Yugoslav coup d'état — Yugoslav coup d'état, 27 March 1941, replaced the regency led by Prince Paul and installed King Peter II
The coup ousted Yugoslavia's pro-Axis regency two days after it signed the Tripartite Pact, directly triggering the German-led invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941.
Key Facts
- Date of coup
- 27 March 1941
- King installed
- King Peter II, aged 17
- Deposed prime minister
- Dragiša Cvetković
- New prime minister
- General Dušan Simović
- Pact signed before coup
- Vienna Protocol (Tripartite Pact), 25 March 1941
- British role
- Encouraged by British Special Operations Executive
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
On 25 March 1941, the regency government of Prince Paul signed the Vienna Protocol, formally joining Yugoslavia to the Axis Tripartite Pact. This decision, made despite strong public opposition, provided the immediate catalyst for pro-Western Serbian nationalist officers in the Royal Yugoslav Air Force, who had been plotting since 1938 and were encouraged by the British Special Operations Executive, to act.
On 27 March 1941, a group of Royal Yugoslav Air Force officers led by General Dušan Simović, Brigadier General Borivoje Mirković, and Major Živan Knežević executed a successful coup in Belgrade. The three-member regency and the Cvetković government were deposed. The 17-year-old King Peter II was declared of age and assumed full monarchical powers, forming a national unity government with Simović as prime minister.
The coup led directly to Germany's decision to invade Yugoslavia; the Axis attack began in April 1941. The subsequent Yugoslav campaign and its possible role in delaying Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union launched on 22 June 1941, remain debated among historians, with some arguing a delay resulted and others, including Martin van Creveld, contending the Balkan campaign was not a determining factor.