| 42nd Home Guard Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
| 42. domobranska pješačka divizija | |
 Division insignia (1917) | |
| Active | 1914–1918 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia |
| Allegiance |  Austria-Hungary |
| Branch | Austro-Hungarian Army (Royal Croatian Home Guard) |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Line infantry |
| Size | Approx. 14,000 (peacetime strength) |
| Part of | Austro-Hungarian Army |
| Headquarters | Zagreb |
| Nickname | The Devil's Division |
| Engagements | World War I |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Johann Salis-Seewis Stjepan Sarkotić |
The42nd Home Guard Infantry Division (Croatian:42. domobranska pješačka divizija, also42. Honved Inf. Division), nicknamed theDevil's Division (Vražja divizija), was an infantry division of theRoyal Croatian Home Guard within theAustro-Hungarian Army duringWorld War I. Composed primarily ofCroatian troops, the division was deployed on multiple fronts, includingSerbia,Galicia, theRussian front, and theItalian Front.[1]
The 42nd Home Guard Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Royal Croatian Home Guard, part of the Austro-Hungarian Army. InHungarian, it was referred to asHonvéd, and inGerman asLandwehr.[1] While it carried the honorary designation Slavonski Domobrani (Slavonian Home Guard), its official title was the Devil's Division.[2]
The division was formed shortly before the outbreak of World War I as part of the 7th Home Guard Croatia-Slavonia District of theRoyal Croatian Home Guard. It consisted of approximately 14,000 troops in peacetime.[3] As with other Austro-Hungarian Home Guard divisions, its units were recruited regionally.{[1]The 42nd Division included the 83rd Infantry Regiment, headquartered in Zagreb, which comprised the 25th Zagreb Infantry Regiment and the 26th Karlovac Infantry Regiment. The division was closely associated with the 36th Home Guard Infantry Division, another Croatian-manned unit.[1]
Under the terms of theSecond Ausgleich, an agreement between Hungary and theKingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Croatian units within the Honvéd, were granted specific privileges. These included the right to useSerbo-Croatian instead ofHungarian (Magyar) as the official language of command and service, the authorization to carry Croatian national colours, and the requirement to wear Croatian national insignia on their uniforms.[4] Additionally, these provisions replaced earlier regulations that had mandated German or Hungarian as the primary languages of command.[2]
At the start of war, the 42nd division was commanded byStjepan Sarkotić, a Croatian officer from the former Military Border, born nearOtočac.[5]
The Division took part in theSerbian Campaign of 1914 as part of theXIII Corps, first inSyrmia, inMačva, then during the seven-day battle forŠabac as well as the battles ofCer andKolubara.Josip Broz Tito fought in its ranks and achieved promotion fromcorporal tostaff sergeant (he later sought to conceal his involvement).[6] The division was accused ofwar crimes, including rape, torture and murder, against the Serbian civilians of western Serbia.[7][8] On November 11, 1914 Sarkotić was replaced byJohann von Salis-Seewis who led the division during the second Serbian offensive. After the failure of the campaign, it was redeployed at the beginning of 1915 inGalicia on theEastern front along with the rest of the XIII. Corps. On 22 June 1915 Salis-Seewis was replaced byAnton Lipošćak before theRussian Empire launched theBrusilov offensive in January 1916. In February 1916,Luka Šnjarić [hr] took over from Lipošćak. On 25 June 1917Mihovil Mihaljević [hr] assumed command of the division. At the beginning of 1918, the 42nd Division was transferred to theItalian battlefield, in June 1918, the command was taken over byTeodor Soretić [hr], the division remained in Italy until the end of the war.[1]
DuringWorld War II, after the369th Croatian Reinforced Infantry Regiment, a unit of theWehrmacht composed ofCroat andBosnian Muslim volunteers under a mostly German command, was annihilated during thebattle of Stalingrad, it was reformed as the369th Croatian Infantry Division with the nickname of Devil's Division in honour of the 42nd Home Guard Infantry Division of World War I.[9][10]
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