Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Today, exactly 79 years ago, without the declaration of war, Germany attacked the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Brutally, with all the markings of a terrorist attack against an open city, Belgrade was bombed mercilessly and largely unselectively, with a clear intention to paralyze the links in the military's command and to inflict as heavy casualties as possible amongst its population... It was the beginning of the operation Unternehmen Strafgericht.

Unfortunately, until now no book was published which dealt with the bombing of Belgrade, but only selectively with its air defense. The story is much more complex when we consider the catastrophic consequences of the bombing and the number of casualties, which still remain undetermined and are estimated at about 3,000. It was one of the main reasons that the authors were governed by. Especially because of completely unfounded assertions by foreign authors that the number of casualties was even less than 1,000...

The Battle for Belgrade – April 1941 presents a tremendous number of testimonies from direct participants and witnesses to the bombing of Belgrade. These include ordinary citizens, foreign diplomats, aviators from both sides, foreign correspondents from various sides of the world, celebrities of the time, written and verbal statements of the contemporaries to the bombing. The circumstances are presented under which the military coup d'état on 27 March took place, preparation of the city and its population for air defense, heroic defense by Royal Yugoslav fighter pilots from 6. Fighter Regiment and their sacrifice, the destruction of the National Library with the immeasurable cultural treasures of Serbia, and the entrance of Germans into Belgrade and the circumstances which followed. This book contains a complete list of collapsed and damaged buildings and infrastructure. Our wish was to present for the first time ever the scope of this comprehensive tragedy which befell Belgrade and its inhabitants on 6 April 1941.

This book is dedicated to our fellow citizens who perished and to the fearless defenders of the skies above Belgrade and our freedom, with the desire to never forget their suffering and sacrifice!

After almost five years of work, we announce the book Battle for Belgrade – April 1941. Book will be published by "Službeni glasnik", which is also the largest Serbian publishing company. Our book is written in Serbian and English (two-column text) in expanded monographic format (hardcover) measuring 28 x 24 cm with 445 photographs, 600 pages and a weight of approximately 4.5 kg.

We use this opportunity to thank our publisher’s management and their technical support staff, who despite extremely difficult circumstances due to the Covid 19 pandemic and the state of emergency in Serbia completed their job professionally to the very end. We will notify you additionally concerning the exact printing date.

Book content is as follows:

Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1 - 27 March 1941
Chapter 2 - The preparations for Belgrade Air Defense
Chapter 3 - Hitler’s Order of the Day
Belgrade Radio during April war 1941
Chapter 4 - The National Library in Belgrade
Chapter 5 - Belgrade Air Defense
32.VG Wartime airfield Krušedol and auxiliary airfield Prnjavor
51.VG Belgrade airport – Zemun
Epilogue
Killed
Wounded
Chapter 6 - Who killed Yugoslavia and Greece?
Chapter 7 - Epilogue and Consequences
Objects in Belgrade struck during the German bombing in 1941
Chapter 8 - Entry of German troops in Belgrade and Zemun
Bibliography
About Authors

You can see the temporary preview at www.leadenskybooks.com, while the official preview on the website of Službeni glasnik is pending following the publication of this book.

Take care of you and your loved ones!

With best Regards from Serbia and United States,


Aleksandar Ognjević & Djordje Nikolić

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Is this book written in English ?

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Check the link: Bilingual English/Serbian. In fact, it is mentioned in the original post already.

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

One sale to Canada!
:)

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Congratulations Mr. Ognjević and Mr. Nikolić

Looking over the preview pages gives one the impression that this was a real labor of love.

I hope to be able to add this to my library soon.

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Congratulations. After all this time, more and more details about the war emerge.


Regards,
Ed

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Dear Mark, Edward & Ed,

Thank you very much for your comments. Much appreciated!

Yes it was definitely labor of love, together with discovering of new facts it was an amazing journey for Djordje and me, almost 80 years in the past...

Best Regards,
Aleks

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Aleks,
I hope you get a site up for ordering soon. I don't want to miss out on this book.

Enjoy!

Frank.

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

I would also like to join and thank all for your kind words. As Aleks said, this book was long overdue and we were compelled to tell this story to the best of our abilities, to prevent the memory of all those who perished and gave the ultimate sacrifice from being forgotten. We hope that our book incites further research into this topic.


Djordje

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Hello Frank,

We will announce it as soon as the publisher start printing, with all the details, price, shipping, etc.

