The
Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia was the area of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia that was placed under a
military government of
occupation by the
Wehrmacht following the
invasion, occupation and dismantling of Yugoslavia in April 1941. The territory included
Serbia proper, with the addition of the
northern part of Kosovo (around
Kosovska Mitrovica), and the
Banat. This territory was the only area of partitioned Yugoslavia in which the German occupants established a military government. This was due to the key rail and
riverine transport routes that passed through it, and its valuable resources, particularly
non-ferrous metals. On 22 April 1941, the territory was placed under the supreme authority of the German military commander in Serbia, with the day-to-day administration of the territory under the control of the chief of the military administration staff. The lines of command and control in the occupied territory were never unified, and were made more complex by the appointment of direct representatives of senior Nazi figures such as
Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler (for police and security matters),
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (for the economy), and
Reichsminister Joachim von Ribbentrop (for foreign affairs). The Germans used
Bulgarian troops to assist in the occupation, but they were at all times under German control. Sources variously describe the territory as a
puppet state, a
protectorate, a "special administrative province", or describe it as having a puppet government. The military commander in Serbia had very limited German garrison troops and police detachments to maintain order, but could request assistance from a
corps of three
divisions of poorly-equipped occupation troops.