The Mount Igman plateau that the 1st Proletarian Brigade crossed to escape destruction
Date
15–23 January 1942
Location
Eastern Bosnia
Result
Partisan withdrawal
Belligerents
Germany
Independent State of Croatia
Italy
Partisans
Commanders and leaders
Paul Bader
Paul Hoffman
Johann Fortner
Josip Broz Tito
Koča Popović
Slaviša Vajner †
Units involved
342nd Infantry Division
718th Infantry Division
Luftwaffe support
seven Croatian Home Guard battalions
nine Croatian Home Guard artillery batteries
ZNDH support
one Alpini battalion
1st Proletarian Brigade
Romanija, Zvijezda, Birač and Ozren Partisan Detachments
Strength
30,000–35,000 troops
8,000 troops
Casualties and losses
25 dead
131 wounded
1 missing
c. 300 cases of frostbite
50 dead and seriously wounded
521 dead
1,331–1,400 captured
172 cases of frostbite
v
t
e
World War II in Yugoslavia
1941
Axis invasion
Bombing of Belgrade
Bombing of Sarajevo
Uprisings
Uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sanski Most
Eastern Herzegovina
Drvar uprising
Rogatica
Olovo
Uprising in Croatia
Srb uprising
Uprising in Serbia
Bela Crkva
Loznica
Banja Koviljača
Šabac
Kruševac
Mačva
Uzice
Kraljevo
Trešnjica
Novi Pazar
Mihailovic
Sjenica
Uprising in Montenegro
Bullseye
Pljevlja
1942
Dražgoše
Southeast Croatia
Hydra
Prijedor
Nanos
Trio
Chetnik sabotage of Axis communication lines
Montenegro
Kozara
Partisan Long March
Kupres
Livno
Alfa
Kopaonik
Bihać
1943
Case White
Greenwood–Rootham
Otto
Fungus
Hoathley 1
Case Black
Typical
Zvornik
Davidson
Grčarice
Turjak Castle
Maclean
Višegrad
Bombing of Podgorica
Bombing of Zadar
Delphin
Rogers
Kugelblitz
Kočevje
1944
Maibaum
Bombing of Belgrade
Raid on Šolta
Dafoe
Lindsay
Rösselsprung
Andrijevica
Halyard
Ožbalt
Ratweek
Serbia
Belgrade
Niš
Stracin–Kumanovo
Vukov Klanac
Bregalnitsa–Strumica
Kosovo
Syrmian Front
Floxo
Niš airspace incident
Batina
Knin
1945
Trnovo
Mostar
Bombing of Zagreb
Spring Awakening
Transdanubian Hills
Lika-Primorje
Nagykanizsa-Körmend
Sarajevo
Lijevče Field
Trieste
Zelengora
Poljana
Odžak
Axis occupation of Serbia
Hungarian occupation
Kosovo during World War II
World War II in the Slovene Lands
World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia
Air warfare in Yugoslavia
Allied bombing campaign
Operation Southeast Croatia (German: Unternehmen Südostkroatien) was a large-scale German-led counter-insurgency operation conducted in the southeastern parts of the Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina) during World War II. It was the first of two German-led operations targeting mainly Yugoslav Partisans in eastern Bosnia between 15 January and 4 February 1942. Several days after the conclusion of Operation Southeast Croatia, a follow-up operation known as Operation Ozren was carried out between the Bosna and Spreča rivers. Both operations also involved Croatian Home Guard and Italian troops and are associated with what is known as the Second Enemy Offensive (Serbo-Croatian Latin: Druga neprijateljska ofenziva) in post-war Yugoslav historiography. The Second Enemy Offensive forms part of the Seven Enemy Offensives framework in Yugoslav historiography.
The insurgents in the area of operations included some groups of the communist-led Partisans and some of Serb–chauvinist Chetniks. Although the Partisans and Chetniks had already irrevocably split in the German-occupied territory of Serbia following Operation Uzice in late 1941, this had not yet happened in eastern Bosnia, and in some areas they were still cooperating. As a result, differentiating between the rank and file of the two groups was difficult, as even the communist-led insurgent groups consisted mainly of Serb peasants who had little understanding of the political aims of their leaders. While there were 20,000 Chetnik insurgents located within the area of operations, they offered no resistance to the German–NDH forces and many withdrew east across the Drina river to avoid being engaged. This contributed to the complete unravelling of Chetnik–Partisan cooperation in eastern Bosnia. The Partisan main force was able to evade the Germans, infiltrate through the Italian cordon to the south and establish itself around Foča.
The failure of the Axis forces to decisively engage the Partisans during these operations necessitated a further major offensive, Operation Trio, in the area immediately south of where Operations Southeast Croatia and Ozren had taken place.
and 21 Related for: Operation Southeast Croatia information
OperationSoutheastCroatia (German: Unternehmen Südostkroatien) was a large-scale German-led counter-insurgency operation conducted in the southeastern...
Operation Storm (Serbo-Croatian: Operacija Oluja / Операција Олуја) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in...
three consecutive operations conducted by German, Italian and Independent State of Croatia forces, OperationSoutheastCroatia and Operation Ozren against...
Operation Trio (Serbo-Croatian Latin: Operacija Trio) was the first large-scale joint German-Italian counter-insurgency operation of World War II conducted...
combat operations in Croatia by 1992. A majority of Croats supported Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia, while many ethnic Serbs living in Croatia, supported...
located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. Its coast lies entirely on the Adriatic Sea. Croatia borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary...
Operation Flash (Serbo-Croatian: Operacija Bljesak/Операција Бљесак) was a brief Croatian Army (HV) offensive conducted against the forces of the self-declared...
Constantinople and marched to Ankara after Timur again moved his army to the southeast in the summer of 1402. It is estimated that the Timurid army counted 140...
the German troop commander in Croatia, Rudolf Lüters. The combat group for this operation was therefore called the Croatian Corps. The German command adjusted...
of Operation Spring Awakening (the German offensive in Hungary) and the successful offensive of the Yugoslav 4th Army in Lika (North-Western Croatia),...
time, the Croatian Army (Hrvatska vojska – HV) and the Croatian Defence Council (Hrvatsko vijeće obrane – HVO) were engaging the VRS in Operation Maestral...
commencement of Operation Maritime Monitor off the coast of Montenegro, which was coordinated with the Western European Union Operation Sharp Guard in...
hundreds of Greek and Russian volunteers in what was codenamed Operation Krivaja '95 (Serbo-Croatian: Operacija Krivaja '95, Операција Криваја '95). The subsequent...
Operation Spring Awakening (German: Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) was the last major German offensive of World War II. The operation was referred to...
Operation Corridor 92 (Serbo-Croatian: Операција Коридор 92, Operacija Koridor 92) was the largest operation conducted during the Bosnian War by the Army...
events of Operation Kugelblitz are associated with the Sixth Enemy Offensive (Serbo-Croatian: Šesta neprijateljska ofenziva). The operation was divided...
failure of the Gallipoli-Şarköy operation or to relieve the pressure on Edirne. The failure of the Şarköy-Bulair operation and the deployment of the Second...
Operation Spider (Serbo-Croatian: Operacija Pauk, Операција Паук) were a series of military actions in northwestern Bosnia that began on November 1994...