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Raid on Šolta
Part of World War II in Yugoslavia
Date 9–11 May 1944 Location Šolta and the waters around Vis Result German victory
Belligerents
Germany	Partisans
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Unknown
Units involved
3rd and 7th companies of the 892th Regiment	1st Dalmatian Brigade 3rd Battalion of the 12th Dalmatian Brigade Allied air and naval assets
Strength
2 companies (initially) 3 companies (later) ~400 troops (total) 2 E-boats	6 infantry battalions 20+ vessels
Casualties and losses
100+ killed, wounded or captured 1 landing craft sunk 1 landing-assault craft damaged	97 killed 82 wounded 1 hospital ship sunk
6 civilians killed

The raid on Šolta (Serbo-Croatian: Desantni prepad na Šoltu), also know by its Allied codename Operation Detained II, was an amphibious raid carried out by the Yugoslav Partisans on 9 May 1944 against the German garrison on the central-Dalmatian island of Šolta. Following the highly successful raid on Korčula a month earlier, the Partisans decided to stage their next attack on the strategically important island of Šolta occupied by German forces since January 1944. The attack plan called for an undetected amphibious landing followed by an assault on German positions with the help of artillery and Allied air support before retreating from the island.

The execution of the raid, however, proved to be problematic; despite arriving on the island during the night, the element of surprise was lost early on when the Germans were made aware of the troop transports approaching the island and called in additional reinforcements from Split. Partisan commanders were also given incorrect information about the whereabouts of the main German force while the Allied bombing had little effect in softening German defences. After encountering the heavily fortified bulk of the German forces and several unsuccessful attacks, the Partisans retreated suffering 40 dead and over a hundred wounded.

During the attack, the Germans responded by launching an air raid on Vis while two Kriegsmarine torpedo boats were dispatched to the waters near the islands where they encountered a Partisan hospital ship transporting the wounded from Šolta to Vis. The boats proceeded to sink it, resulting in a death toll that exceeded the number of those who were killed in the raid itself.

Background

Following the Invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the defeated Kingdom of Yugoslavia was partitioned among Axis powers with the Dalmatian coast and its islands being divided between the Kingdom of Italy and the newly-formed puppet state of Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna država Hrvatska – NDH). On 23 April, forces of Royal Italian Army landed on Brač, Hvar, Korčula, Vis and Šolta and in May, the Treaties of Rome were signed, stipulating that Brač and Hvar will become part of the NDH while all other Dalmatian islands will be ceded to the Kingdom of Italy. After the Italian surrender in September 1943, the Yugoslav Partisans began disarming Italian forces and taking control of areas previously occuppied by the Royal Italian Army, capturing a large quantaty of war materiel in the process. The Partisans were successful in capturing almost the entire Dalmatian coastline and its islands, prompting German forces to retake them in fear of a possible Allied amphibious landing. The cities of Zadar, Šibenik and Dubrovnik were quickly captured followed by Split on 27 September.

At the end of October, Axis forces launched a major offensive against the 8th Corps of the Yugoslav Partisans with the goal of securing the entire Dalmatian coast, starting with a landing on Pelješac. After heavy fighting and sustaining heavy casualties, the Partisans retreated to Korčula. German forces continued their advance and on 22 December landed on Korčula. In the ensuing fighting the Partisans again suffered heavy losses: the 18th Dalmatian Brigade lost half of its manpower between 22 and 23 December, the 1st Overseas Brigade sustained over 300 casualties while the commander of the 26th Division Nikola Martinović was killed in action. The Partisans began their retreat to Hvar and Vis on the night of 24 December, completing it by 26/27 December. In the aftermath of the fighting on Korčula, the Partisans assessed that the Axis numerical and technological advantage was too great for them to organize a defense of all of the remaining central-Dalmatian islands of Brač, Hvar and Šolta. Instead, it was decided to retreat all forces from those islands to Vis, fortify it and defend it with the help of Allied forces. The retreat was completed between 1–3 January 1944, leaving behind only light forces. During the night of 12/13 January, 300 German troops of the 264th Infantry Division landed on Šolta, securing the island after s single day of light fighting.

