Kosovo during World War II
| History of Kosovo |
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| World War II in Kosovo | ||||||||||
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| Part of World War II in Yugoslavia and World War II in Albania | ||||||||||
During World War II, Kosovo was divided into three occupation zones: Italian, German, and Bulgarian. | ||||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||||
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Balli Kombëtar (1943–1944) Albania Albanian People's League Second League of Prizren Vulnetari Supported by: Kingdom of Italy (1941–1943) Nazi Germany |
Yugoslav Partisans Chetniks (1941) Albanian National Liberation Movement Balli Kombëtar (1941–1943) Kingdom of Bulgaria (1944) |
Chetniks (1942–1945) Pećanac Chetniks Kingdom of Bulgaria (1941–1943 Supported by: Serbian State Guard Kingdom of Italy Nazi Germany | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||||
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Alexander Löhr August Schmidhuber Midhat Frashëri Prenk Pervizi Bedri Pejani (POW) Rexhep Mitrovica Xhafer Deva Mulla Idriz Gjilani Sulë Hotla (1944) Sak Faslia † Shaban Polluzha Mehmet Gradica Miftar Bajraktari Bislim Bajgora |
Kimon Georgiev Kiril Stanchev Ramiz Sadiku Boro Vukmirović Fadil Hoxha Josip Broz Tito Mile Čalović Tomica Popović Enver Hoxha Hysni Kapo Hysni Daja Shefqet Peçi Ramiz Alia Gjin Marku Skënder Libohova † |
Draža Mihailović Kosta Pećanac Živojin Marković Bogdan Filov Sulë Hotla (1941–1944) Mulla Dulla (1941–1944) Ali Sylë Staneci (1941–1944) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
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c. 10,000 Serbs and Montenegrins killed 3,000–12,000 Albanians killed | ||||||||||
Kosovo during the Second World War was in a very dramatic period, because different currents clashed, bringing constant tensions within it. During World War II, the region of Kosovo was split into three occupational zones: Italian, German, and Bulgarian. Partisans from Albania and Yugoslavia led the fight for Kosovo's independence from the invader and his allies. During occupation by Axis powers, Bulgarian and Albanian collaborators killed thousands of Kosovo Serbs and Montenegrins. Tens of thousands were also expelled or were placed into concentration camps.