Yugoslavia's Revolution of 1941

On March 25, 1941, the Yugoslav government reluctantly concluded an alliance with the Axis. "I wish I were dead," Prince Regen Paul exclaimed to the American Minister. In a coup d'etat two days later, however, air force officers overthrew government and regency and installed young King Peter on the throne with full power.

As the pro-Allied population of Belgrade rejoiced, Hitler reacted with more than his usual fury. Yugoslavia must be crushed, he ordered, even though this meant postponing the attack on Russia at least four weeks. Because of internal political considerations, however, the Yugoslav armies massed on the frontiers rather than in the defensible mountains. German panzer divisions sliced through the 1918-type infantry, and Yugoslavia collapsed within ten days.

In his concluding chapter, the author sets the coup in its historical context and shows how it actually contributed to Hitler's defeat.