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 – 2 May 1945; (2 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
Yugoslav Partisans; New Zealand; Italian Resistance	Germany; Italian Social Republic; Chetniks
Commanders and leaders
Petar Drapšin; Bernard Freyberg; Ercole Miani	Odilo Globočnik; Giovanni Esposito; Momčilo Đujić
Units involved
4th Army; 2nd Division	97th Corps 188th Division; 237th Division; 10th SS Police Regiment; 204th Regional Military Command; Dinara Division; Serbian Volunteer Corps
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, 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.

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