By late January 1944, Partisan and Allied forces stationed on Vis began performing raids against German garrisons on the recently captured islands. The first such raid occurred on 27 January when 70 British commandos landed on Hvar and with the help of the Hvar Partisan Detachment, attacked German forces in the village of Milna. This was followed by several more sucessfull raids on Hvar, prompting the German to abandon their positions on the western part of the island and focus on the eastern part around Sućuraj. On 18 March, British commandos of No. 2 Commando and 43 Commando RM supported by 36 Royal Air Force P-40 Kittyhawks launched a raid on Šolta codenamed Operation Detained I. The operation was a success, with the commandos returning to Vis with over 100 prisoners of war. The Partisans launched a major raid on Korčula by landing six battalions, supported by mountain guns and mortars, during the night of 22 April. The raid proved to be highly successful, inflicting heavy casualties on German forces and capturing a large amount of materiel.

The Germans reacted to these raids by adapting their island garrisons and tactics: quick response troops were station on the mainland, ready to be deployed on the islands in case of an attack, artillery coverage from coastal-based units was increased and fortifications were improved with large amounts of barbed wire and land mines. Following the success of the raid on Korčula carried out in April, the 26th Division Headquarters decided that the next such raid will be carried out against the German garrison on Šolta. Due to Šolta being part of the Split Channel and laying just 7-8 NM from the Port of Split, the island represented a significant strongpoint in the German anti-amphibious defense of the central-Dalmatian coast, safeguarding free shipping through the Brač Channel.

Raid

The raiding party departed Vis at 21:00 hours on 9 May. Three Royal Navy motor gunboats and two torpedo boats were dispatched from Komiža to patrol the area near Cape Ploča, south of Rogoznica. At 00:40 on 10 May, Partisan forces approaching the Šešula cove were seen by a German observation post on the Mala Straža hill. The German command responded by sending in reinforcements from the mainland; over 150 troops were brought in from Kaštela to Split by truck, where they boarded the landing craft F-287 and assault boat 1-01, departing for Šolta at 04:10

At 04:00 the 1st Batallion of the 1st Brigade engaged German forces on Vela Straža, killing some while capturing others. At that point the Partisans realized that Vela Straža houses only a small observation post, and not the bulk of German forces as previously thought. At around 05:00 German forces reinforcements arrived in Rogač, bringing the total number of Germans soldiers on the islands to 500-600. At 06:00 Allied aircraft began their bomb run on German positions on Hill 103 and the port of Rogač lasting until 06:30. The bombardment resulted in one ship being sunk and a storage set on fire. However, German bunkers and fortified houses remained intact.

Following the end of the air raid, Partisan forces moved into positions for a full assault, but were hamphered by artillery attacks from Čiovo and a German minefields. After neutralizing the Mala Straža position, the Partisan forces commenced an attack on Grohote and Hill 103, only to be repelled with German machine gun and mortar fire with the help of the Čiovo artillery. At 10:00 after several assaults by batallions of both groups, the Partisans wre succsesful in capturing most of the village, with German forces providing heavy resistance from two to three houses in Grohote and from positions on Hills 103 and 22. The Partisans suffered heavy losses during the assualts, with enemy artillery and minefields taking the highest toll. Prior to the battle the German mines gardesn, trails and all locations which could have been used as cover from their machine gun fire, while the Partisans were insufficiently trained on detecting and dismanlint them.

The fell back in preparation for another assault, while at 14:00 Allied aircraft performed another air raid, again, with little effect. The new assault also grounded to a halt as only a small number of Partisans managed to get through barbed wire while German bunkers remained out of reach because of heavy machine gun fire and the lack of appropriate anti-tank guns for dealing with them. The failure led to Partisan decision to retreat back to Vis; their forces began a return to Sešula and Senjska were Allied ships were waiting for them, while a smaller group was left behind to cover their retreat.

Sinking of Marin II

The Partisan hospital ship BB Marin II was a converted passenger motorboat originally capable of transporting up to 56 passengers, commanded by Ivo Šimetović. At around 02:15 on 10 May, Marin II reached the Senjska cove where it proceeded to dock and camouflage. At 11:00 hours the ship sailed to Šešula where it gathered the wounded before returning to Senjska at 15:00. At 16:00 the order was given to embark the wounded on Marin II. At 18:30, the ship attempted to sail to Vis but was attacked by machine gun fire from two German aircraft, forcing it to seek refugee along the coast and wait until the cover of night. Two crewmen suffered minor injuries in the attack while a number of injured soldiers jumped of the ship and started swimming to the shore. The ship finally departed Šolta at 21:30, carrying 49 wounded and travelling alone without an armed escort because of the wish to transport the casualties to Vis as soon as possible while at the same time being unable to keep up the speed of other transport ships ferrying troops from Šolta.

