Operation Rübezahl
| Operation Rübezahl | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II in Yugoslavia | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Nazi Germany.svg){kind=small} Montenegrin Volunteer Corps Free Arabian Legion.svg){kind=small} Independent State of Croatia Kingdom of Bulgaria |
 Yugoslav Partisans | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
|
Artur Phleps |
| ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 1,000 injured | |||||
Operation Rübezahl was the beginning of a strategic retreat by Nazi German troops from Serbia after the front change of Romania and Bulgaria during World War II.[1]
History
In summer 1944, German soldiers were doing sweeps against communist-led Yugoslav Partisans under the overall command of Josip Broz Tito. But on 30 August, after Romania and Bulgaria split from their Nazi ally, Germany entered into a crisis on the Balkan front. While the forces of the Partisans were moving to unite with the Soviet Red Army in the German-occupied territory of Serbia, German troops tried to avoid defeat in that strategic area by implementing "Operation Rübezahl" to enable the organised retreat of Germans. Among them there were:[2]
- 1st Mountain Division
- 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen
- 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
- 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg
Between 20-22 August, German troops surrounded and destroyed a particularly large Partisan unit moving westwards from the Independent State of Croatia to occupied Serbia. Only a few Partisans survived thanks to Allied planes which managed to land on battered airstrips, air-lifting about a thousand injured to hospitals located in Italy.[3]
References
- ^ Giorgi, Alessandro (26 August 2015). Cronaca della Seconda Guerra Mondiale 1939-1945. p. 374. ISBN 9786050408539.
- ^ "PRINZ EUGEN LA 7a DIVISIONE DA MONTAGNA DELLE WAFFEN SS – terza e ultima parte". Thule Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 19 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Afiero, Massimiliano. "PRINZ EUGEN". www.maxafiero.it (in Italian). Retrieved 19 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Bibliography
- Bambara, Gino (1988). La guerra di liberazione nazionale della Jugoslavia (1941-1943). Mursia.
- Deakin, Frederick William (1972). La montagna più alta. L'epopea dell'esercito partigiano jugoslavo. Club degli editori.
- Gobetti, Eric (2006). L'occupazione allegra. Gli italiani in Jugoslavia (1941-1943). Carocci.
- Bauer, Eddy (1971). Storia controversa della seconda guerra mondiale. Vol. vol. VII. De Agostini.
{{cite book}}:|volume=has extra text (help) - Gilas, Milovan (2011). La guerra rivoluzionaria jugoslava. 1941-1945. Ricordi e riflessioni. LEG. ISBN 978-88-6102-083-2.