The Operation Draufgänger (German for "daredevil"; sr, Операција Драуфгенгер/Operacija Draufgenger) was a

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 **Ge ...

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

military operation against the

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� ...

at the Montenegrin-Serbian border area, aimed at breaking the Partisan foothold on the

Lim river The Lim (Serbian Cyrillic: Лим, ) is a river that flows through Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and is long.

which was a potential penetration point into Serbia. In turn, it was a Partisan counter-operation, known as the Andrijevica Operation ( sr, Андријевичка операција/Andrijevačka operacija). The operation began on 18 July on the Čakor–

Gusinje Gusinje ( cyrl, Гусиње, ; sq, Gucia) is a small town in north-eastern Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 1,673 and is the administrative center of Gusinje Municipality. Name Two alternative etymologies ...

–

Andrijevica Andrijevica ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Андријевица, ) is a town and the seat of Andrijevica Municipality in eastern Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 1,048. History The town of Andrijevica is a relatively n ...

–

Berane Berane ( cyrl, Беране) is one of the largest towns of northeastern Montenegro and a former administrative centre of the Ivangrad District. The town is located on the Lim river. From 1949 to 1992, it was named Ivangrad ( cyrl, Иванг� ...

line, when Kampfgruppe E burnt down at least 16 villages and killed several hundreds inhabitants. From different directions, German troops attacked villages and a part approached Andrijevica, pushed out parts of two Partisan brigades, and then took over the town on 19 July and continued attacking. The staffs of the Partisan brigades assessed the combined German forces as inadequate and self-initiatively decided to attacks, resulting in great German losses. With the possibility to surround and destroy, the II Assault Corps gave the operational command on 23 July on general attack. From different directions the German troops were surrounded in the wider region of Murino on 24 July. On 28 July the Partisan 2nd, 5th and 17th divisions were ordered to move across the Ibar, which gave the opportunity for the 14th Regiment SS to break through Čakor towards

Peć Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Moun ...

, while larger part of the 21st Division SS broke and many Albanians deserted. The German troops were decisively defeated, and the Partisans moved for action in Serbia. Operation Rübezahl followed. At Velika, on 28 July, the 21st Division made up of Albanians killed at least 428 civilians, mostly children, women and elderly, as a reprisal to local support for the Partisans.,

Order of battle

;Axis * 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (main force). *14th Regiment of the

7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen The 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division "Prinz Eugen" (), initially named the SS-Volunteer Division ''Prinz Eugen'' (''SS-Freiwilligen-Division "Prinz Eugen"''), was a mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, an armed branch of the German Naz ...

. *

Brandenburgers The Brandenburgers (german: Brandenburger) were members of the Brandenburg German special forces unit during World War II. Originally, the unit was formed by and operated as an extension of the military's intelligence organ, the '' Abwehr''. ...

. * Krempler Legion. *Part of 201 Brigade assault artillery *Kampfgruppe "Strippel", reinforced by the Grenadier-Regiment 363 of the 181st Infantry Division. *Kampfgruppe "Bendl", made up of two Albanian army/militia battalions. The Krempler Legion was attached to this battlegroup in September 1944. *Parts of the 5th SS Police Regiment *Bulgarian 24th Division *

Vulnetari The Vulnetari ("volunteers") were a volunteer militia of Albanians from Kosovo set up in 1941 by Italian forces after the successful invasion of Yugoslavia. They served as an auxiliary force for civilian control and protection of villages. Some ...

*unspecified Chetnik formations ;Yugoslav Partisans *Parts of the 2nd Assault Corps ** ** ** **

References

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Draufgänger Battles involving Bulgaria Battles of World War II involving Bulgaria Yugoslavia in World War II Draufgänger Battles involving the Yugoslav Partisans Conflicts in 1944 1944 in Yugoslavia July 1944 events Andrijevica Municipality Montenegro in World War II Serbia in World War II 1944 in Montenegro 1944 in Serbia Mass murder in 1944