In response to the raid, at 20:15 of 10 May the Kriegsmarine dispatched the torpedo boats S-30, S-33 and S-61 from Boka Kotorska to the waters surrounding Vis. S-33 suffered engine problems while en route and returned to Boka Kotorska while the remaining two arrived in the Vis Channel shortly after midnight. During the same night the island and its port were bombed by German aircraft. Marin II reached the islet of Host at the mouth of the Port of Vis at around midnight, witnessing the German aircraft begging their bombing of Vis, dropping illumination round in the process. The crew decided against trying to enter the port until the air attack passed, instead setting sail to the open sea towards cape Stončica. Reaching a distance of 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 kilometres) from Stončica, the ship's machinery was shut down and the ship drifted on the surface.

The crew noticed S-30 and S-61 closing in on their ship at high speed. Unaware of their true identity and expecting the approaching ships to be Allied, the ship's commander and political commissar responded with predetermined signals. The German torpedo boats moved closer, reduced their speed and responded by opening fire on the baffled Marin II. Although the ship was armed with three 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns, the crew and the wounded Partisans didn't return fire, but instead continued shouting at the torpedo boats in English, believing they were being fired upon by mistake by Allied ships. The ship's aft compartment caught fire, leading to an explosion of an oil tank and engulfing the ship. As the ship began to sink, crewmen and wounded soldiers jumped into to the sea but were fired up from the torpedo boats. The ship finally sank at around 01:30 on 11 May.

From 00:40 to 01:00, the 4th POS Headquarters received multiple reports from observation posts about sighting a clash at sea and that one of the ships involved was ablaze. Unaware on which ship was under attack, at 01:00 the Partisans dispatched the patrol boat PČ-57 to investigate. After being notified about lighthouse keepers hearing cries for help east of Stončica, PČ-57 began searching the area and soon stumbled across the ship's commander, machine gunner and medic. After receiving news of the sinking of Marin II, the 4th POS Headquarters sounded the alarm and a more thorough search conducted by Jadran (NB-3), Kornat (NB-8), PČ-57 and three motor boats got underway at 05:00. Kornat (NB-8) found a wounded Partisan from the 1st Brigade holding on to wooden board and transferred him to one of the motor boats which took him back to Vis. The search continued until 08:30, finding only eleven bodies and pieces of wooden debris.

Aftermath

On 14 May a commemoration for the victims of the sinking was held on the Prirovo cemetery on Vis, after which the recovered remains were laid to rest in a shared grave. On 17 May, the RM NOVJ Headquarters issued a critical report on the sinking of Marin II with the decision to sail away from Vis being among the first to be questioned. According to the report, the ship should have made an attempt at reaching one of the deserted coves on Vis instead of sailing to open sea and exposing itself to possible air and naval attack. However, according to Matković (1966, p. 250) the commander of Marin II indeed attempted that: with the port engulfed in flames from the bombing, he tried reaching the closest cove on Vis, only to be fired upon by Partisan shore batteries prompting him to sail about 2 nautical miles (3.7 kilometres) fom the Stončica lighthouse. Another point made by the RM NOVJ Headquarters was directed at the crew's continued futile attempts at signaling the German boats believing they were being attacked by mistake, when they should have used the precious time to attempt a dash towards Vis in an effort to come under the protection of the shore batteries or at least beach the ship to try and prevent a total loss of the ship and its crew. Further criticism was directed at other Partisan ships due to their lack of an appropriate response. Several ships located in the Stončica cove witnessed the clash, but made no effort in sailing out and investigating or providing assistance in its aftermath. Similarily, the commander of the sailboat Jadran which was sailing from Šolta to Vis observed the clash, only to proceed straight towards the port of Vis after it was finished instead of providing assistance. Pribilović (1988, p. 245) notes that the task of securing the area of operations was the responsibility of the Allies. Though one side of the area was covered by a patrol at Cape Ploče near Rogoznica, the other side of the area was left unsecured. He further considers that neither the Allies nor the RM NOVJ Headquarters had reliable intelligence regarding the presence of German torpedo boats in Boka Kotorska.

Memorial on Šolta dedicated to the Partisans of the 1st and 12th brigades and the crew of Marin II killed during the raid.

Although they failed to achieve the goal of completely overrunning German positions, the 8th Corps Headquarters nevertheless commended the soldiers and commanders of the 1st and 12th Brigade, with the 3rd Battalion of the 1st standing out. The Partisans suffered 40 killed and 129 wounded during the raid itself. An additional 57 wounded, crewmen and personnel died in the sinking of Marin II bringing it to a total of 97 killed and 82 wounded. Among those killed in the sinking were two wounded German prisoners and six civilians from Šolta. The commander of the 3rd Batallion of the 12th Ivan Dragobratović was killed in action, while the commander of the 3rd Battallion of the 1st Ilija Antunović was wounded. Exact figures on German casualties differ widely depending on the source. Kvesić (1979, p. 695) gives a figure of 150 killed and 52 taken as prisoners. Novović (1985, p. 296) mentiones around 130 killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Pribilović (1988, p. 245) cites German sources as 34 killed, 82 wounded and 84 listed as missing.

