Fighting continued late into 3 June 1944 and resulted in the reinforcement of the island by a further 1,900 German troops. [4], During the operation, U-209 (Lt. Captain Brodda) sank, on 17 August, a transport convoy of the Soviet Secret Service (NKVD) composed of cargo ships Nord and Komsomolets and light vessels Sh-III and P-IV west of the Yugorsky Strait. [15], The second intelligence organisation was FAT (Front Reconnaissance Troop) 216 of Section I of the Abwehr. On 28 May, he sent a message to Korneev detailing his suspicions. [46] Before this attack, Tito and around 20 staff had taken refuge in the cave. Operation Rösselsprung was a coup de main operation, involving direct action by a combined parachute and glider-borne assault by the 500th SS Parachute Battalion and a planned subsequent link-up with ground forces of the XV Mountain Corps converging on Drvar. On the same day, ground elements of XV Mountain Corps were to converge on Drvar to link up with the 500th SS Parachute Battalion. A konvoj kíséretének fő erejét a Duke of York és az amerikai Washington csatahajók, a … The first wave of 654 troops would conduct the assault at 07:00 and a second wave of 220 troops would follow about five hours later. Despite having only two battalions in the area (the third was facing Kampfgruppe Panzergrenadier Sturmbattalion at Čađavica), the 13th Proletarian Brigade managed to hold off this thrust. The Partisans also managed to recapture the deserter Skorzeny had interrogated. It continued throughout the rest of the war as the only SS parachute unit, although its name was later changed to the 600th SS Parachute Battalion. [10][63] The eastern column started its advance from Bosanska Krupa, aiming to establish contact with the western column at Vrtoče. It encountered organised resistance from the 2nd Lika Proletarian Brigade of the 6th Lika Proletarian Division. Tito then used the Drvar cave during the day, but returned to the Bastasi cave at night. [2], Following the collapse of Yugoslavia, armed groups appeared, and in the territory of the NDH, while the predominantly Serb resistance to Ustaše rule was initially not strongly aligned with ideology, two principal groups soon established themselves, the communist-led Partisans and the Serb nationalist Chetniks. [49] By 21:30, the Germans had consolidated their position in the cemetery, although they were completely surrounded by the Partisans. The target of this operation was Josif Broz Tito’s communist Partisans. Ziel war es, Josip Broz Tito gefangen zu nehmen oder zu töten und somit die Führungsstrukturen der JVBA nachhaltig zu schwächen. Soon after this commenced, Rybka realised that Partisan resistance was concentrated to the north in the vicinity of the cave. The critically important Bosanski Petrovac-Ključ road to the south was left unguarded, endangering Tito and Partisan Supreme Headquarters as they fled from Drvar. L’URSS a aussi lancé beaucoup de coups de main, mais qui ont été oubliés et ne sont donc que marginaux dans cette liste.. Objectifs des opérations The glider-borne group tasks were:[34], The second wave of 220 troops based on the training company of the 500th SS Parachute Battalion were to insert by parachute at midday. [34], Rybka does not appear to have planned for any significant contingencies such as errors in the intelligence on the location of Tito's headquarters. [77], Escorted by elements of the 3rd Krajina Brigade, Tito made his way to Potoci, where he was met by a battalion of the 1st Proletarian Brigade. Kampfgruppe Panzergrenadier Sturmbattalion entered Ključ at 14:15. [30], In outline, the XV Mountain Corps plan was for a heavy aerial bombardment of Partisan positions in and around Drvar by Luftwaffe aircraft, followed by a parachute and glider assault by the 500th SS Parachute Battalion who had the task of capturing or killing Tito and destroying his headquarters. [31] A small reconnaissance aircraft was tasked to fly into Drvar after its capture to retrieve Tito or his body. Juni 1944 gegen die kommunistischen Partisanenverbände Titos in Jugoslawien. Juni 1944 gegen die Jugoslawische Volksbefreiungsarmee . After three days deliberation, Tito agreed on 3 June and Street arranged the evacuation the same night from an RAF-operated airfield near the town of Kupres. He established his headquarters nearby at Drvar in the Dinaric Alps and temporarily suspended his successful tactic of being constantly on the move. It advanced 10 km before being held up by the defences of the 8th Krajina Brigade of the 4th Krajina Division. Zu diesem Zweck landete … Three battalions of the 3rd Lika Proletarian Brigade of the 6th Lika Proletarian Division approached from the southeast. [16], On Adolf Hitler's orders, SS-Sturmbannführer[c] Otto Skorzeny of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD, the intelligence branch of the SS), who had commanded the operation to rescue Mussolini in September 1943, was independently involved in intelligence gathering in the lead-up to the raid. They split into two groups, a smaller group which crossed the Unac and advanced west along the railway line on the ridge leading toward Tito's cave, and a larger group which collected arms and ammunition from several stray canisters of German equipment dropped by parachute. [10] The 9th Dalmatian