Raid on Drvar

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This article is about a military operation in Yugoslavia. For the Barents Sea attack, see convoy PQ-17.

Raid on Drvar

Part of the Yugoslavian Front of World War II

Date	May 25, 1944 - July 3, 1944
Location	Near Drvar, Bosnia
Result	Fascist operation failed

Combatants

Nazi Germany
and Chetniks

YNLA

Commanders

Kurt Rybka

Josip Broz Tito

Strength

Unknown

One infantry brigade

Casualties

213 killed
881 wounded
51 missing(Axis sources)

~6000 civilians and soldiers killed (Axis sources)

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 Raid on Drvar (code-named Operation Rösselsprung -"Knight's Leap", by the Germans) was a World War II operation by the Germans in April and May 1944, whose goal was to capture Josip Broz Tito alive and disrupt the leadership of the communist Partisan movement in Yugoslavia.

The Partisan headquarters were in the hills near Drvar, Bosnia at the time. The representatives of the Allies, Britain's Randolph Churchill and Evelyn Waugh, were also present.

German SS and paratroopers fought their way to Tito's cave and exchanged heavy gunfire resulting in numerous casualties on both sides. Interestingly, Chetnik fighters under Draža Mihailović also flocked to the firefight in their own attempt to capture Tito. By the time German forces had penetrated to the cave, however, Tito had already fled the scene and escaped. Actually, Tito had a train waiting for him that took him to Jajce town. It proves that Tito and his staff were prepared for quick escape. The commandos were only able to retrieve Tito’s marshal 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 survivors were fêted aboard the British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Blackmore and her captain Lt. Carson, RN.

German casualties were 213 killed, 881 wounded, and 51 missing. According to German reports, after battle, they claimed that 6,000 partisans were killed. On the other hand, partisans never admitted they had such losses and claimed they lost around 500 men and had over 1000 wounded, mostly due to heavy bombing by the Luftwaffe. Moreover partisan reports claim that over 2000 civilians were brutally killed by German troops in and around town of Drvar. What is sure is that German loses were higher then 213 because of more then 800 Waffen SS paratroopers only a dozen survived hiding at the cemetery in Drvar. Actually the 500th SS Parachute Battalion was practically destroyed during this operation.

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 when he realised that the operation's secrecy is compromised. Moreover, partisans were provided the intelligence by the British, and they 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 air raid. Regardless of that, the orders that partisan units got 48 hours before the actuall air raid started, were to block all roads leading from towns Bosanski Petrovac, Kljuc to Drvar and to stall and slow down any Axis movement coming from those areas. Also some strong partisan formations were positioned southeast of Drvar. Whole partisan brigades and divisions were repositioned from areas of North Western Krajina and moved to Kljuc and Bosanski Petrovac. On the other hand only one company of partisans from Tito's Escort battalion were defending the Cave and in and around town were less then 100 partisans when the operation started. The underarmed students (partisans) of the Partisan Officer's School, around 60 of them, put up a great fight, arming themslelves from the fallen German troops, they prevented flanking attempt of the German paratroopers and it proved to be crucial for saving the foreign missions (gave them more time for escape) that were hosted by Tito. When Third Lika Partisan brigade arrived to the battlefield, the Air Raid was already a complete disaster and the orders the brigade got were just 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.

1 Combatants
- 1.1 Axis Order of Battle
- 1.2 Partisan forces
2 See also

[edit] Combatants

[edit] Axis Order of Battle

SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 500
- Kampfgruppe from Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1
- Platoon Kampfgruppe from Brandenburg Division
- Sonderkommando Zawadil
Regimental Kampfgruppe from 373.(Kroatische) Infanterie-Division
Grenadier-Regiment 92 (mot)
Gebirgs-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 54
2.Sturmpanzer-Abteilung
Regimental Kampfgruppe from 7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen
SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 13 Artur Phleps (from Prinz Eugen)
SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Aufklärungs-Abteilung (mot) 7 (from Prinz Eugen)
SS-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 105
Brandenburger-Regiment 1 (From Division Brandenburg)
Reinforced 369.Aufklärungs-Abteilung (From 373.(Kroatische) Infanterie-Division)
Bosnian Krajiski Chetnik Corps
1st Bosnian Corps Gavrilo Princip
501st Dinarski Chetnik Corps
502nd Dinarski Chetnik Corps
1st Domobran Regiment (from 2nd Jäger Brigade)