Serbia was a powerful kingdom until its conquest by the Turks in 1389. Serbia gained autonomy in 1829 and independence in 1878. Serbia assumed leadership of the movement to unite the southern Slavs in the early 20th century, especially after the defeat of Turkey during the Balkan Wars (1912-13). The assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown by a Serbian nationalist in 1914 led to an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia, which escalated into World War I. By the end of 1915, Serbia was occupied by German, Austrian and Bulgarian forces, while the Serbian government and army retired to Corfu. Another 42 stamps were overprinted for use during this period. With the collapse of Austria-Hungary in the autumn of 1918, Serbia became the nucleus of the Yugoslav state. The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was established on Dec. 1, 1918, under the Serbian monarchy. In 1929 the state was renamed Yugoslavia. During 1941-44, Serbia was recreated as a German puppet state. An additional 126 stamps were issued during the war years.
A state in south Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea. Yugoslavia was formed on Dec. 1, 1918, from the union of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Dalmatia, Montenegro and Slovenia, as the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1925, the name Yugoslavia was adopted. During World War II, Yugoslavia was occupied by the Axis, with a number of German and Italian puppet states being created, while the balance of its territory was annexed by its neighbors. Resistance groups were active during the war. In late 1944, German forces were driven from the country, and a people's republic was proclaimed. The communist postwar regime, under the late Josip Broz Tito, broke with Moscow in 1948 and maintained its independence from the Soviet Union. Under Tito's direction, Yugoslavia's separatist tendencies were held in check, and the nation prospered. After Tito's death, a collective leadership with a presidency rotating between the major national groups was established that, for a decade, held the country together. Ethnic strains increased steadily, however, and in 1991 popular referendums in Croatia and Slovenia resulted in those regions announcing their intention to become independent. In June 1991, both nations declared their independence and were promptly invaded by Yugoslavian army forces, which were dominated by Serbia. Yugoslav units withdrew from Slovenia, and that country was allowed to go its own way, but fighting continued in Croatia. Yugoslav forces also attempted to repress separatist movements in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a bitter war, marked by atrocities on both sides (though mostly by the Serbs), continued through 1995. The Dayton Accords of that year formalized the situation that forces of arms had created in the preceding four years: Croatian independence was recognized and Bosnia-Herzegovina became independent as a fragile entity, with political power (and territorial control) carefully divided among Bosnian Serbs, Muslims and Croatians, monitored by United Nations troops. Yugoslavia today has been reduced to the territories of Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. Because of its atrocities against non-Serbian Bosnians and, more recently, against the Albanian population in Kosovo, the Yugoslav government has been under frequent trade embargoes through the 1990s and experienced NATO military intervention in 1999.
Serbia was a powerful kingdom until its conquest by the Turks in 1389. Serbia gained autonomy in 1829 and independence in 1878. Serbia assumed leadership of the movement to unite the southern Slavs in the early 20th century, especially after the defeat of Turkey during the Balkan Wars (1912-13). The assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown by a Serbian nationalist in 1914 led to an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia, which escalated into World War I. By the end of 1915, Serbia was occupied by German, Austrian and Bulgarian forces, while the Serbian government and army retired to Corfu. Another 42 stamps were overprinted for use during this period. With the collapse of Austria-Hungary in the autumn of 1918, Serbia became the nucleus of the Yugoslav state. The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was established on Dec. 1, 1918, under the Serbian monarchy. In 1929 the state was renamed Yugoslavia. During 1941-44, Serbia was recreated as a German puppet state. An additional 126 stamps were issued during the war years.
