I wanted to know if there were any other Gebirgjager Divisions in Yugoslavia besides the 13th Handschar Division. The 5th and 6th saw action in Greece and Crete but did were there others against Tito? In all there were about 14 German divisions engaged against the partisans by the end of 1943.
I am not to sure, i have been searching on google about it but not coming up with more detailed results.
Try searching in google for “gebirgjager divisions yugoslavia”
7 SS-Gebirgs Division ‘Prinz Eugen’
21 Waffen-Gebirgs Division der SS ‘Skanderberg’
23 Waffen-Gebirgs Division der SS ‘Kama’
24 Waffen-Gebirgs Division der SS ‘Karstjäger’
1 Gebirgs Division was there at various times through the war
4 Gebirgs Divison was there in '41
188 Gebirgs Division
I think that about answers my question. Thanx helping me guys.
They been in yougoslavia ,still they cannot win battles ,all battles partisans win’s .
Im not sure thats true Clauss, have you any information to back this up?
I will try find on net links but thats true,germans win only 1941 they defetat Yugoslavian army ,royal army .
In this big battles partisans wins:
1.battle on Drvar
2.battle for kozaraa
3.sutieska
4. battle on neretva
5.srem front
I apologies for the names of battles i am not good in croatian try find something on net.
In all this battles partisans wins ,i know becouse ,have movies about it in some movie Richard Bartton palying Tito i think.
Cheers Clauss I look forward to it.
yugoslavia lost over 300,000 men in the army, and 1.5 million civilians in the war. that is pretty high, considering they only defended themselves from a fraction of the germans army.
What’s frustrating is the lack of interest in the writing community about the topic. The partisans defeated 7 major German offensives. The largest would be the defeat of Operation Wiess if I’m correct.
well since yugoslavia is a small country, and didnt do anything that affected other countries, or the worldwide community, they dont get as much attention as say, the US who was fighting all over the world. although it is a pretty incredible story.
Original Axis plans for 1943 called for operation WEISS I-III to eliminate partisans followed by SCHWARZ which called for disarming of Chetniks in Italian occupation zone which were completely enlisted in Italian Voluntary Anti-Communist Militia (Milizia Volontaria Anti-Comunista - MVAC), since during WIESS II partisans annihilated most of Chetniks and broken through into eastern Herzegovina and Montenegro, WIESS III was called off and SCHWARZ was redesigned to finish the job of elimination of partisans before anticipated allied landing in Balkans.
Orders of Battle
* Axis
Casualties
* German losses totaled 335 dead and 101 missing.
* Italian 12th Infantry Division 'Sassari' from 15 to 21 Februrary between Boricevaca and Zalusenice lost 52 officers and 811 soldiers and all heavy equipment.
operation knight’s move was more damaging then weiss. and these were german SS-paratrooper commandos…
I beg to differ on Yugoslavia’s international role.
I think Yugoslavia played a more pivitol role in tying up the Germans more than people realize. The Germans waisted enormous efforts trying to fight the guerillias in the mountainous terrain. I believe that Hitlers vengence plan to wipe out Yugoslavia in April set his Babarossa invasion two critical months before the Russian Winter.
Operation Rosselsprung
The kingdom of Yugoslavia had been attacked and defeated during the spring of 1941. Remnants, however, of the defeated army continued the struggle in a bitter guerrilla war. In the formation and growth of the partisan forces, one name became pre-eminent: Tito, leader of the Communists. By 1943, his Yugoslav Liberation Army numbered more than a quarter-million men and women. The guerrilla war in Yugoslavia sucked in more and more resources from the Axis forces – men which were badly needed elsewhere.
The German Supreme Commander in the region, Feldmarschall Lohr, realized he lacked the men and machines to defeat the partisans in the field; what was needed was to cut off the head and heart of the movement – Tito. Operation Rosselsprung (Knight’s Move) was an attack on the area of Drvar in western Bosnia. Part of the operation was a direct attack by SS Parachute Battalion 500 on the headquarters itself. They would hold until relieved by elements of the 7th SS Mountain Division Prinz Eugen. The operation was to take place on May 25 – Tito’s birthday.
Fighters and Stuka dive-bombers pounded the area in advance of the paratroops landing. Having few anti-aircraft weapons, the partisans could do little to resist the initial landings, and paratroops quickly seized landing sites for the gliders which followed. The SS paratroops fanned out through the streets of Drvar, encountering fierce resistance. Their objective was a cave known as the Citadel, Tito’s headquarters. Six gliders landed almost at the mouth of the cave, but their occupants were killed almost immediately by partisans guarding the entrance. Losses had been high on both sides. The defense perimeter of the Citadel had been carefully prepared, and only through a carefully orchestrated campaign of fire then movement were the paratroops able to advance on the headquarters. However, as time wore on, additional partisan units began to arrive on the scene. As the paratroops were also to be reinforced by another parachute drop, it became a struggle to see which side could hold until reinforced.
The second wave of paratroops arrived, taking heavy casualties around their drop zone. They joined the paras already on the ground, and began to push forward once more. However, the battle was already lost – Tito had escaped. Having held off the assault until their leader could escape, and not wishing to enter a pitched battle with the relieving force which must surely be on their way, the partisans began to melt once more into the hills. The SS Parachute Battalion 500 finally succeeded in taking the headquarters – but all they found was a Jeep, some propaganda material and one of Tito’s uniforms. German casualties were 213 killed, 881 wounded, and 51 missing, with a total of about 6000 Partisan casualties
Tito’s narrow escape was completed on foot to a nearby small train in the woods. The Germans were firing their rifles and automatics as the bullets ripped through the trees. He was almost hit but got away as the train slowly gathered steam and took him about another 10 miles down the track until it was abandoned. the close call at Dvar prompted the British to advise Tito on a better location for conducting operations. The island of Vis off the Damatian coast of his native Croatia would suite perfectly. the British then sent No. 2 Commando and several other SOE agents to serve as assualt parties on the Yugoslav mainland.
actually, i heard that he suffered a minor wound… very close escape
Close but not as close as an air raid in June of '43 at his headquarter’s in Sutjeska. A bomb landed a few feet from him killing high ranking staff and throwinf him airborne. He was only saved by his dog Lux at the last minuate to protected his head and took the shrapnel killing him. Man’s BEST friend.
what is tito???
wikipedia it. at wikipedia.com, great site, while info is not always 100 percent reliable, its better then anything else on the web. Note that i am getting paid 3.5 cents for this promotion.