Christopher Alexander Murray
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Order from Chaos when Chaos is the Order: Revising Historical Narratives on Britain’s Second World War Yugoslav Policy L'ordre du chaos quand Chaos est l'Ordre: Révision des récits historiques sur la politique Yougoslave Seconde Guerre mondiale en Grande-Bretagne A Thesis Submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies of the Royal Military College of Canada by Christopher Alexander Murray In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts – War Studies April 2016 © This thesis may be used within the Department of National Defence but copyright for open publication remains the property of the author. II Disclaimer The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the individual student author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Royal Military College of Canada, the Department of National Defence, their staffs, or any other governmental agency. References to this study should include the foregoing statement. Any errors are solely the responsibility of the author. Legal / Copyright Quotation from, Abstraction from, or Reproduction of all or any part of this document is permitted provided proper acknowledgement is made. III To Jessica, my sounding board, my editor, my unofficial research assistant, my partner in crime, my friend, my love. Without your help and your limitless patience none of this would be possible. So you’re the one to blame. IV Abstract During the Second World War British support to occupied Yugoslavia’s resistance underwent an inexplicable and controversial about face that saw His Majesty’s Government (HMG) pivot support from Draža Mihailović’s Royalist Četniks to Josip Broz Tito’s Communist Partisans. This about face in policy has fomented a lasting debate, still very much alive in the current historical literature. This thesis will explore various explanations for this apparent shift in British policy by examining the principal historiography in the light of more recently declassified records. By taking a view of HMG policy evolution that focuses on influence and context this thesis will examine the evolution of British Yugoslav policy. The intention is to fill gaps in the literature and illustrate that previous narratives have been problematic due to archival limitations and issues of approach. This examination provides a new narrative by which to frame HMG Policy in Yugoslavia that has yet to be considered and which provides very different and intriguing explanations. Résumé Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, le soutien britannique à la résistance Yougoslavie occupée subi une volte-face inexplicable et controversée qui a vu le gouvernement de Sa Majesté (HMG) aider de pivot à partir de Draza Mihailovic royaliste tchetniks de partisans communistes de Josip Broz Tito. Cette volte-face dans la politique a déploré un débat durable, toujours bien vivant dans la littérature historique actuelle. Cette thèse explorera diverses explications à ce changement apparent dans la politique britannique en examinant l'historiographie principale à la lumière des dossiers plus récemment déclassifiés. En prenant une vue de l'évaluation de la politique HMG qui se concentre sur l'influence et le contexte de cette thèse examinera l'évolution derrière la politique yougoslave britannique. L'intention est de combler les lacunes dans la littérature et d'illustrer que les récits précédents ont été problématique en raison des limites de l'approche et des questions d'archivage. Cet examen fournit un nouveau récit par lequel pour encadrer la politique HMG en Yougoslavie qui doit encore être examiné et qui fournit des explications très différentes et intrigantes. V Acknowledgements This thesis would not be possible without the tremendous support and guidance of many individuals. Their assistance has allowed me to pursue a subject I am passionate about and feel is largely unrecognized and vitally important to Second World War studies. It is to these individuals a debt of gratitude is owed. This said, all errors and faults are my own and should not reflect upon the wonderfully supportive people who have assisted this project along the way. To begin I would like to give special thanks to Dr. Michael Hennessy of the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) who acted as supervisor to this thesis. His informal approach and long conversations were invaluable. The ability to casually discuss ideas and gain guidance built confidence and initiative, it served to encourage me to take risks and to think and talk about things in new ways. It was by far the greatest experience within this writing process. I would also like to thank both Dr. Nikolas Gardner and Dr. James Wood of RMC’s War Studies department who both, in their own way, built the path that I have followed to this thesis. I would also like to thank Dr. Paul Driben, and Prof. Walid Chahal of Lakehead University who taught me how to think about issues from unfamiliar ground. Their continued support along with that of Dr. Bruce Strang of Brandon University have been the foundation