Donje Primišlje is a village in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, under the

Slunj Slunj is a town in the mountainous part of Central Croatia, located along the important North-South route to the Adriatic Sea between Karlovac and Plitvice Lakes National Park, on the meeting of the rivers Korana and Slunjčica. Slunj has a popu ...

township, in

Karlovac County Karlovac County () is a county in central Croatia, with the administrative center in Karlovac. It borders Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia. The city of Karlovac is a fort from the times of the Military Frontier. It was built as a six-side st ...

History

On 12 April 1941, a group of 700 soldiers of the

Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the principal Army, ground force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It existed from the establishment of ...

launched an attack on

from Primišlje in an attempt to penetrate further towards

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, but after 6 hours the attack on Slunj failed.

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

forces entered Slunj at the behest of the Ustaša administration of Slunj in the evening, while the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

bombed Yugoslav positions. A large number of soldiers were captured, and of those about 30 officers and 100 soldiers pledged allegiance to the

NDH The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, after the invasion by the Axis powers. Its territory cons ...

. Throughout that same day, a large number of

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

former Yugoslav soldiers from

Bihać Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una (Sava), Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in th ...

and

Korenica Korenica is a village in Lika, Croatia, located in the municipality of Plitvička Jezera, on the D1 road between Plitvice and Udbina. According to 2011 census it has 1,766 residents. It is the seat of the Plitvička Jezera Municipality. In SF ...

had been making the same pledge. German soldiers returned to

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

that evening with 2 captive Yugoslav generals. Beginning on 19 June 1942, the

Battle of Tržić A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

took place between Kamenica and

Tržić Tounjski Tržić Tounjski is a village in Croatia, under the Tounj municipality, in Karlovac County. History Beginning on 19 June 1942, the Battle of Tržić took place between Kamenica and Tržić Tounjski. An army of Partisans of the carried out an at ...

. An army of Partisans of the carried out an attack from Tobolić with 700, Popovići by the Vrelo Mrežnice and

Perjasica Perjasica is a village in central Croatia, in the municipality of Barilović, Karlovac County. It is alternately known as Gornja Perjasica. The village suffered large losses to property and life during World War II and the Croatian War of Independ ...

with 500, and Drežnica with 250, on the pontoon bridge across the

Mrežnica The Mrežnica () is a river in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is long and its basin covers an area of . Mrežnica is considered special due to its large number of waterfalls, totalling 93. It rises in Kordun, west of Slunj, and flows northwards, ...

by Juzbašići, with the goal of destroying the bridge and disarming the Croatian forces in Tržić. The bridge was guarded by the 3rd Regiment of the . Croatia called in reinforcements from Karlovac, which failed to penetrate to Juzbašići. Battles continued until the 23rd, when the Partisan army took Tržić and disarmed their opponents, taking captives and transporting them to Tobolić, including Ivan Stipac, Domobran commander in Ogulin. Across the river, the Domobrani of Primišlje retreated to

. After Tržić was taken, the Partisans dismantled the pontoon bridge and destroyed the railway bridge (under repair at the time). The village was completely burned. Because the area was in , the Italians could only offer artillery support, which they did while the Partisans took Kamenica.

References

Bibliography

* Geography of Croatia Populated places in Karlovac County {{DEFAULTSORT:Donje Primišlje