Division of the 8th Corps was deployed to the south between Livno and Bosansko Grahovo. The NDH was divided by a German–Italian demarcation line, known as the "Vienna Line"; the Germans occupied the north and northeastern parts of the NDH, and the Italians the south and southwestern sections. During the night, the 3rd Lika Proletarian Brigade attacked the cemetery, with the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Brigade of the 9th Dalmatian Division reinforcing the assault. Some gliders landed significantly off course, including one that landed in front of the Bastasi cave 7 km to the west of Drvar, and several that landed in a locality named Vrtoče near Drvar (not to be confused with Vrtoče between Bihać and Petrovac, which was on the axis of advance of the 92nd Motorised Regiment). [32][56][57][58], At 05:00 on 25 May, Kampfgruppe Willam commenced its attack from Srb in an easterly direction, aiming to cover the 20 km (12 mi) to Drvar as quickly as possible. By the end of 27 May, the front line had stabilised to the north and south of Ribnik. Mai bis zum 6. Befehle für Unternehmen "Rösselsprung", 25 Mai - 6 Jun 1944, оригинални немачки документи, Национална архива … [8], Apart from Partisan headquarters and related organisations in and around Drvar, there were between 12,000 and 16,000 Partisans in the area of operations that would be subject to the ground assault by XV Mountain Corps. Hitler gave his approval to von Weichs' final plans on 21 May. By mid-September it had to be stopped because of the freezing of the sea surface with thick pack-ice, especially in the Kara Sea, which not being affected by the warmer Atlantic currents freezes much earlier. The British mission was headed by Brigadier Fitzroy Maclean, who was in London at the time of the raid, and included Major Randolph Churchill, son of Winston Churchill. [33] After landing, the first wave of the 500th SS Parachute Battalion quickly gained control of Drvar. The occupants of the glider that landed in Bastasi were immediately killed by members of the Tito Escort Battalion guarding the cave, and the occupants of the gliders at Vrtoče had to fight their way toward Drvar. The failure of the German intelligence agencies to share the limited information available on Tito's exact location also contributed to the unsuccessful outcome for the Germans, and this failure to share intelligence was compounded by a lack of contingency planning by the commander of the German airborne force. [32] The western column of the 92nd Motorised Regiment Kampfgruppe was ordered to help assist the eastern column by detaching a reinforced panzer company from Vrtoče. Critically, the intelligence he was given regarding the suspected location of Tito's headquarters (codenamed "Citadel") was that it was in or near a cemetery on high ground southwest of the centre of Drvar, nearly 2 km (1.2 mi) from Tito's actual headquarters cave. Of this total, the casualties suffered in fighting with the 500th SS Parachute Battalion at Drvar numbered 179 killed, 63 wounded, and 19 missing. It is not entirely clear what the aim for this operation was, though there are indications it was related to a failed attempt to lay telegraph lines. Operation Doppelschlag (Unternehmen/Operation Double Blow) was a plan for a sortie in 1942 during the Second World War into the Arctic Ocean by the Kriegsmarine.The operation followed Unternehmen/Operation Rösselsprung, against Convoy PQ 17 in July 1942 to attack convoy PQ 18 the next Arctic convoy … Operation Doppelschlag was a plan for a sortie in 1942 during the Second World War into the Arctic Ocean by the Kriegsmarine. The 5th Corps was deployed to the northeast and northwest of Drvar with its headquarters south of the Mrkonjić Grad–Ključ road, and the 8th Corps was positioned to the southeast with its headquarters in the mountains between the Glamoč and Livno valleys. 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. The 92nd Motorised Regiment with all subordinated units was ordered to return north and attack the brigades of the 4th Krajina Division on Mount Grmeč, to secure the main supply road from Bihać to Bosanski Petrovac; this action, codenamed "Grmeč", was scheduled to start on the morning of 27 May. PQ 17 was the code name for an Allied Arctic convoy during the Second World War.On 27 June 1942, the ships sailed from Hvalfjord, Iceland, for the port of Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union.The convoy was located by German forces on 1 July, after which it was shadowed continuously and attacked. [54] The second German tactical innovation was the employment of five reconnaissance battalions for independent operations deep inside Partisan-controlled territory. Willam then decided to halt the advance and place the remaining units into all-round defence. On 16 August 1942, Admiral Scheer—under Kommodore Wilhelm Meendsen-Bohlken—left Narvik and entered the Barents Sea. As a further precaution, elements of the 6th Lika Proletarian Division were moved closer to Drvar. [84][85] After the defeat it had suffered the previous day, the 369th Reconnaissance Battalion column did not resume its advance towards Glamoč on the 26th. The 39th Krajina Division then ordered the 13th Krajina Brigade to block the road from Čađavica to Ključ to prevent the