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{{Short description|1945 military boundary in southeast Europe}}
[[File:Confini Trieste-Istria2.jpg|thumb|right|225px|The division of the [[Julian March]] between June 1945 and September 1947, with the Morgan line in Red.]]
The '''Morgan Line''' ({{langx|it|Linea Morgan}}, {{langx|sl|Morganova Linija}}) was the line of demarcation set up after [[World War II]] in the region known as [[Julian March]] which prior to the war belonged to the [[Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)|Kingdom of Italy]]. The Morgan Line was the border between two military administrations in the region: the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] on the east, and that of the [[Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories|Allied Military Government]] on the west. After 15 September 1947, the Allied Military Government was composed of both the British Element Trieste Forces (BETFOR) troops from the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[Trieste United States Troops]] (TRUST) from the [[United States]].

==Boundary==
The Morgan Line established a temporary boundary between the Yugoslav and Allied administrations in the region of [[Julian March]] (Venezia Giulia), contended by [[Italy]] and the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]], and also to reduce the possibility of combat between Allied and Yugoslav forces in the area. The line was named after the British representative at the negotiations in [[Duino]] that resulted in the demarcation, Lieutenant General Sir [[William Duthie Morgan]]. Morgan, chief of staff to [[Field Marshal]] [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Sir Harold Alexander]], Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean, had been sent to Belgrade on May 7 to remind Yugoslav leader [[Josip Broz Tito]] that Yugoslav forces were in violation of a February 1945 written agreement between Tito and Alexander in occupying the territory. During the negotiations, Morgan drew up a line, then called the "Blue Line" and, when Allied troops of the British XIII Corps began moving forward to the blue line on May 22, Tito agreed in principle to the demarcation the next day, with the agreement signed in [[Duino]] on June 10, 1945.

On April 30th [[Trieste]] was occupied by Yugoslav forces, and they were challenged by the [[2nd New Zealand Division]] under General [[Bernard Freyberg|Freyberg]], which reached Trieste on 2nd May, and received the surrender of the German forces. Cox said that it was ''the first major confrontation of the Cold War'' and was ''the one corner of Europe'' where ''no demarcation line had been agreed upon in advance by the Allies.'' The city remained part of Italy. <ref>{{cite book |last= [[Geoffrey Cox (journalist)|Cox]] |first= Geoffrey |title= The Race for Trieste (was The Road to Trieste)|accessdate= |edition= 2 |origyear= 1947 |year= 1977 |publisher= W Kimber, UK & Whitcoulls, NZ |location= United Kingdom, New Zealand |isbn= 0-7183-0375-X |oclc= |page= 7|pages= }} </ref>

==Location==
[[File:Morgan Line.JPG|thumb|right|225px|Memorial plaque to the Morgan line in [[Spodnje Škofije]], [[Slovenia]]. In [[Istria]], the line served as the border between Zone A and Zone B of the [[Free Territory of Trieste]] between 1947 and 1954. Today, almost all of the former Morgan Line lies within Slovenian territory.]]

The line, approximately 70 miles in length, began on the coast just south of [[Trieste]], curved 15 miles to the east and then northwest to [[Gorizia]], [[Italy]], then north along the [[Soča|Isonzo/Soča]] River through [[Kobarid]] to [[Rateče]] near the Italian-Austrian border. The demarcation divided the Julian March into two zones, "Zone A" under Allied military administration and "Zone B" under the administration of the [[Yugoslav People's Army]].

===Zone A===
Zone A comprised the western portion of the region, which included the current Italian provinces of [[Province of Trieste|Trieste]] and [[Province of Gorizia|Gorizia]], a strip of territory between the current Slovene-Italian border and the [[Soča]]/ Isonzo river, the [[Brda (Slovenia)|Brda]]/ Collio hills, the lower [[Vipava Valley]]/ Valle del Vipacco (corresponding roughly to the current Slovene municipalities of [[Šempeter-Vrtojba]], [[Renče-Vogrsko]], [[Miren-Kostanjevica]] and most of the municipality of [[Nova Gorica]], except the [[Banjšice Plateau]]), the western section of the [[Karst Plateau]] (corresponding more or less to the current Slovene municipalities of [[Sežana]] and [[Komen]]), and the [[Istria]]n villages of [[Plavje]], [[Spodnje Škofije]], [[Elerji]], and [[Hrvatini]], now in Slovenia.

The Istrian coastal town of [[Pula]] (now in [[Croatia]]) was also under Allied administration, forming an [[enclave]] of Zone A within the territory of Zone B.

===Zone B===
The Yugoslav-administered Zone B extended to almost two-thirds of the region, including the city of [[Rijeka]]/ [[Fiume]], most of the [[Istria|Istrian peninsula]] (with the exception of the town of [[Pula|Pula/Pola]] and the municipalities of [[Muggia]] and [[San Dorligo della Valle|Dolina]]), the [[Cres]]-[[Lošinj]]/ Cherso - Lussino archipelago, and the eastern portion of the [[Slovene Littoral]]. The village of [[Opatje Selo]]/ Oppachiesella on the northwestern edge of the [[Karst Plateau]] formed a small enclave of Zone B within the territory of Zone A.

==End of the line==

The Morgan Line ceased to exist on 15 September 1947, when the [[Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947|Treaty of Peace with Italy]] came into effect. The Treaty established the border between Italy and Yugoslavia in the northern sections of the contended territory, as well as the border between Yugoslavia and the [[Free Territory of Trieste]] established as new independent, sovereign State under a provisional regime of Government<ref>Article 21 and Annex VII, Instrument for the Provisional Regime of the Free Territory of Trieste. See: https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%2049/v49.pdf</ref> under the direct responsibility of the United Nations Security Council<ref>see: United Nations Security Council 16, 10 January 1947: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/16(1947)</ref> in its southern part. Allied troops along the Morgan Line withdrew several miles to a parallel "French Line" (adopted at the recommendation of the French Foreign Minister), part of which ran along sections of the former Morgan Line.

The Free Territory was divided into two administration zones (Zone A, under an [[Allied Military Government]] and Zone B under a Yugoslav Military Government), and the demarcation line between the two zones ran along the Morgan line. In 1954, when both military governments handed over their mandate, to the Governments of Italy and Yugoslavia respectively<ref>UNTS Vol.235, 3297 Memorandum of Understanding of London, article 2: see https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20235/v235.pdf</ref> the villages of [[Plavje]]/ Plavie, [[Spodnje Škofije]]/ Albaro Vescovà, [[Elerji]] and [[Hrvatini]]/ Crevatini were annexed to Yugoslavia.<ref>UNTS Vol.235, 3297 Memorandum of Understanding of London, maps: see https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1956/04/19560425%2009-09%20AM/I-3297-vol-235-map-.color.pdf</ref>

Today, almost all of the former Morgan Line is completely within Slovenian territory. Only a very small part still serves as a border between Italy and Slovenia, dividing the Italian municipality of [[San Dorligo della Valle]] from the Slovenian municipality of [[Koper|Koper / Capodistria]].

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==

* White's Political Dictionary, 1947

[[Category:Aftermath of World War II in Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:1947 in Croatia]]
[[Category:1947 in Slovenia]]
[[Category:1947 in Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:1940s disestablishments in Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:Italy–Yugoslavia relations]]
[[Category:Aftermath of World War II in Italy]]
[[Category:1947 in Italy]]

Morgan Line - Revision history

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