Battle of Neretva
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| Yugoslavian Front |
|---|
| Seven anti-partisan offensives
1st offensive – 2nd offensive – 3rd offensive – Kozara – Neretva – Sutjeska – 6th offensive – Drvar – Sremski Front |
The Battle of Neretva also known by the German code-name Fall Weiss (German for "Case White"), and known in Yugoslavia as the Fourth enemy offensive (Serbo-Croatian Četvrta neprijateljska ofenziva) was a German strategic plan for a combined Axis attack launched in early 1943 against the Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia, in the fascist puppet Independent State of Croatia, during the Second World War. The offensive took place between January and April 1943.
The Germans aimed to destroy the central command of the Partisan movement, the Central Committee of Communist Party of Yugoslavia, as well as the main Partisan hospital. The Axis rallied nine divisions, six German, three Italian, as well as two Croatian divisions and a number of Chetnik and Ustasha formations. Estimated 150,000 Axis combatants engaged a much smaller partisan force.
The operation was carried out in three stages:
- Weiss I started on January 20th, 1943, with the attack on Partisan-held areas in western Bosnia and parts of central Croatia.
- Weiss II followed on February 25th, with fighting in western and southwestern Bosnia, and the Partisans retreating as far southeast as the Neretva river.
- Weiss III was launched in March, and centered around the areas of northern Herzegovina, but the targeted partisans managed to breakout from an encirclement into northern Montenegro, and the third phase was not successfully completed
By the end of March, the Axis forces had killed about eight thousand partisans, capturing another two thousand. Despite these heavy losses and a tactical victory for the Axis powers, the partisan formations secured their command and the hospital, and were able to continue operations. In fact, once they reached the eastern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the partisans had to face only the Chetniks, and in turn almost entirely incapacitated them in the area west of the Drina river.
The next major operation in Yugoslavia was Operation Schwarz.
The 1969 Oscar-nominated motion picture The Battle of Neretva depicts these events.
