Editing Montenegro (section)

=== World War II and Socialist Yugoslavia ===
{{Main|Italian governorate of Montenegro|Socialist Republic of Montenegro}}

In April 1941, [[Nazi Germany]], the [[Kingdom of Italy]], and other Axis allies attacked and occupied the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Italian forces occupied Montenegro and established a puppet [[Italian governorate of Montenegro|Kingdom of Montenegro]].
{{Multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| caption_align     = centar
| image1            = Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-185-0116-27A, Bucht von Kotor (-), jugoslawische Schiffe.jpg
| caption1          = Captured ships of the [[Royal Yugoslav Navy|Yugoslav Navy]], [[Bay of Kotor]] 1941
| image2            = Osnivanje Osme crnogorske brigade.jpg
| caption2          = Great People's Assembly on the occasion of the establishment of the Eighth Montenegrin Brigade in [[Berane]], 25 February 1944.
| image3            = ŽCG 461 039 with IC Beograd - Bar at Lutovo.jpg
| caption3          = Construction of the [[Belgrade–Bar railway]] started in the 1950s and was completed in 1976. The line was opened in 1976 by the Yugoslavian President [[Josip Broz Tito]].
}}
In May, the Montenegrin branch of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia started preparations for an uprising planned for mid-July. The Communist Party and its Youth League organised 6,000 of its members into detachments prepared for [[guerrilla warfare]]. According to some historians, the first armed uprising in [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]]-occupied Europe happened on 13 July 1941 in Montenegro.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2010&mm=07&dd=13&nav_category=167&nav_id=445290|title=Prema oceni istoričara, Trinaestojulski ustanak bio je prvi i najmasovniji oružani otpor u porobljenoj Evropi 1941. godine|date=13 July 2010|publisher=B92.net|language=sr|access-date=7 December 2012}}</ref>

Unexpectedly, the uprising took hold, and by 20 July, 32,000 men and women had joined the fight. Except for the coast and major towns (Podgorica, Cetinje, Pljevlja, and Nikšić), which were besieged, Montenegro was mostly liberated. In a month of fighting, the Italian army suffered 5,000 dead, wounded, and captured. The uprising lasted until mid-August, when it was suppressed by a counter-offensive of 67,000 Italian troops brought in from Albania. Faced with new and overwhelming Italian forces, many of the fighters laid down their arms and returned home. Nevertheless, intense guerrilla fighting lasted until December.

Fighters who remained under arms fractured into two groups. Most of them went on to join the Yugoslav Partisans, consisting of communists and those inclined towards active resistance; these included [[Arso Jovanović]], [[Sava Kovačević]], [[Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo]], [[Milovan Đilas]], [[Peko Dapčević]], [[Vlado Dapčević]], [[Veljko Vlahović]], and [[Blažo Jovanović]]. Those loyal to the [[Karađorđević dynasty]] and opposing communism went on to become [[Chetniks]], and turned to collaboration with Italians against the Partisans.

War broke out between Partisans and Chetniks during the first half of 1942. Pressured by Italians and Chetniks, the core of the Montenegrin Partisans went to Serbia and Bosnia, where they joined with other Yugoslav Partisans. Fighting between Partisans and Chetniks continued through the war. Chetniks with Italian backing controlled most of the country from mid-1942 to April 1943. Montenegrin Chetniks received the status of "anti-communist militia" and received weapons, ammunition, food rations, and money from Italy. Most of them were moved to [[Mostar]], where they fought in the [[Battle of Neretva]] against the Partisans, but were dealt a heavy defeat.

During German operation Schwartz against the Partisans in May and June 1943, Germans disarmed many Chetniks without fighting, as they feared they would turn against them in case of an Allied invasion of the Balkans. After the capitulation of Italy in September 1943, Partisans managed to take hold of most of Montenegro for a brief time, but Montenegro was soon [[German occupied territory of Montenegro|occupied by German forces]], and fierce fighting continued during late 1943 and 1944. Montenegro was liberated by the Partisans in December 1944.

Montenegro became one of the six constituent republics of the communist [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] (SFRY). Its capital became Podgorica, renamed [[Titograd]] in honour of President [[Josip Broz Tito]]. After the war, the infrastructure of Yugoslavia was rebuilt, industrialization began, and the [[University of Montenegro]] was established. Greater autonomy was established until the [[Socialist Republic of Montenegro]] ratified a new constitution in 1974.<ref name="Roberts 1978 pp. 136–146">{{cite journal| last=Roberts| first=Adam| title=Yugoslavia: The Constitution and the Succession| journal=The World Today| publisher=Royal Institute of International Affairs| volume=34| issue=4| year=1978| issn=0043-9134| jstor=40395044| pages=136–146| url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40395044| access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref><ref>[http://mojustav.rs/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Ustav-SFRJ-iz-1974.pdf Ustav Socijalističke Federativne : Republike Jugoslavije] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818185853/http://mojustav.rs/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Ustav-SFRJ-iz-1974.pdf |date=18 August 2021 }} (1974). Mojustav.rs. Retrieved 18 January 2021.</ref>