Operation Southeast Croatia
Operation Southeast Croatia was a large-scale German-led counter-insurgency operation conducted in the southeastern parts of the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. It was the first of two German-led operations targeting mainly Yugoslav Partisans in eastern Bosnia between 15 January and 4 February 1942. Several days after the conclusion of Operation Southeast Croatia, a follow-up operation known as Operation Ozren was carried out between the Bosna and Spreča rivers. Both operations also involved Croatian Home Guard and Italian troops and are associated with what is known as the Second Enemy Offensive in post-war Yugoslav historiography. The Second Enemy Offensive forms part of the Seven Enemy Offensives framework in Yugoslav historiography.
The insurgents in the area of operations included some groups of the communist-led Partisans and some of Serb–chauvinist Chetniks. Although the Partisans and Chetniks had already irrevocably split in the German-occupied territory of Serbia following Operation Uzice in late 1941, this had not yet happened in eastern Bosnia, and in some areas they were still cooperating. As a result, differentiating between the rank and file of the two groups was difficult, as even the communist-led insurgent groups consisted mainly of Serb peasants who had little understanding of the political aims of their leaders. While there were 20,000 Chetnik insurgents located within the area of operations, they offered no resistance to the German–NDH forces and many withdrew east across the Drina river to avoid being engaged. This contributed to the complete unravelling of Chetnik–Partisan cooperation in eastern Bosnia. The Partisan main force was able to evade the Germans, infiltrate through the Italian cordon to the south and establish itself around Foča.
The failure of the Axis forces to decisively engage the Partisans during these operations necessitated a further major offensive, Operation Trio, in the area immediately south of where Operations Southeast Croatia and Ozren had taken place.
Background
On 6 April 1941 the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia from multiple directions, rapidly overwhelming the under-prepared Royal Yugoslav Army which capitulated 11 days later. In the aftermath of the invasion Yugoslavia was partitioned between the Axis powers through a combination of annexations and occupation zones. In addition, an Axis puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia was established on the territory of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The NDH was divided by a German–Italian demarcation line, known as the "Vienna Line", with the Germans occupying the north and northeastern parts of the NDH, and the Italians the south and southwestern sections. The NDH immediately implemented genocidal policies against the Serb, Jewish and Romani population of the puppet state. Armed resistance to the occupation and the NDH itself initially formed into two loosely cooperating factions, the Partisans who were led by communists, and the Chetniks who were mostly led by Serb–chauvinist officers of the defeated Royal Yugoslav Army. In November and December 1941, almost all Partisan forces in the German-occupied territory of Serbia had been forced to withdraw into eastern Bosnia where they combined with local Partisan forces, mainly consisting of Serb peasants. Most of the Chetnik forces in eastern Bosnia were also local Serb peasants. The insurgency in eastern Bosnia meant that NDH authorities were unable to retain control of the region.At the end of 1941, there were six Partisan detachments in eastern Bosnia, with about 7,300 fighters operating in the Majevica, Ozren, Birač, Romanija, Zvijezda and Kalinovik areas. According to Enver Redžić, in early January 1942, the Chetniks controlled a large portion of eastern Bosnia, including the towns of Zvornik, Višegrad, Vlasenica, Srebrenica, Drinjača, Bratunac, Foča, Ustikolina, Goražde and Čajniče. Due to continuing cooperation between the two groups, the Chetniks also shared control of the towns of Rogatica, Olovo and Han Pijesak with the Partisans.
Planning
The orders from General der Artillerie Paul Bader, the German Military Commander in Serbia who also had responsibility for operational matters in the NDH, directed that Operation Southeast Croatia was to be an encirclement operation. All persons encountered within the area of operations were to be treated as the enemy. The population within the area to be targeted by the operation were almost all either Orthodox Serbs or Bosnian Muslims, although there was a small Catholic Croat minority. Bader believed that the Partisans and Chetniks were using the area as winter quarters, and that their presence there was a threat to major transport routes through eastern Bosnia. Time was a factor, as the 342nd Infantry Division was only available until 31 January, after which it was being withdrawn and sent to the Eastern Front.The operation itself was led by the German 342nd Infantry Division, which had been relieved of its occupation duties in the occupied territory of Serbia by Bulgarian troops. The commander of the 342nd Infantry Division, Generalmajor Paul Hoffman, also had the 718th Infantry Division of Generalmajor Johann Fortner under his command for the duration of the operation. The German force was assisted by Croatian Home Guard units including seven infantry battalions and nine artillery batteries. The Axis forces available for the operation were 30,000–35,000 troops in total. Luftwaffe support included reconnaissance aircraft and a combat squadron. The offensive targeted areas held by the Romanija, Zvijezda, Birač, and Ozren Partisan detachments, between Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zvornik and Višegrad. To the south, along the "Vienna Line" separating the German-occupied zone of the NDH from the Italian-occupied zone, the Italians placed a cordon. In total, the area targeted by the operation was estimated by the Germans to contain around 8,000 Partisans and 20,000 Bosnian Chetniks.