Anyway, your name is on the list. :-)

Take care,

Aleks

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

congrats, mr. Ognjević and mr. Nikolić
i'll be one of the first readers to order this book, but i have a question. two years ago, i bought a serbian book titled "RATNI DNEVNIK" by same publisher and mr. Ognjević. so any new stuff or difference in this new book?
best regards

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Hello and Thanks Stukapilot,

Ratni dnevnik (Combat Diary) was published by Leadensky Books (2016) and announced book will be by Službeni glasnik. We only use Leadensky Books website as a temporary location for presentation as it was mentioned in announce.

The Ratni dnevnik book describes the participation of the 1. Fighter Brigade (2 & 6.Fighter Regiments) VVKJ in the April War, and only their aerial operations. The book Battle for Belgrade - April 1941 covers all the events surrounding the bombing of Belgrade. From a military coup on 27 March 1941, through preparations for air defense, the defense itself and entering of German troops in Belgrade. It also cites the huge damage done to buildings and infrastructure supported by more than 300 photos.

Chapter 5 (Belgrade Air Defense) from the Battle for Belgrade (describing aerial operations over Belgrade) has been translated into English from my book Ratni dnevnik with some modifications and adding of portraits and bios of 6. Fighter Regiment pilots who lost their lives in combat. Most of them published for the first time.

The significant difference is in the photos. In addition to a few unpublished ones from the 6. Fighter Regiment, for the first time unknown and exclusive St.G.77 photo material has been published thanks to my friend and co-author Djordje Nikolic, who also owns the said photographs. So, the aerial operations represent only one part of the announced book.

Best Regards
Aleks

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

thanx for your details, mr. Ognjević. i'm in. this book meets my fancy

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Hello
I am very interested in the book and other about the RYAF during April of 1941 please let me know how to order it in the future.thanks

Santiago A Flores

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Santiago, thank you for your interest in our book! We will post the notification here as soon as it is out and ready for sale.

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Hello
On your web site you have another book with the Hurricane and Fury book, the one of the Pilot in front of the BF-109 what is it about

Cheers
Santiago

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Hello Santiago,

Regarding Hawker book that you mentioned, take a look at http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=55717

The second one with the Messerschmitt at cover page is "Ratni dnevnik" - Combat Diary of 1 & 2. Aviation Brigade VVKJ in 1941 April War. The book is in Serbian language.

Cheers

Aleks

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Hello to all of you Guys,

We want to let you know that the book was printed a couple of weeks ago. Due to the pandemic situation, we received our specimens before the holidays.
The book can also be purchased on Amazon (almost 115 USD!), but I will also post links to purchase it in other locations due to the price of postage conditioned by the heavy weight of the book (6.6 pounds/3 kg).

Be sure to ask about the price of postage for your country.

Publishers website: http://www.slglasnik.com/
and contact email for sales: prodaja@slglasnik.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R2RMJD2..._tgR5FbRMF4N54

Delfi Book Shop: https://www.delfi.rs/knjige/165066_b..._knjizare.html

With Best Regards from Serbia and United States,

Aleks & Djordje

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

I received my copy of this book. It is much larger than I expected but it has a great design to it. The pictures are printed in a sepia tone as opposed to standard black and white. This doesn't bother me as the reproduction is still crisp.
First looks are impressive. I will have to read it to flesh out my overall view.

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Hello
is the book out for Sale

Cheers
Santiago

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

@Orwell1984 - Thank you! We look forward to hearing your thoughts as you get the opportunity to immerse yourself more into our book!

@esc201faem - Thank you for your interest. Yes, the book is out for sale and it is listed on Amazon but note that this price includes shipping which is high due to its weight of almost 3kg. Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Bitka-za-Beog...2071305&sr=8-2

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Hello
Got my copy today, BIG book, a lot to cover ,great work guys.

Santiago

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Santiago,

Happy to hear you got your copy! Thank you for the kind words and hope you enjoy reading our work!

Best regards,

Djordje

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Thanks Santiago, I hope you will enjoy reading it!

Cheers
Aleks

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Is there a European seller for this with the site in English?

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Jukka,
Amazon.com says they have two copies left. Although you may not want to pay for shipping it back across the Atlantic.

Enjoy!

Frank.

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

I check the amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Belgra...jordje+Nikolic

But according to amazon, this is "Serbian Edition", is it supposed be Bilingual English/Serbian ?

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

The book is bi-lingual, English and Serbian.

Enjoy!

Frank.

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Jukka,

Two more at ebay with "buy now" option at 79.99 usd plus 19.99 usd shipping

https://www.ebay.com/itm/164762658719

Frank is right, shipment from the US will be high.

Cheers
Aleks

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

You can try at mreznaknjizara@gmail.com as well...

Re: Battle for Belgrade - April 1941
 

Terazije book store in Serbia is selling this book on Amazon so it is not coming from USA, the book is in Europe.