenskih goricah

slovenian

2025

volume 96 = n. v. 61, issue 3

chetniks   liberation front (OF)   nazis   partisans   patrols

Zgodovinsko društvo v Mariboru
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

From mid-1943 onward, a more significant group of Chetniks led by Jože Melaher – Zmagoslav emerged in parts of the Slovene Hills (Slovenske gorice) and on the Drava Plain. In January 1945, at Vurberk Castle, they concluded an agreement with the Germans. Interestingly, until the autumn of 1944, people in the Slovenske gorice did not make any significant distinction between Chetniks and Partisans. In 1944, three Chetnik companies were formed. The first operated in the areas around Malečnik, Pernica, Pesnica, Korena, and Dvorjane. The second was active in the region of Spodnja Ščavnica, Kapela, Ivanjci, and as far as Gornja Radgona, while the third operated mainly around Sveta Ana, Bene dikt, Sveta Trojica, Negova, and Lenart. Relations between Partisans and Chetniks intensified in the autumn of 1944, and only then did Jože Melaher – Zmagoslav, the Chetnik leader, begin to seek contacts with the occupying forces. No major Partisan unit intervened in the fighting against the Chetniks in the Slovenske gorice; instead, only patrols of Lacko’s Detachment were deployed. These patrols strengthened the liberation movement in the Slovenske gorice and weakened Chetnik positions, but they did not destroy any of their military units. The best-known clash occurred between one of the Partisan patrols and the Chetniks at the Tašner farm in Partinje near Jurovski Dol on 14 January 1945.

16.03.2026