The Kozara Offensive (also known as Operation West-Bosnien) was fought in 1942 on and around the mountain of
Kozara
Kozara ( sr-cyrl, Козара) is a mountain in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the town of Kozarac and in the Bosanska Krajina region, bounded by the Sava River to the north, the Vrbas to the east, the Sana to the south, and the Una to the ...
in
northwestern Bosnia. It was an important battle of the
Yugoslav Partisan
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
resistance movement in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It later became an integral part of
Yugoslav post-war mythology, which celebrated the courage and martyrdom of outnumbered and outgunned Partisans and civilians. Certain sources mistakenly identify the Kozara Offensive as part of
Operation Trio
Operation Trio ( sh-Latn, Operacija Trio) was the first large-scale joint German-Italian counter-insurgency operation of World War II conducted in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), which included modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was c ...
.
Operation
In the spring of 1942, Yugoslav Partisans in central and west
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
liberated
Bosanski Petrovac
Bosanski Petrovac ( sr-cyrl, Босански Петровац) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the municipality has a ...
,
Drvar
Drvar (, ) is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 2013 census registered the municipality as having a population of 7,036. It is situated in western Bos ...
,
Glamoč
Glamoč ( sr-cyrl, Гламоч) is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the foothills of Staretin ...
and
Prijedor
Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...
. On 20 May the 1st Krajina Assault Brigade was founded, and the next day it obtained
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s and a modest
air force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
. The free territory stretched from the river
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
south across the mountains Kozara and
Grmeč
Grmeč ( sr-cyrl, Грмеч) is a mountain in north-western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is more than 60 kilometres long, stretching between the city of Bihać and the town of Ključ. The highest peak of Grmeč is ''Crni vrh'' ("Black Peak") ...
. During the winter, Partisans inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans. A great loss for the Partisans was the death of their capable and distinguished commander,
Mladen Stojanović
Mladen Stojanović ( sr-cyr, Младен Стојановић; 7 April 1896 – 1 April 1942) was a Bosnian Serb and Yugoslav physician who led a detachment of Partisans on and around Mount Kozara in northwestern Bosnia durin ...
, known as "Komandant Mladen".
The
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
and
Ustaše
The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...
authorities realized that the city of
Banja Luka
Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...
and the iron mine in
Ljubija were in danger and organized an offensive to destroy the movement. The Germans engaged 15,000 soldiers, the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
about 21,000 soldiers, and the
Hungarians participated with 5 monitor ships. The Partisan group had about 3,000 soldiers.
After an intensive battle on the night of 3 July, some partisan units broke the siege, but the main group again came under siege the next night and was mostly destroyed. In Široka Luka about 500 wounded Partisans were killed. It is estimated that during the battle, the Partisans lost about 1,700 soldiers, while the Axis forces lost about 7,000. During and after the battle, many thousands of
Serbian civilians from Kozara were sent to the Ustaše
Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac () was a concentration camp, concentration and extermination camps, extermination camp established in the Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in I ...
. About 900 Partisan soldiers survived and founded the Fifth Krajina Brigade. At the same time, the main Partisan group with
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
moved from East Bosnia to West Bosnia. After the Axis offensive forces withdrew, parts of the lost area were regained in September 1942. Approximately 25,000
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
were killed in the operation, mostly in concentration camps.
During German military operation large group of mostly civilians was captured, 10,000 of them were brought from Kozara to
Sajmište concentration camp
The Sajmište concentration camp () was a Nazi German concentration and extermination camp during World War II. It was located at the former Belgrade fairground site near the town of Zemun, in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). The camp was o ...
.
[Byford, Jovan; (2011) ''Staro sajmište: mesto sećanja, zaborava i sporenja. Beogradski centar za ljudska prava'' p. 45; ]
See also
*
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
*
World War II in Yugoslavia
World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attacked the US ...
*
Army of the Independent State of Croatia
The Croatian Home Guard ( hr, Hrvatsko domobranstvo) was the land army part of the armed forces of the Independent State of Croatia which existed during World War II.
Formation
The Croatian Home Guard was founded in April 1941, a few days afte ...
*
Military history of Croatia
The military history of Croatia encompasses wars, battles and all military actions fought on the territory of modern Croatia and the military history of the Croat people regardless of political geography.
Medieval Croatian states Croatian princ ...
*
Resistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation to propaganda, hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. In many countries, r ...
*
Anti-partisan operations in World War II
Axis forces were involved in counter-insurgency operations against the various resistance movements during World War II.
During the Second World War, resistance movements that bore any resemblance to irregular warfare were frequently dealt with ...
*
Kozara National Park
Kozara National Park ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Национални парк Козара, Nacionalni park Kozara) is a national park in Bosnia and Herzegovina that was proclaimed a protected national forest in 1967 by Josip Broz Tito. It is situated betw ...
*
Kozara (film)
''Kozara'' is a 1962 Yugoslav film directed by Veljko Bulajić. It is a well known film of the partisan film subgenre popular in Yugoslavia in the 1960s and 1970s and depicts events surrounding the Battle of Kozara.
It won the Big Golden Arena ...
, 1962 Yugoslav partisan film
Footnotes
References
*
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Kozara
Conflicts in 1942
Yugoslavia in World War II
Kozara, Battle of
Kozara, Battle of
Kozara, Battle of
1942 in Yugoslavia
Battles and operations of World War II involving Hungary
Battles involving the Independent State of Croatia
June 1942 events
August 1942 events