Drvar uprising

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Drvar uprising
Part of World War II in Yugoslavia
Drvar in 2007
Date 27 July 1941 — 26 September 1941 Location Drvar, Independent State of Croatia (modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina) Result Rebel victory Rebels captured the whole region of Western Bosnia Muslim and Croatian civilians massacred in Kulen Vakuf, Trubar, Bosansko Grahovo, Vrtoče and Krnjeuša.
Belligerents
Independent State of Croatia	Initially: HQ of Guerrilla Detachments for Bosnian Grahovo and Surrounding Later division: Yugoslav Partisans Chetniks
Commanders and leaders
Logornik Kazimir Kuharski Vladimir Vlatko Marek	Ljubo Babić Milutin Morača Slavko Rodić Zdravko Čelar Mane Rokvić Ilija Desnica Branko Bogunović Vlado Morača Uroš Drenović Lazar Tešanović
Units involved
Independent State of Croatia Croatian Home Guard Ustaše Militia	Crvljevica detachment Zaglavica detachment Kamenica detachment Javor detachment
Strength
Initially 400 Reinforcements of Croatian Army 8 battalions several artillery batteries	Initially 4 detachments After the expansion of the uprising 4,000 Serb rebels
Casualties and losses
Deaths in the Battle for Drvar: 25 Ustaše 5 Home Guard Unknown in the rest of uprising	Unknown
More than 1,000 or more than 3,000 Muslim and Croatian civilians massacred in Drvar, Kulen Vakuf, Trubar, Bosansko Grahovo, Vrtoče and Krnjeuša

The Drvar uprising (Serbian: Устанак у Дрвару) was the World War II uprising of the Serb population of Bosnian Krajina (modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina). Italy supported it, both politically and in arms, in its struggle against the fascist puppet state of the Independent State of Croatia between 27 July and 26 September 1941.

The genocidal activities of the Independent State of Croatia forced the Serb population to organize an uprising. It had no ideological background and was simply a struggle for physical survival, with rebels considering themselves guerrilla. Italy used the uprising to create an opening to establish its influence beyond the zones of Croatia it already occupied per formal agreements.

A group of Serb nationalist rebels first attacked Croatian military units on 26 July 1941 in Pasjak near Drvar. This attack and subsequent conflicts later that day sped up the mass uprising of Serbs from the region of Bosnian Krajina and Lika. The uprising started with the attack of four rebel detachments on the Drvar garrison of the Croatian army, which consisted of 400 Ustaše and Home Guard soldiers, early on 27 July. The rebels captured Drvar that afternoon, along with nearby Oštrelj and Bosansko Grahovo.

The uprising had an immediate influence on other regions of Bosnian Krajina and the nearby region of Lika. When Serbs from Lika were informed about the uprising in Drvar, they decided to start the Srb uprising on the same day. On the first day of uprising, the Serb rebels from Bosnian Krajina and Lika managed to seize control over territory 270 kilometres (170 mi) long and 45 kilometres (28 mi) wide. The communists gradually forged their Partisan republic, and on 30 July, they established the Military-Revolutionary Council, which became the supreme governing institution for the entire region.

During the next two months, rebels managed to capture additional territory including Mrkonjić Grad, Kulen Vakuf and many other Western Bosnian towns. Several retaliatory massacres of Muslim and Croatian war prisoners and civilians were committed by rebels, including the Trubar massacre, Bosansko Grahovo massacre, Vrtoče massacre, Krnjeuša massacre and Kulen Vakuf massacre. The number of victims is estimated to be between 1,000 and over 3,000 people.

Based on agreement with non-communist rebel leaders, the Second Italian Army peacefully took control over the region and temporarily shielded local Serbs from the Independent State of Croatia on 26 September 1941. The communists were dissatisfied and continued armed attacks, primarily against other non-communist rebels. To fight against Chetniks who gained substantial support of the local population, the communists established two Anti-Chetnik Battalions in March and April 1942 and reestablished their control over the region of Drvar at the beginning of July 1942.