upon which I have pursued my academic endeavours. I would also like to thank the staff of RMC’s Massey Library whose assistance in navigating the archives was tremendously helpful and encouraging. While on the subject I would also like to thank Alison Giles of Britain’s Imperial War Museum for her efforts in assisting me in “deciphering a signature” Also I should thank Stewart Webb, editor of The Defence Report, for providing me with a late night sounding board and continued grounding during my more panicked moments. Bruce Hyer, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Superior North is also deserving of special mention. Mr. Hyer’s unwavering faith in, and limitless support of, my abilities has served to free me of any hesitation concerning my ambitions. The unfettered window Mr. Hyer has provided me into the inner workings of the Canadian government has yielded invaluable lessons on how to approach and consider government processes. The value of these lessons is beyond articulating. Thanks are owed to Dr. Ernie Epp and Dr. Neil Nelson whose friendship and unwavering commitment to heading my own cheering section has been an incredibly rewarding relationship. On a lighter note I should also acknowledge Rockstar Energy Drinks for fuelling my late night marathon writing sessions that produced some of my most inspired work, and for likely shaving several years off my life. VI Special thanks is owed to Dr. Michael Greenwood, Dr. David Varey, Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk, and Maj. John Grodzinski of the Royal Military College for serving as the defence committee for my thesis. Their insights and guidance have been deeply appreciated. Finally to my family, my fiancé Jessica, without her support I would be nowhere. To my Mother and Father whose financial investment in my education may yet yield one of the most costly and least read books in history is greatly appreciated. VII Glossary AVNOJ – Anti-Fascist Assembly of National Liberation BLO – British Liaison Officer Brig. – Brigadier General BSC – British Security Co-ordination C-in-C – Commander-in-Chief Capt. – Captain CIGS – Chief of the Imperial General Staff of HMG Col. – Colonel COS – Chiefs of Staff CPC – Canadian Communist Party DMI – Directorate of Military Intelligence FO – Foreign Office Gen. – General GCCS – Government Code and Cypher School GHQME – General Headquarters Middle East GPM – Government Politics Model HMG – His Majesty’s (British) Government HQ – Headquarters JCOS – Joint Chiefs of Staff JIC – Joint Intelligence Committee Lt. – Lieutenant MEW – Ministry of Economic Warfare Mjr. – Major MP – Member of Parliament OBM – Organisational Behaviour Model OSS – United States’ Office of Strategic Services PM – Prime Minister PMO – Prime Ministers Office PWE – Political Warfare Executive RAM – Rational Actor Model RCMP – Royal Canadian Mounted Police RYG – Royal Yugoslav Government SAS – Special Air Service SIS – Special Intelligence Service SOE – Special Operations Executive USSR – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics W/T – Wireless Transmitter WO – War Office VIII A note to the reader on spelling and format Spelling of place names and individuals have been standardised to what the writer believes to be the most representative, as well as most recognizable form to the reader. As an example the place name “Yugoslavia” is itself often represented in British archival material as “Yugoslavia,” “Jugoslavia,” or “Yugo-slavia” interchangeably and without cause for note. This is of no consequence to the arguments contained within this thesis and therefore have been standardized including within direct quotations (unless otherwise stated – i.e. [sic]) for the reader’s ease. The one exception to this standardization effort lies within the footnotes. For accuracy, references to primary documents have been rendered with titles for said documents exactly how they appear in their original form. In the case of individuals the same holds true, wherein several slightly altered forms generally arise, with again, what seems to have been without cause for issue within His Majesty’s Government (HMG). Most often this concerns “hai - haj” and “Yu - Ju” sounds. Again, these have been standardised by what the author believes to be the most representative, as well as most recognizable form to the reader across all of this thesis’ content, including direct quotation, unless otherwise stated. Code words for locations, individuals, missions, conference and operations are denoted by their representation in, as demonstrated HERE, smaller font upper case lettering. All abbreviations and acronyms as listed in the Glossary are denoted in long form in their first appearance followed by the abbreviation/acronym and are from then on represented solely by their shorthand abbreviation/acronym. An example of this can be found in the preceding paragraph, which mentions His Majesty’s Government (HMG). These shorthand representations appear entirely in upper case without any modification such as that applied to code words. They are furthermore undivided by periods, for example SOE or HMG, not S.O.E.