Operation Rösselsprung (1944)

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

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Raid on Drvar/Operation Rosselsprung
Part of the Yugoslav Front of World War II
DateMay 25 – July 3, 1944
Location
Near Drvar, Bosnia
Result Axis operation failed
Belligerents
Germany
Independent State of Croatia
Chetniks		 Yugoslav Partisans
Commanders and leaders
Kurt Rybka (commanding only the special forces) Josip Broz Tito
Strength
some 3,500 German troops, several thousand collaborationist troops One infantry brigade (at the LZ)
Casualties and losses

Partisan claims:
788 confirmed killed
881 wounded
50 missing

German claims:
213 killed
881 wounded
51 missing

Partisan claims:
500 killed
1,000 wounded
2,000 civilian casualties

German claims:
approximately 6,000 civilians and soldiers killed

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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 destroy the Yugoslav Partisans' General Staff, and capture Josip Broz Tito. The offensive took place in April and May, 1944.
The operation is generally known as the Seventh anti-Partisan Offensive in English or the Seventh Enemy Offensive (Sedma neprijateljska ofenziva/ofanziva) in Yugoslav sources.

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 then 100 Partisans in the town when the operation started. Most of the Partisan troops were dislocated in wider area. The students of the Partisan Officer's School, around 60 of them, joined in a fight,sometime taking arms from fallen German troops, prevented a flanking attempt by the German paratroopers. This proved to be crucial for saving the foreign guests (it gave 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.

German Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers).

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. 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. Moreover, Partisan reports claimed over 2,000 civilians were brutally killed by German troops in and around the town of Drvar, they were most likely counted among the alleged 6,000 killed Partisans reported by the SS. Also, it is certain that German loses 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.

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

  1. ^ pp. 343-376, Eyre

Sources

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  • 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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