This article is about a military operation in Yugoslavia. For the Barents Sea attack, see convoy PQ-17. The Raid on Drvar (Croatian, Serbian: Desant na Drvar), codenamed Operation Rösselsprung (German for "knight's leap"), was an attack by the Waffen-SS and the Luftwaffe that aimed to disrupt the command structure of the Yugoslav Partisans by eliminating their Supreme Headquarters, and capturing their commander, Marshal Josip Broz Tito. The offensive took place in April and May, 1944.
The operation is generally known as the Seventh anti-Partisan Offensive, or the Seventh Enemy Offensive (Sedma neprijateljska ofenziva/ofanziva) in Yugoslav sources. Despite the name, "Raid on Drvar", the offensive was much wider than the airborne raid on the HQ, as it also included a combined Axis attack on Partisan positions in Bosnia designed to take advantage of the command disruption. This attack included local collaborationist forces, the Independent State of Croatia and the Chetnik movement.
Background
The Partisan General Staff headquarters were in the hills near Drvar, Bosnia at the time (in today's Bosnia and Herzegovina). Representatives of the Allies were also present. Randolph Churchill (son of Winston Churchill) and Evelyn Waugh were at Tito's headquarters at the time of the attack.
Otto Skorzeny was involved in planning of the operation and was supposed to command it but gave up on it after his visit to Zagreb where he realized that the operation's secrecy was compromised. In addition to their own intricate network, the Partisans were provided with intelligence by the British, and knew that the Axis will launch an offensive operation around Tito's birthday. However, they did not know that it was going to be an airborne assault. Regardless, orders received by the Partisan units 48 hours before the air raid commenced, were to block all roads leading from towns Bosanski Petrovac, Ključ to Drvar and to stall or slow down any Axis movement coming from those areas. In addition, strong Partisan formations were positioned southeast of Drvar. Whole Partisan brigades and divisions were repositioned from areas of North Western Krajina and moved to Ključ and Bosanski Petrovac. On the other hand, only one Partisan company of Tito's Escort Battalion was actually defending the cave.
Operation
At 5:00am the parachute and glider German SS and paratroopers fought their way to Tito's cave HQ and exchanged heavy gunfire resulting in numerous casualties on both sides.[1] In addition, Chetnik formations under Draža Mihailović flocked to the firefight in support of the Germans, also attempting to capture Marshal Tito. By the time German forces had penetrated to the cave, however, Tito had already fled the scene and escaped: a train was waiting for him that took him to Jajce town.
There were less than 100 Partisans in the town when the operation started. Most of the Partisan troops were dispersed in the surrounding area. The students of the Partisan Officer's School, around 60 of them, joined in a fight, sometimes taking arms from fallen German troops, prevented a flanking attempt by the German paratroopers. This proved to be crucial for saving the foreign guests (giving them more time for escape) that were hosted by Tito. When elements of the Partisan 6th Lika Division arrived at the battlefield, the air raid was already a disaster and the brigade was ordered to wipe out the remaining Axis troops in the area and to evacuate the wounded and civilians, since it was already known that the Axis tanks and infantry were approaching Drvar from northwest.
It would appear that Tito and his staff were prepared for a quick escape. The commandos were only able to retrieve Tito’s Marshal's uniform, which was later displayed in Vienna. After fierce fighting in and around the village cemetery, the Germans were able to link up with mountain troops. By that time, Tito, his British guests and Partisan staff were fêted aboard the British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Blackmore and her captain Lt. Carson, RN.
Aftermath
According to German reports German casualties were 213 killed, 881 wounded, and 51 missing. The same reports, claimed that 6,000 Partisans were killed.citation needed The Partisans denied suffering such losses and reported they lost around 500 men and had over 1,000 wounded, mainly due to heavy bombing by the Luftwaffe.citation needed Moreover, Partisan reports claimed over 2,000 civilians were killed by German troops around Drvar, that were likely counted among the alleged 6,000 dead fighters reported by the SS.citation needed Also, it is certain that German losses were higher than the reported 213 since out of more than 800 Waffen SS paratroopers only a dozen survived, hiding in the Drvar cemetery. In fact, it has later been ascertained that the 500th SS Parachute Battalion was practically annihilated during this operation.citation needed
Order of battle
Allied order of battle
 Yugoslav Partisans
- 6th Lika Division (around 3,500 men)citation needed
- Tito Escort Battalion
- Partisan Officer School cadets
(among other formations)
Axis order of battle
 Germany
- Wehrmacht
- Regimental Kampfgruppe, 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division 'Tiger-Division'
- reinforced Reconnaissance Battalion, 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division 'Tiger-Division'
- reinforced Reconnaissance Battalion, 369th (Croatian) Infantry Division 'Devil's-Division'
- 1st Regiment, 'Brandenburg' Division (without 3rd Battalion)
- 92nd Grenadier Regiment (motorized)
- 54th Mountain Reconnaissance Battalion
- 2nd Armored Assault Battalion
 Independent State of Croatia
- 1st Home Guard Regiment, 2nd Home Guard Jäger Brigade
 Chetniks
- Bosnian Krajiški Chetnik Corps
- 1st Bosnian Corps 'Gavrilo Princip'
- 501st Dinarski Chetnik Corps
- 502nd Dinarski Chetnik Corps
See also
References
Sources
- Eyre, Wayne, Lt.Col., (Canadian Army), Operation RÖSSELSPRUNG and The Elimination of Tito, May 25, 1944: A Failure in Planning and Intelligence Support, The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, Volume 19, Number 2, June 2006 , pp. 343-376(34), Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group
Further reading
- Eyre, Wayne D., Lt.Col., (Canadian Army), [1] OPERATION RÖSSELSPRUNG AND THE ELIMINATION OF TITO, 25 MAY 1944: A FAILURE IN PLANNING AND INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT, USMC COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE, MCCDC, QUANTICO, VA, 2002
External links
- [2] Operation ROSSELSPRUNG - Axis - Order of Battle
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