Race for Trieste

Race for Trieste
Part of World War II in Yugoslavia and the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy
Tanks of the Yugoslav 4th Army in Trieste
Date 30 April – 3 May 1945 (3 days) Location Trieste, Kingdom of Italy Result Allied victory Joint occupation of Trieste until June Establishment of the Free Territory of Trieste in 1947
Belligerents
Yugoslavia New Zealand Italian Resistance	Germany Italian Social Republic Chetniks Serbian Volunteer Corps Serbian State Guard
Commanders and leaders
Petar Drapšin Bernard Freyberg Ercole Miani	Odilo Globočnik Giovanni Esposito Momčilo Đujić  Miodrag Damjanović
Units involved
4th Army 2nd Division	97th Corps 188th Division 237th Division 10th SS Police Regiment 204th Regional Military Command Dinara Division 1st Regiment 5th Regiment (Remnants)
Strength
68,601–84,000:243 19,423	20,000:286 5,000 13,000
Casualties and losses
436 dead 1,159 wounded	2,842 killed 3,829–5,200 captured 99 cannons 74 AA guns
6,500–8,500 civilians killed

The Race for Trieste (Italian: Corsa per Trieste), also known as the Trieste Operation (Slovene: Tržaška operacija), was a battle during the Second World War that took place during early May 1945. It led to a joint allied victory for the Yugoslav Partisans and 2nd New Zealand Division and a joint occupation of Trieste, but relations soon deteriorated and led to a nine-year dispute over the territory of Trieste. This battle is also considered the last battle in which a considerable force of Chetniks fought, as 13,000 of the irregular troops under Momčilo Đujić surrendered to the New Zealand forces under Lieutenant General Sir Bernard Freyberg as the battle progressed.