Battle of Kozara

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Yugoslavian Front
Seven anti-partisan offensives 1st offensive – 2nd offensive – 3rd offensive – Kozara – Neretva – Sutjeska – 6th offensive – Drvar – Sremski Front Full list of Axis operations

The Battle of Kozara was fought in 1942 on and around the mountain of Kozara in northwestern Bosnia. It was an important battle of the Yugoslav partisan resistance movement in World War II. It later became an integral part of Yugoslav post-war mythology, which celebrated the courage and martyrdom of outnumbered and outgunned partisans and civilians.

Certain sources (mistakenly) identify the Battle of Kozara as the Third anti-partisan offensive.

In the spring of 1942, Yugoslav Partisans in central and west Bosnia liberated Bosanski Petrovac, Drvar, Glamoč and Prijedor. On May 20th, the First Krajina Brigade was founded, and the next day it obtained tanks and a modest air force. The free teritory stretched from the river Sava south across the mountains Kozara and Grmeč.

The German and Ustasha authorities realized that the city of Banja Luka and the iron mine in Ljubija were in danger and organized an offensive to destroy the movement. Germans engaged 15,000 soldiers, Ustashas and Domobrans about 22,000 soldiers, Chetniks about 2,000 soldiers and Hungarians participated with 5 monitor ships.

The partisan group had about 3,000 soldiers, but recruited reserves from the 60,000 civilians in the free territory.

After intensive battle, in the night July 3rd some partisan units broke the siege, but the main group again came under siege the next night and was mainly destroyed. In Široka Luka about 500 wounded partisans were killed. It is estimated that during the battle, the partisans lost about 1,700 soldiers, while the Axis forces lost about 7,000. Many thousands of people from Kozara were sent to concentration camps.

About 900 partisan soldiers survived and founded the Fifth Krajina Brigade.

At the same time, the main Partisan group with Tito moved from East Bosnia to West Bosnia. After the Axis offensive forces withdrew, parts of lost area were regained in September 1942.