Podgorica Assembly
The unification was successful and preceded the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes as a unified state of South Slavs by mere days.
[5] Serbia outlined its war aims in the Niš Declaration, emphasizing the post-war unification of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which marginalised Montenegro in the proposed state-building process.
[6] In 1915, Montenegro sought support from the Russian Empire for its aspirations to expand along the Adriatic Sea and its hinterland between the Mat and Neretva rivers – encompassing Herzegovina, southern Dalmatia, and the city of Shkodër – but these efforts were unsuccessful.
Although the Serbian government disapproved of this move, it refrained from confronting Nikola to avoid potentially increasing support for him among the Montenegrin population.
Consequently, the bulk of the Montenegrin forces were ordered by the Royal Serbian Army's High Command to move to the north of Montenegro, concentrating around the Sandžak region.
This left the southern border, including Lovćen Mountain between the Austro-Hungarian Bay of Kotor and the Montenegrin capital, thinly defended.
Towards the end of December, anticipating the imminent loss of the city, the king, government officials, members of parliament, representatives of the Serbian High Command, and foreign embassies were evacuated from the nation's capital of Cetinje to Podgorica.
Prime Minister Lazar Mijušković resigned from his post after one such dispute, expressing support for union with Serbia over the preservation of Montenegrin independence.
[12] Throughout the war, most Entente powers did not completely trust Montenegro as an ally due to persistent rumours of covert diplomatic arrangements.
[14] Instead of confronting Nikola for fear of pushing Montenegro to the opposing camp, the Central Powers chose to work to channel their support through Serbia.
[13] The Kingdom of Italy, despite being part of the Entente, supported Montenegrin independence, viewing the prospective unified South Slavic state as a threat to its interests in the Balkans and the Adriatic.
[17] In an interview in the final days of the war, Nikola expressed hope that U.S. President Woodrow Wilson would ensure Montenegro's independent political future.
Initially hesitant, Nikola eventually received encouragement from Italy (whose king, Victor Emmanuel III, was his son-in-law) to reject the offer.
Its inaugural proclamation was submitted for approval to Serbia's prime minister, Nikola Pašić, who advised Radović to avoid mentioning "Yugoslavia" as the new state and instead suggested using the term "other Serbian lands".
[19] Initially, the committee comprised former government ministers Pero Vučković, Danilo Gatalo, and Janko Spasojević, along with district court member Miloš Ivanović.
Upon the insistence of General Louis Franchet d'Espèrey, the Royal Serbian Army was positioned on the western flank of the advance after reaching Skopje.
[23] The Royal Serbian Army contingent assigned Colonel Dragutin Milutinović [sr] the task of gaining control of Montenegro.
[22] The Adriatic Troops were composed of soldiers from the Yugoslav Division (recruited from Austro-Hungarian lands) and Serbian paramilitaries from the Kosovo region, under the leadership of Kosta Pećanac.
[22] In the latter part of October, while the Adriatic Troops were stationed in Berane, Montenegrin insurgents (komite) under the leadership of Jovan Radović [sr] gained control of much of the countryside.
Austro-Hungarian forces abandoned the Montenegrin capital and withdrew from the country on 4 November, two days before the Adriatic Troops reached Cetinje.
The tense atmosphere at political rallies promoting unification prompted Milutinović to request reinforcements to maintain order during the election.
The latter argued that the rules were unlawful because they were not formulated by any Montenegrin legislative body and because they contradicted then existing laws and the 1905 Constitution of Montenegro [sr].
[29] Montenegrin ambassador to the United States, Anto Gvozdenović,[30] raised concerns at the Paris Peace Conference about the lack of proportional representation in the election rules.
It was stipulated that the elected delegates would convene in Podgorica a week later to deliberate on Montenegro's constitutional and legal status and appoint an executive body to enforce the assembly's decisions.
[38] In four additional sessions held by 29 November, the assembly appointed Damjanović along with Vojvoda Stevo Vukotić (brother of Queen Consort Milena of Montenegro), Marko Daković, Spasoje Piletić, and Risto Jojić as the executive committee members.
The assembly reconvened on 29 April 1919 in Podgorica to dismiss the executive committee and transfer its powers to Ivo Pavićević as the Serbian administrator for Montenegro.
[42] France severed diplomatic ties with Montenegro on 20 December 1920 following the Constitutional Assembly election in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
[47] Historian Ivo Banac suggested that the Greens enjoyed support from a larger proportion of the population but were comparably poorly organised, indecisive, and politically divided.
[51] Italy initially supported the Montenegrin government-in-exile during negotiations over borders with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes as part of the resolution of the Adriatic question.
The paper became well known in the general public because, in it, Djilas argued that Montenegrins indisputable belong to the Serbian branch of South Slavs, but that they formed into a separate nation through the course of history.
