ABSTRACT
Germany’s Yugoslav campaign, launched on April 6, 1941, was short and sharp. Yugoslavia’s forces, only partially mobilized, were no match for the mechanized might of the Third Reich. Delaying his invasion of the Soviet Union, Hitler moved to counter British advances in North Africa by conquering both Yugoslavia and Greece. The Kingdom’s capitulation was signed in Belgrade on April 17 and Yugoslavia ceased to exist. The Independent State of Croatia (the NDH) had already adhered to the Tripartite Pact on April 10 and withdrawn from hostilities.
