Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral
The Operational Zone Adriatic Littoral ( OAK) was formed together with the operational zone foothills of the Alps on September 10, 1943 Italian regions, which have been occupied in Northeast Italy by the Wehrmacht after the cease of the Badoglio government on 8 September 1943 at the drop axis and placed under a German Military administration were. Taking possession of the Adriatic port cities was there already in relevant directives Field Marshal Keitel from August 30, 1943 anticipated.
Areas
The OAK consisted of the provinces of Udine, Gorizia ( Gorizia ), Trieste, Pula ( Pola ), Rijeka ( Fiume ) and some of the Italian far -administered areas of Yugoslavia, the provinces of Ljubljana, Susak and Bakar. As " Chief Commissioner " was established on 1 October, the imperial governor of Carinthia and leader of the civil administration of the occupied territories of Carinthia and Carniola, Friedrich Rainer, used. He was awarded the contract, " entitalienisieren " the operation zone. The names of places, streets and institutions has been Germanized, Italian schools and banks closed. These measures, which were also performed in the operational zone foothills of the Alps, were considered by the Government of Salò as overt admission of intent to annex these territories by Germany.
The area around the town of Susak and the island of Krk, the " Commissariat Suschak - Krk " ( Italian " Commissariato straordinario per i territori di Susak - Krk " was formed. The Commissariat was under the Croatian Vice- Prefect of the Province of Fiume. It was a kind of buffer zone between RSI / OZAK and NDH. measures, for example, concerning the Italian school teaching point to a planned re-integration of Croatia.
Military commander of the operational zone was since October 10, 1943, the General of the mountain troops Ludwig Kübler. Because of numerous Italian, Slovenian and Croatian partisans strong military forces were stationed and the area was finally declared in December 1943 for " band combat zone ".
The Ljubljana Province was awarded on September 20, a Slovenian provincial administration with General Leon Rupnik at the top. Advisor to the President was the HSSPF "Alpine country," Erwin Rosener. The provincial administration turned to its own regular and political police, which collaborated with the Gestapo in Ljubljana. Since the Italian armistice southern Slovenia was dominated by a strong partisan movement. To combat the partisans Slovene Home Guard Legion ( Domobranska Legija ) was formed in September 1943. She had a strength of up to 13,000 troops and was subordinated to the German SS. The leadership of the Domobranci was minded anti-communist. In the Upper Carniola Oberkrainerbesetzung Self Protection Association was founded, which was the district offices of the Gestapo under the direct authority. Located in the Slovenian part of Venezia Giulia, the Slovenian National Protection Corps, which was the HSSPF in Trieste, Odilo Globocnik assumed arose. Since autumn 1944, more armed units came from other parts of Yugoslavia on the run from the Red Army to Venezia Giulia, including Chetniks from Dalmatia, Lika and Bosnia. These troops were all as occupation troops.
The fate of these military units, who collaborated with the German occupiers, little is known. Approximately 10,500 of their relatives gave way towards the end of the war back to Carinthia and were delivered by the British army to the Yugoslav authorities. Approximately 7,000 to have been executed by the Yugoslav secret police OZNA, others were sentenced to imprisonment and released after the amnesty in August 1945.
LXXXXVII. Army Corps z.b.V.
For political reasons, the Operational Zone Adriatic coastal land was declared to the operating area of an army corps on 28 September 1944. The area of operations extended from the Tagliamento by Susak and Rijeka. The Corps was to secure the northeastern Adriatic coast against an Allied invasion, monitor the radio traffic in Istria and on the Slovenian coast and fight Tito 's Partisans.
Until 25 April 1945, was part of Army Group C under Albert Kesselring, then to Army Group E. It should stop the advance of Tito's 4th Army in Trieste and Ljubljana. When the Corps was included in Rijeka, should the 392nd ( Croat ) Infantry Division ( Wehrmacht ) help; but it was already too weak.
Imputed troops
In April 1945, the Corps consisted of 88,000 soldiers.
Leadership
- Ludwig Kübler, Commanding General