loss of Ključ, but only one battalion of the brigade managed to reach that position by dawn on 26 May. Rendulic ordered the commander of the 7th SS Division to immediately form a special company-strong detachment, with a mission to infiltrate behind the Partisan lines to kill Tito and destroy the Partisan Supreme Command. -27 June 1942: Unternehmen Rösselsprung. "[5], Tito's personal headquarters was initially located in a cave below a ridgeline about 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) north of the centre of Drvar. Operation Wunderland (German: Unternehmen Wunderland) comprised a large-scale operation undertaken in summer 1942 by the German Kriegsmarine in the waters of the Northern Sea Route close to the Arctic Ocean. It is associated with the Seventh Enemy Offensive (Serbo-Croatian: Sedma neprijateljska ofanziva) in Yugoslav history, forming part of the Seven Enemy Offensives historiographical framework. Adolf Hitler, interessato ad organizzare una grande campagna militare nei Balcani per aiutare l'alleato … [17] Skorzeny acted on behalf of the SD, and after obtaining information from a Partisan deserter that pinpointed Tito's headquarters at the cave, he proposed a plan to infiltrate Drvar with a small group of soldiers to assassinate Tito. Convoy PQ 17, which left Iceland on 27 June and the German fleet departed, in what was called “Operation Knight’s Move”. The 373rd Division with the newly subordinated 1st Regiment of the Brandenburg Division was ordered to conduct a sweep-and-destroy operation in the area south and southeast of Drvar; this operation was codenamed "Vijenac", and was to take place concurrently with "Operation Grmeč". [24] Initially, Tito had been in favour of continuing the attack on the SS paratroopers, but after reassessing the situation, he cancelled further attacks. [62], The 92nd Motorised Regiment kampfgruppe consisted of two columns, a western column based on the 92nd Motorised Regiment, and an eastern column consisting of the 54th Reconnaissance Battalion and 1st Home Guard Jäger Regiment of the 2nd Croatian Light Infantry Brigade. Januar 1942. Fog and ice floes prevented the German warships from approaching. Tito, his principal headquarters staff and the Allied military personnel escaped, despite their presence in Drvar at the time of the airborne assault. DFS 230 C, Luftwaffe, Operation Vassieux-V, France, July 1944 3. The British and Soviet military missions to the Partisans were also stationed in villages close to Drvar, as were some United States military officers. Das Unternehmen Rösselsprung war eine deutsche Militärunternehmung vom 25. By the end of the day, the western column had reached Vrtoče, halfway between Bihać and Bosanski Petrovac. The next day, the Arado Ar 196 seaplane on board Admiral Scheer flew to Kravkova Island in the Mona Islands and spotted three groups of Soviet ships, including icebreakers Lenin and Krasin. The First Sea Lord … L'invasione della Jugoslavia (chiamata anche guerra d'aprile soprattutto dalla storiografia jugoslava e identificata con il nome in codice Operazione 25 dall'Asse), fu l'attacco sferrato dalle potenze dell'Asse contro il Regno di Jugoslavia durante la seconda guerra mondiale. Hier werfen wir einen ersten Blick auf neue Bausätze, Zubehör und Hilfsmittel. Dabei wurde die bisherige Schornsteinkappe durch eine wesentlich höhere ersetzt. [24], Throughout their escape, the British mission were able to maintain contact with their headquarters via radio and continued to call in support from the Balkan Air Force against the German formations taking part in Operation Rösselsprung and the Luftwaffe aircraft in the skies over Yugoslavia. [25], Despite the intelligence received and observations made by the British, the Partisans appear to have been quite complacent about the threat; Tito's chief of staff, Arso Jovanović, swore that "a German attack was impossible". Below the cave ran the Unac River, creating an obstacle to movement between the town and the cave, and a rail line ran along the ridgeline above the cave. The rapid advance meant that the 13th Krajina Brigade of the 39th Krajina Division was unable to organise an effective defence. During this operation some 850 men of the reinforced SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 500 were dropped from 40 Junkers Ju 52 of II./TG 4, or landed with 33 DFS 230 gliders near … This was observed by Street, the acting commander of the British military mission, who assumed it was spotting for a bombing raid and advised both Tito and the Americans. Mai bis zum 6. He therefore fired the red signal flare to rally his troops for an assault in that direction. [97], Although Tito's headquarters, along with several other Partisan organisations, was temporarily disrupted and key staff were lost during the operation, all Partisan organisations were quickly relocated and resumed operation. These reinforcements included two panzer companies, the reconnaissance battalions of the 1st Mountain Division (the 54th Mountain Reconnaissance Battalion) and the 369th (Croatian) Infantry Division, and most of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen. Other factors included the German intelligence agencies refusing to share the limited information available on Tito's exact location, and the lack of