Christmas Uprising

Christmas Uprising or Christmas Rebellion was an uprising which occurred in Montenegro after the First World War. The catalyst was the decision of the unconstitutional Grand National Assembly (Podgorička skupština) for uniting with Serbia. The uprising resulted in a guerilla warfare that lasted until 1926.

It was named after the Orthodox Christmas of January 7, 1919.

The uprising might have taken a different course had King Nikola not been deceived by the Great Powers, who promised (and never fulfilled) to reestablish the sovereign state of Montenegro by diplomatic means if he would stop supporting the uprising. Based on this promise, he issued a proclamation in January 1919 asking for a stop to the resistance.

The core of the resistance was crushed in a severe, comprehensive military campaign in 1922-23, but guerrilla resistance continued in the highlands for several more years.

An estimated three thousand Montenegrins lost their lives, and another three thousand were wounded; several thousand homes were burned and destroyed. The already large emigration, particularly to the United States, accelerated. At that time, Montenegro was a country of only 300,000.

The Christmas Uprising, about which new historical documents are now being published for the first time since the 1920s, shows that opposition to Montenegro's entry in Yugoslavia was considerable.