| Raid on Mljet | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II in Yugoslavia | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Partisans | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Unknown |
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| Units involved | |||||||
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| Strength | |||||||
|
c. 200 troops (initially) 2 aircraft 2 torpedo boats |
c. 900 troops 16 vessels | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
96 killed 46 captured 1 aircraft damaged |
25 killed 76 wounded 1 armed ship scuttled | ||||||
The raid on Mljet (Serbo-Croatian: Desantni prepad na Mljet) was an amphibious raid carried out by the Yugoslav Partisans in April 1944 against the German garrison on the Dalmatian island of Mljet. Occupied by Italian Forces during the Invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the island briefly came under Partisan control following the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943. It was soon captured by German Forces during their anti-Partisan operations aimed at securing the coastal areas of Yugoslavia previously occupied by the Italians. By early 1944, almost all of the Dalmatian islands were under German control, the exception being Vis which soon became a Partisans stronghold from which the Partisans and Allied Commandos would begin launching raids against German island garrisons.
The raid on Mljet was planned as a diversionary attack with the goal of confusing and tying-up German Forces while the Partisans conducted a much larger raid against the Germans on Korčula. The Partisan plan was to land three battalions of the 1st and 11th Brigades on two locations on the south of Mljet one day before the raid on Korčula would commence. A significant obstacle for the Partisans was the lack of appropriate vessels to transport the raiding party. With Allied Forces declining to take part in the raid, the Partisans would carry-on using motor-powered sailboats and small galleys escorted by two armed ships, both of which were in fact lightly armed civilian vessels. Because the distance from Vis to Mljet is 64 nautical miles (119 kilometres) and the Partisan ships were unable to attain a speed greater than 4–5 knots (7.4–9.3 km/h; 4.6–5.8 mph), it was impossible for them to reach Mljet in a single night and conduct the transport by sea under the cover of darkness. Instead, it was decided to carry it out in two legs: first by departing for Lastovo during the first night and continuing to Mljet during the second night.
The raiding party departed Vis on 19 April 1944 with 16 vessels organized in two convoys. They reached Skrivena Luka on Lastovo at 05:30 of 20 April after which the troops disembarked and the ships were camouflaged along the cove. The convoys departed Lastovo during the second night, reaching Mljet shortly after midnight of 21 April. At 06:00, the Partisans engaged German Forces which consisted of one or two companies numbering around 200 men. The Partisans were successful in overrunning the German positions, though one was soon counterattacked and retaken by the Germans. Two companies of German reinforcements arrived during the night of 21/22 April but didn't engage in major actions. With their goals largely achieved, the Partisans retreated to the Sutmiholjska cove where they boarded their ships and departed for Lastovo during the night of 22/23 April.
Although the German garrison wasn't completely destroyed, the Partisans were successful in inflicting heavy casualties and diverting three companies of their reserves to Mljet. During the night of 22 April, the Partisans began their main effort on Korčula by landing six battalions on the island. The raid proved to be highly successful, with German Forces suffering hundreds of killed and captured in action and loosing large amounts of materiel.