Četnici u Drugom svjetskom ratu 1941 - 1945

Tomašević examines the political goals, military strategies, and relations of the Chetniks with the occupying forces, the Partisans, and the Yugoslav government in exile. The Chetnik movement, led by General Draž Mihailović, was initially presented as a resistance to the occupiers, but the author emphasizes that its main goal was the establishment of an ethnically homogeneous "Greater Serbia." This goal was often achieved through cooperation with Italian and German forces, especially in the fight against the Partisans. Tomašević documents numerous cases of collaboration, including agreements with the Italian authorities in eastern Bosnia, where the Chetniks received weapons and logistical support in exchange for refraining from attacking Italian troops.

The author also analyzes the ideological foundations of the Chetnik movement, especially the influence of Stevan Moljević's Memorandum on a "Homogeneous Serbia," which advocated the ethnic cleansing of non-Serb populations from territories earmarked for a future Serbian state. Tomašević describes in detail the crimes committed against the civilian population, especially against Muslims and Croats, which many historians consider genocide.

The book also examines the relationship between the Chetniks and the Yugoslav government in exile, and the changes in British policy towards the Chetniks, which culminated in the withdrawal of support for Mihailović in 1943. Tomašević's study is based on extensive documentation and represents a key source for understanding the complexity of the Chetnik movement and its role in war events in the former Yugoslavia.

"The events in Yugoslavia that followed the breakup of the multinational state in 1941... were so complex that no satisfactorily complete and objective history of that period has yet been written. The appearance of the book "The Chetniks"..., as the first part of the announced three-part study, gives us the promise that we finally have such a complete and complex history in sight... Professor Tomasevich deserves the highest praise for a thorough and objective scientific approach to a very complex subject, for which this book will to remain a basic manual for a long time..." (Stephen Clissold, »English Historical Review«, 1977)