Kosakenland (also known as Kosakenland in Norditalien or Cossackia) was a semi-independent military government subordinate to the Nazi Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral established on the basis of Kazachi Stan, a mobile encampment and a combat formation composed of Cossacks who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II. The political entity had dual leadership representing the Circassian population and the Cossack population which had been settled by the order of Odilo Globocnik in Carnia, Friuli, Italy. The entity lasted from July 1944 to May 1945, when the Cossacks and Caucasians that had settled within it retreated to Austria in order to surrender to the British forces.
Background
The Keitel-Rosenberg edict During the German invasion of the USSR, the German armed forces, alongside the Italian ones, incorporated within their armies thousands of Cossacks who collaborated with Nazi Germany. They served in the Wehrmacht, the Waffen-SS, and the Royal Italian Army. A significant portion of these belonged to the Kazachi Stan, a mobile encampment and a combat formation composed of Cossacks who retreated with the Germans from North Caucusus and South Russia in the winter of 1942 and 1943. On 10 November 1943, when the USSR had already liberated significant portions of the country, an edict by the minister of the occupied territories, Alfred Rosenberg, and the commander of the Wehrmacht Wilhelm Keitel, assured the Kazachi Stan that, once the USSR was defeated, they would have been provided significant autonomy in their native territories, and, temporarily, in other parts of Europe if at any given time it was impossible for them to return to their native lands.
The grounds for establishment After the Armistice of Cassibile became effective on 8 September 1943, the Germans successfully pursued Operation Wolkenbruch, securing most of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and the Italian occupied territories of Slovenia. The Germans would subsequently establish the Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral, which they planned, for the most part, to incorporate in the Third Reich (incorporating it in a concept of a German-ruled "Greater Austria") following the end of World War II.
Due to this occupation, throughout the whole summer of 1944, the area of Northern Friuli was the protagonist of numerous partisan operations, which culminated on 26 September 1944 with the establishment of the Republic of Carnia. This was around the time the Cossacks units of Kazachi Stan arrived in Friuli.
In order to further undermine partisan activities, in July 1944, the SS and Police leader which was assigned to Trieste by Nazi Germany, Odilo Globocnik, allowed the settlement of Cossack units loyal to Germany in the area: it was the start of Operation Ataman, which in just a few weeks, settled up to 22,000 Cossacks (Including 9,000 soldiers, 6,000 elders, 4,000 of family members and 3,000 children) and 4,000 Caucasians (2,000 soldiers and 2,000 family members, not counting the Georgians) with the use of up to 50 military trains. Amongst those defined as "Caucasians" by the authorities, there were also Turkmens.
Initially, the settlers were temporarily stationed only in the valley in the proximity of , Osoppo, Gemona del Friuli, Tarcento, Artegna, Nimis and Spilimbergo. P.A CARNIER, op. cit., p. 9.
History
Establishment of Kosakenland and local reprisals (July 1944 - October 1944) Having defeated the Republic of Carnia, the Nazi-aligned Cossacks and Caucasians started to build what they called the "Kosakenland in Norditalien," which had been promised by the Germans.
The first action by the occupiers upon having the full control of the Carnia region was a campaign of reprisal on the population due to their collaboration with the Republic of Carnia, leading to mass indiscriminate killings, rapes and occupation of civilian houses starting from August 1944 up to October 1944. One of the most infamous events during such acts of reprisals occurred on 9 October 1944, when a Catholic priest who lived in Tolmezzo, Don Giuseppe Treppo, was killed by the Cossacks after attempting to defend women and girls from being raped by them. The killing caused a diplomatic crisis between the Archdiocese of Udine and the Operational Zone of the Adriatic Litoral as well as the Cossack command. By the end of the first wave of reprisals, 62 women were sexually assaulted.Document by Prof. Giannone sent to Angelo Tarchi (politician)
By October 1944, the Cossacks, the Caucasian and German troops had managed to solidify their control over Carnia, and the Cossacks started to deport the local Italian and Friulian population living in Alesso, Bordano, Forni Avoltri and in most areas of Trasaghis in order to settle them with Cossacks and Caucasians. The only remaining active partisan forces at the time were the Brigate Garibaldi and the 1st division of the Stalin Battalion. The Stalin Battalion was formed by Georgian settlers who had been brought to Carnia by the Germans, who, however, opposed Germany, their reprisals against the local population and the discrimination of Georgians in Kosakenland.
The Domanov government (November 1944 - February 1945) Sultan Klych-Girey was put in charge of the areas settled by Circassians and other Caucasian ethnic groups, specifically northern Kosakenland. Whilst the southern part, settled by the Cossacks, was under the rule of Timofey Domanov who was later joined by Pyotr Krasnov, the head of the collaborationist Main Administration of Cossack Forces.
The comune of Verzegnis had become the general headquarters Krasnov, whilst other villages and towns were renamed with Russian city names (Alesso was renamed after Novočerkassk, Trasaghis was renamed after Novorossijsk, and Cavazzo to Krasnodar). Tolmezzo (Renamed "Don") had also become the headquarters of the Cossack autonomous council and the capital of the puppet state.
