Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Краљевина Југославија, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state straddling the Western Balkans and Central Europe that existed during the interwar period (1918–1939) and first half of World War II (1939–1943). It was formed in 1918 by the merger of the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (itself formed from territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire) with the formerly independent Kingdom of Serbia. The Kingdom of Montenegro had united with Serbia five days previously, while the regions of Kosovo, Vojvodina and Vardar Macedonia were parts of Serbia prior to the unification. For its first eleven years of existence, the Kingdom was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" was its colloquial name from the very beginning.

On 17 April 1941, the Kingdom was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany and organised into four provinces under foreign rule. A royal government-in-exile, recognized by the United Kingdom and, later, by all the Allied powers, was established in London. In 1944, after pressure from the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the Kingdom was succeeded by a provisional regime named Democratic Federal Yugoslavia. This was established on 2 November following the signing of the Treaty of Vis by Ivan Šubašić (on behalf of the Kingdom) and Josip Broz Tito (on behalf of the Yugoslav Partisans).