Raid on Drvar

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The Raid on Drvar (code-named Operation Rösselsprung — "Knight's Leap", by the Germans) was a World War II operation by the Germans in April and May 1944

Background

The goal of this operation was to capture Josip Broz Tito alive and disrupt the leadership of the communist Partisan movement in Yugoslavia.

The Partisan headquarters were in the hills near Drvar, Bosnia at the time. The representatives of the Allies, Britain's Randolph Churchill and Evelyn Waugh, were also present.

Otto Skorzeny was involved in planning of the operation and was supposed to command it but gave up on it after his visit to Zagreb where he realised that the operation's secrecy was compromised. In addition to their own intricate network, the partisans were provided with intelligence by the British, and they knew that the Axis will launch an offensive operation around Tito's birthday. However, they did not know that it was going to be an air raid. Regardless, orders received by the partisan units 48 hours before the air raid commenced, were to block all roads leading from towns Bosanski Petrovac, Ključ to Drvar and to stall or slow down any Axis movement coming from those areas. In addition, some strong partisan formations were positioned southeast of Drvar. Whole partisan brigades and divisions were repositioned from areas of North Western Krajina and moved to Ključ and Bosanski Petrovac. On the other hand only one company of partisans from Tito's Escort battalion were defending the cave.

Action

German SS and paratroopers fought their way to Tito's cave and exchanged heavy gunfire resulting in numerous casualties on both sides. Interestingly, Chetnik fighters under Draža Mihailović also flocked to the firefight in their own attempt to capture Tito. By the time German forces had penetrated to the cave, however, Tito had already fled the scene and escaped: a train was waiting for him that took him to Jajce town.

In and around the town were less then 100 partisans when the operation started. The underarmed students (partisans) of the Partisan Officer's School, around 60 of them, put up a good fight, taking arms from fallen German troops, prevented a flanking attempt by the German paratroopers. This proved to be crucial for saving the foreign guests (it gave them more time for escape) that were hosted by Tito. When the 3. Lika Partisan brigade arrived at the battlefield, the air raid was already a disaster and the brigade were ordered to wipe out the remaining Axis troops in the area and to evacuate the wounded and civilians, since it was already known that the Axis tanks and infantry were approaching Drvar from northwest.

It proves that Tito and his staff were prepared for a quick escape. The commandos were only able to retrieve Tito’s marshal uniform, which was later displayed in Vienna. After fierce fighting in and around the village cemetery, the Germans were able to link up with mountain troops. By that time, Tito, his British guests and partisan survivors were fêted aboard the British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Blackmore and her captain Lt. Carson, RN.

Aftermath

According to German reports German casualties were 213 killed, 881 wounded, and 51 missing. The same reports, claimed that 6,000 partisans were killed. The partisans denied suffering such losses and reported they lost around 500 men and had over 1000 wounded, mainly due to heavy bombing by the Luftwaffe. Moreover, partisan reports claimed over 2000 civilians were brutally killed by German troops in and around the town of Drvar, they were most likely counted among the alleged 6000 killed partisans reported by the SS. Also, it is certain that German loses were higher than the reported 213 since out of more than 800 Waffen SS paratroopers only a dozen survived, hiding in the Drvar cemetery. In fact, it has later been acsertained that the 500th SS Parachute Battalion was practically annihilated during this operation.

Combatants

German forces

SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 500

Kampfgruppe from Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1
Platoon Kampfgruppe from Brandenburg Division
Sonderkommando Zawadil

Regimental Kampfgruppe from 373.(Kroatische) Infanterie-Division
Grenadier-Regiment 92 (mot)
Gebirgs-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 54
2.Sturmpanzer-Abteilung

Croatian forces

Regimental Kampfgruppe from 7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen
SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 13 Artur Phleps (from Prinz Eugen)
SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Aufklärungs-Abteilung (mot) 7 (from Prinz Eugen)
SS-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 105
Brandenburger-Regiment 1 (From Division Brandenburg)
Reinforced 369.Aufklärungs-Abteilung (From 373.(Kroatische) Infanterie-Division)

Chetnik forces

Bosnian Krajiski Chetnik Corps
1st Bosnian Corps Gavrilo Princip
501st Dinarski Chetnik Corps
502nd Dinarski Chetnik Corps
1st Domobran Regiment (from 2nd Jäger Brigade)

Partisan forces

Third brigade from Lika (lička)
Tito Escort Battalion
Partisan Officer School