There was a campaign of replication of the Cossack's and the Caucasus social organizations, style of life and religious rituals within the newly settled territories. For example, the state established a national holiday to be held during Orthodox Christmas, which was only officially held once on 7 January 1945.
By the end of February 1945, mass reprisal had come to an end, and due to the need of supplies, the leaders of the Cossacks and the Caucasians decided to forcefully incite the local population to host the Cossacks and Caucasians in their houses in order to share their food and much needed supplies with them.
Start of the Krasnov government (15 February 1945 - 21 March 1945)
Up until 14 February 1945, Timofey Domanov was the leader of the Cossack districts in Kosakenland, however, following the arrival of Pyotr Krassnov, alongside his wife Lydia, Domanov had to give the charge of the districts to him. Krasnov lived in Carnia starting from 27 February 1945, when he and his wife stayed at the Savoy Hotel in Villa di Verzegnis, which was renovated by his orders to resemble a 19th Century Russian noble residence. Domanov had become the leader of the armed forces, whilst Krasnov handled the rest.
Krasnov's return not only decreased the level of violence towards the local population, but also increased the morale of the Cossacks which started to actively hunt for the partisans of the Brigate Garibaldi and the Stalin Battalion.
The Vlasvov-Naumenko plot attempt (22 March 1945 - 27 March 1945) When Krasnov had moved to Carnia, Vyacheslav Naumenko served as the acting director of the Main Administration of Cossack Forces in Berlin. Andrey Vlasov, chairman of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, authorized by Heinrich Himmler, proposed a military takeover of the forces stationed in Carnia to repurpose them in the Committee and under Vlasvov's control. Naumenko supported the initiative and used his power as an ataman (title he had gained back in 1920) to take away Krasnov's authority over the Cossack units and under his command with a decree on 22 March 1945.
Upon hearing the news the next day, Krasnov annulled Naumenko's order transferring the Kuban troops to the ROA. He argued that Naumenko’s 1920 election as ataman was invalid because it had been conducted by only 35 members of the rada instead of the required 580, that no official records had been signed, and that Naumenko had never received a formal decree of appointment.
On 24 March 1945, he convened all senior Cossack military leaders in Tolmezzo to condemn Naumenko's actions and to confirm that the order transferring Kuban units from Domanov to Vlasov was null and void. The following day, he ordered the Cossack gendarmerie to investigate possible links between Kuban officers and Naumenko. A colonel was arrested for pro-Vlasov propaganda, and a Kuban Cossack general was removed and reassigned for the same reason. The plot came to an end when Vlasvov downplayed the event on a letter dated 27 March 1945.
The fall of Kosakenland (April 1945 - May 1945) The Cossacks and the Caucasians started to realise that, upon the fall of the Gothic Line and the success of the Red Army in Eastern Europe, that the chances of a German victory were becoming increasingly slim. Krasnov and Vlasvov met up in Campoformido and decided to head towards Carinthia. The evacuations started on 27 April 1945, two days after the call by the CLN for the population of Carnia to rise against the Germans and the Cossacks.AP of Lorenzago, historical diary of June 1944-May 1945. Atrocities against the local population significantly increased once again in this period. The partisans and the representatives of the Georgian population in Kosakenland both suggested that the Cossacks should have surrendered to the partisans, however, the Cossacks and the Caucasians both opted to continue their evacuations towards Austria and surrender to the Anglo-American forces. The Georgians soon after mostly joined the side of the Italian partisans, playing a key role in battles such as the Battle of Ovaro (one of the last battles of WW2 in Italy).Le due giornate di Ovaro – Friuli: cosacchi partigiani e civili in un paese in fiamme 1-2 maggio 1945. Aviani & Aviani Editore. What would follow would be numerous civilian casualties during the fights between the partisans and the Cossacks, resulting in 152 civilian casualties amongst Italian, Friulian and Georgian civilians and around 110 Cossack and Caucasian civilians.Source also mentions http://www.nonsolocarnia.info as a source for information
On 9 May 1945, the Cossacks and Caucasians surrendered to British troops upon crossing the border into Austria, in Lienz. Most of them were repatriated to the Soviet Union, where they were sent to the Gulag and internal exile.
Government
Southern Carnia (Cossack-controlled Carnia) The area, had been divided in 54 principals (the equivalent of a primary administrative division). The districts (which functioned as secondary administrative division) were divided by the place of origin of the Cossacks. Each district had numerous "stanitsa" (third level administrative division) which were governed either by a marshal (called "Vojskvoj Staršina") or by an ataman.
There was a national hospital, a national bank called "Feldsbank" and a military tribunal that acted as a judiciary organ (which also functioned as a civic one). In most of the districts there were primary schools, and even one Cossack highschool in Chiaulis.
Northern Carnia (Caucasian-controlled Carnia) The Caucasian controlled area had less of a strict administrative division system and focused more in dividing areas by the ethnicity of the people living in said cities. Clans and families had a prominent role. The Caucasians pretty much like the Cossacks had a military tribunal (which also functioned a civic one).
Economy
Southern Carnia (Cossack-Controlled Carnia)