On 9 January 1942, the 718th Infantry Division issued orders to both its regiments that defined the following groups as hostile: all non-residents and residents that had been absent from their localities until recently; all identifiable Chetniks or communists with or without weapons or ammunition; and anyone concealing, supplying or providing information to those groups. Any captured Partisans were to be briefly interrogated and summarily shot, as were any other insurgents that had attacked the Germans, been caught carrying ammunition or messages, or who resisted or fled. Also, any houses from which shots were fired at German troops were to be burned.
15–18 January
Operation Southeast Croatia commenced on 15 January 1942. The 342nd Infantry Division approached the area of operations from the Drina River valley to the east, with the 718th Infantry Division pushing east from assembly areas in Sarajevo and Tuzla.In the first days of the operation, the 697th Regiment of the 342nd Infantry Division, supported by the Croatian 3rd Home Guard Regiment and four batteries of artillery, thrust out of their bridgehead over the Drina at Zvornik and cleared the high ground southwest and south of that town, and south along the Drina valley road, hindered by roadblocks and destroyed bridges. It then followed up the retreating insurgents, mopping up the Drinjača River valley, before pushing southwest through the mountains and reaching Vlasenica on 18 January. Parts of the 698th Regiment of the 342nd Infantry Division fought southwest from Višegrad along the upper Drina valley to Međeđa, while other elements pushed west towards Rogatica, reinforced by an Italian Alpini battalion from the 5th Alpine Division Pusteria. The 699th Regiment of the 342nd Infantry Division, reinforced by I. Battalion of the 202nd Panzer Regiment, advanced along the Drina valley past the confluence with the Drinjača to the area west of Ljubovija, clearing roadblocks as they went. In the area of Milići, they captured about 400 insurgents, mostly Chetniks loyal to Jezdimir Dangić, along with a tank, two machine guns, about 160 rifles and a large amount of ammunition. The regiment then mopped up the area west to Vlasenica and one battalion cleared the route to Srebrenica.
The 738th Regiment of the 718th Infantry Division was reinforced by two battalions of the Croatian 13th Home Guard Regiment, pioneers, four NDH artillery batteries and two-and-a-half German mountain gun batteries. It pushed east from Sarajevo along the Prača valley then through the Romanija mountains towards Rogatica. Fighting in very difficult terrain, it captured 240 insurgents and significant amounts of weapons and ammunition. It also freed 10 Italian and 57 NDH soldiers. The other regiment of the 718th Infantry Division, the 750th Regiment, was reinforced by a German artillery battery, I. Battalion of the Croatian Home Guard Regiment and a Croatian Home Guard mountain battery. It moved south from an assembly area southwest of Tuzla towards Olovo. It reached Kladanj on 16 January, and spent the following days clearing both sides of the road west towards Vlasenica. It had been planned that the Italian 3rd Mountain Infantry Division Ravenna would provide a cordon to the south, blocking any southerly withdrawal by the insurgents. This did not occur, as the Italians claimed the railroad near Mostar had been damaged, resulting in several weeks delay. A scratch force, consisting of two battalions of Croatian border guards, II. Battalion of the Croatian 7th Home Guard Regiment, and one battalion of Ustaše Militia, was deployed along the line Vijaka–Vareš–Visoko to prevent insurgents from crossing the Bosna River.
When the local leaders appointed by overall Chetnik leader Draža Mihailović, Majors Boško Todorović and Dangić, became aware of the commencement of Operation Southeast Croatia, they advised other Chetnik commanders that the operation was targeted at the Partisans, and there was no need for the Chetniks to get involved. Following this, their units withdrew from their positions on the front line, let the Germans pass through their areas, or went home. Many withdrew across the Drina into the German-occupied territory of Serbia to avoid being engaged, which severely weakened the Partisan positions with the result that they suffered significant casualties and lost a great deal of territory. These actions severed any remaining cooperative links that remained between the Chetniks and Partisans in eastern Bosnia.
The insurgents in the area of operations destroyed villages to deny supplies and shelter to the Germans who were operating in mountainous terrain with snow up to deep and facing extreme temperatures approaching. The Partisans proved very difficult to pin down, aided by excellent communication and supported by the local populace. During the operation, the decisive engagements with the Partisans were mainly in the Romanija region. The Romanija Detachment made up forty percent of all Partisans in eastern Bosnia and bore the brunt of most of the fighting during the operation.