The island itself remained under German control until 23 September 1944 by which time the Germans were being defeated on all fronts, including Yugoslavia where the National Liberation Army launched an all-out offensive, liberating large swaths of the country in the process. The liberation of the Dalmatian islands was carried out by the 8th Corps begging in early September with attacks on Hvar, Brač and Korčula. On 20 September Partisan scouts reported that German forces were preparing to withdraw their forces from Šolta, prompting Partisan commanders to attack them. During the course of the next two days, the Partisans landed four battalions of the 12th Brigade supported by an Allied Commando detachment numbering 450 men. After brief skirmishes, the planned full assault on German positions in Grohote never occurred as German forces retreated to Rogač where they boarded ships waiting to transport them to Split. As they sailed out of Rogač, the German ships were attacked by Royal Navy torpedo boats MTB 655 and MTB 633, sinking three of them with a loss of 200 lives. Six soldiers survived after swimming back to Šolta where they were taken prisoner by the 12th Brigade.

References

• Matković, Mate (1966). "Pokolj u kojem se i more crvenilo" [A Slaughter From Which Even the Sea Turned Red]. NAŠE MORE : znanstveni časopis za more i pomorstvo. 16 (6): 250–251. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
• "Grohote, Solta - Operation Detained 1". commandoveterans.org. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
• Anić, Nikola (2004). Povijest osmog korpusa narodnooslobodilačke vojske Hrvatske: 1943.–1945 [History of the Eight Corps of the People's Liberation Army of Croatia: 1943.–1945.]. Split: Udruga antifašističkih boraca i antifašista grada Split. ISBN 953-993-72-1-3.
• Kvesić, Sibe (1979). Dalmacija u narodnooslobodilačkoj borbi [Dalmatia During the People's Liberation War]. Institut za historiju radničkog pokreta Dalmacije. OCLC 8928598.
• Pribilović, Kažimir (1988). Četvrti Pomorski Obalni Sektor Mornarice Narodnooslobodilačke Vojske Jugoslavije: 1943-1945 [Fourth Coastal Sector of the NOVJ Navy] (in Serbo-Croatian). Split: Vojnoizdavački novinski centar - Beograd. OCLC 165705818.
• Novović, Mirko (1985). Prva dalmatinska proleterska NOU brigada [First Dalmatian Proleterian NOU Brigade] (in Serbo-Croatia). Belgrade: Vojnoizdavački zavod. OCLC 39506868.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Anić, Nikola (1984). Dvanaesta dalmatinska udarna brigada (prva otočka) [Twelfth Dalmatian Strike Brigade (First Island)] (in Croatian). Supetar: Domicil 12. dalmatinske NOU brigade. OCLC 18868562.
• Huljić, Veseljko (1979). Vis 1941-1945 (in Croatia). Split: Institut za historiju radničkog pokreta Dalmacije. OCLC 443957561.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Barić, Nikica (April 1999). "Uspostava i djelovanje uprave NDH u dijelovima Dalmacije nakon kapitulacije Italije (rujan 1943. - studeni 1944.)". Radovi Zavoda Za Hrvatsku Povijest. 31 (1). Zavod za hrvatsku povijest Filozofskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu: 55–79. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
• Visković, Berislav (1981). "Savezničke pomorske snage u vodama Splita 1943-1945" [Allied naval forces in the waters around Split 1941-1945]. In Ćurin, Miroslav (ed.). Split u narodnooslobodilačkoj borbi i socijalističkoj revoluciji 1941-1945 [Split during the people's liberation war and the socialist revolution 1941-1945]. Biblioteka zbornici (in Serbo-Croatian). Vol. 5. Split: Institut za historiju radničkog pokreta Dalmacije. pp. 703–719. OCLC 29914543.
• Trgo, Fabijan, ed. (1961). Knjiga 2. Dejstva na Jadranu: Februar – Avgust 1944 god [Book 2. Actions on the Adriatic: February – August 1944.]. Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu jugoslovenskih naroda (in Serbo-Croatian). Vol. VIII. Belgrade: Istoriski Institut Jugoslovenske Narodne Armije.