Operation Uzice

Operation Uzice
Part of World War II in Yugoslavia
DateSeptember 27 – November 29, 1941
Location
Occupied Yugoslavia 43°31′N 19°31′E / 43.51°N 19.51°E / 43.51; 19.51 (today’s Bosnian/Serbian border, including the Partisan "Republic of Užice")
Result

German victory

  • Partisan and Chetnik retreat and heavy losses; breakup and conflict between the two movements
Belligerents

September 27:
 Germany

 Independent State of Croatia

September 27:

 Yugoslav Partisans
 Chetniks

November 1 on:
 Germany

November 1 on:

 Chetniks

November 1 on:

 Yugoslav Partisans
Commanders and leaders
Nazi Germany Franz Böhme Chetniks Draža Mihailović Yugoslav Partisans Josip Broz Tito
Strength
113th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
342nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
Elements of:
704th Infantry Division
714th Infantry Division
717th Infantry Division
718th Infantry Division
100th Panzer Brigade (one battalion)
Serbian Volunteer Corps; total around 80,000[1]
Chetniks Around 3,000 (a proportion of which did not participate)[2] Yugoslav Partisans Around 20,000[1]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown 4,180 killed
c. 3,800 missing
c. 6,700 wounded[1]

Operation Uzice was the first major counter-insurgency operation by the German Wehrmacht on the occupied territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during World War II. The operation was directed against the Užice Republic, the first of several "free territories" liberated by the Yugoslav Partisans. It was named after the town of Užice, and is associated with the First Enemy Offensive (Serbo-Croatian Latin: Prva neprijateljska ofenziva/ofanziva) in Yugoslavian historiography. The security forces of the German-installed puppet regime of Milan Nedić also participated in the offensive.

After the offensive commenced on 20 September 1941, the Partisans initially received assistance from local Chetnik formations in opposing the Germans, but after weeks of disagreement and low-level conflict between the two insurgent factions about how the resistance should proceed, the Chetniks launched an attack on the Partisans in the towns of Užice and Požega on November 1 which resulted in the Chetniks being repulsed. The Partisans then counter-attacked decisively, but by early December had been driven from liberated area by the German and Serb collaborationist offensive.[3]

  1. ^ a b c Beckett, I.F.W. (ed., 1988) The Roots of Counter-Insurgency, Blandford Press, London. ISBN 0-7137-1922-2
  2. ^ Tomasevich (1975)
  3. ^ Tomasevich (1975), pp.145–155