Operation Rübezahl
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| Operation Rübezahl I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II in Yugoslavia | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Germany Montenegrin Volunteer Corps Free Arabian Legion Independent State of Croatia Bulgaria Sandžak Muslim militia  21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg |  Yugoslav Partisans1st Corps 2nd Corps (2 divisions) 12th Corps | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Artur Phleps | Peko Dapčević | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| 50,000 | 16,000 | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| unknown | 1,000 injured, unknown killed | ||||
Operation Rübezahl (German: Unternehmen Rübezahl) was the name of 3 German anti-partisan operations in Yugoslavia during World War II. The first operation announced the beginning of a strategic retreat by Nazi German troops from Serbia after the front change of Romania and Bulgaria.[1]
Operation Rübezahl I
[edit]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][unreliable source?]
- 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 (1st Albanian)
- Free Arabian Legion
Between 20 and 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][unreliable source?]
Operation Rübezahl II
[edit]Operation Rübezahl II was a German offensive in February 1945 against Yugoslav partisans in the Slovene Littoral.[4]
Operation Rübezahl III
[edit]Operation Rübezahl III was a German and Croat offensive in March 1945 against the Yugoslav 30th 'Slovenia' Division, who was threatening the important port city of Trieste.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ Afiero, Massimiliano. "PRINZ EUGEN". www.maxafiero.it (in Italian). Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Operation Rübezahl II". Code names. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- ^ "Operation Rübezahl III". Code names. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
Bibliography
[edit]- 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. VII. De Agostini.
- Gilas, Milovan (2011). La guerra rivoluzionaria jugoslava. 1941-1945. Ricordi e riflessioni. LEG. ISBN 978-88-6102-083-2.