contingency planning by the commander of the German airborne force. Unternehmen Rösselsprung. FAT216, commanded by Leutnant Zavadil, was also attached to the 500th SS Parachute Battalion, but did not contribute much to the intelligence used to plan the raid. The NDH immediately implemented genocidal policies against the Serb, Jewish and Romani population of the puppet state. At that point, it was attacked by the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Krajina Brigade and was forced to retreat. On hearing the fighting from the direction of Drvar, the students marched west initially armed with only pistols and a few rifles. DFS 230 C, Luftwaffe "Unternehmen Rösselsprung", Yug., May 1944 2. [18] Skorzeny soon discovered that the plan to eliminate Tito had been compromised, and had nothing further to do with the operation. [10][68][69] The southern column was based on the 13th SS Mountain Regiment, reinforced by I Battalion of the 7th SS Mountain Artillery Regiment and some Chetniks. As well as Partisan headquarters, several Partisan and Communist Party support, training and youth organisations were based in and around Drvar at the time, along with the Tito Escort Battalion which was responsible for Tito's personal safety. [66][67], The central column consisted of the 7th SS Reconnaissance Battalion reinforced with one battery of self-propelled guns, which had a special task: it was to strike from Mrkonjić Grad, penetrate deeply into the Partisans’ rear and destroy the HQ of the 5th Partisan Corps in Ribnik. Apparently there were 328 political prisoners on board, of which 305 men were killed through artillery fire or drowning. It was the German navy's largest operation of its type, and arguably the most successful, resulting as it did in the near destruction of Convoy PQ 17.Ironically, this success was entirely indirect, as no Rösselsprung ship caught sight of the … [32] At Potoci, they were met by the staff of the Allied military missions. By 17:20, II Battalion of the 13th SS Mountain Regiment had taken Šipovo, but any further advance was halted by the defences of the 1st Proletarian Brigade. By 16:00 on 25 May 1944, the 369th Reconnaissance Battalion column had reached the village of Han-Vrbe, some 5 km from Bosansko Grahovo. Operation Wunderland (German: Unternehmen Wunderland) comprised a large-scale operation undertaken in summer 1942 by the German Kriegsmarine in the waters of the Northern Sea Route close to the Arctic Ocean.The Germans knew that many ships of the Soviet Navy had sought refuge in the Kara Sea because of the protection that its ice pack provided during 10 months … Das Unternehmen Rösselsprung war eine deutsche Militärunternehmung vom 25. [53] During Operation Rösselsprung, the Germans rendered these tactics ineffective by combining strong and fast motorised columns with adequate pioneer support. According to this report, received late on 25 May, Tito was in the area of Potoci, halfway between Drvar and Ribnik. [21], The Partisans had their own highly effective intelligence network. [101] The commander of the 7th SS Division, SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS[i] Otto Kumm claimed that Partisan losses included 1,916 confirmed and another 1,400 estimated killed, and 161 taken prisoner. Operation Rösselsprung was its only combat parachute operation. Operation Rösselsprung (German: Unternehmen Rösselsprung, Knight's move) was a combined airborne and ground assault by the German XV Mountain Corps and collaborationist forces on the Supreme Headquarters of the Yugoslav Partisans located in the Bosnian town of Drvar in the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. [33], Rybka's plan for the first wave called for the insertion of 314 parachute troops in three groups (Red, Green and Blue) to secure the town, and another 354 troops in six glider-borne assault groups to carry out specific tasks. Mai 1942 wurde die Lützow unter starkem Begleitschutz über Kristiansand und Trondheim … [91] After three days of fighting, the combined forces returned to Vis. [13], Three German intelligence organisations attempted to determine the location of Tito's headquarters and the disposition of Partisan forces in Drvar. Auf die Haube des Vormars-Basisgeräts kam eine veränderte Funkmesseinrichtung. During the withdrawal, at least one group of troops was cut off and killed. [90], Tito, his staff and his escort continued toward Kupres, travelling on foot and horseback, as well as on the wagons of a narrow-gauge logging railway. Kumm also claimed that six Allied aircraft were shot down during the operation. There was unexpected resistance from the Partisan 1st Proletarian, 5th and 8th Corps along their axes of advance, and there was very poor communication and coordination between the columns. Admiral Scheer then turned northeast and sped towards the Nordenskiöld Archipelago. The airborne assault was preceded by heavy bombing of the town by the Luftwaffe. [1] In the aftermath of the invasion Yugoslavia was partitioned between the Axis powers through a combination of annexations and occupation zones. Seven Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft, one with a Soviet crew and the remainder with US crew, carried Tito and his party, the Allied missions and 118 wounded Partisans to Bari in Italy.