German 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 previou ...
military operation against the
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
at the Montenegrin-Serbian border area, aimed at breaking the Partisan foothold on the
Lim river
The Lim (Serbian Cyrillic: Лим, ) or Vermosh River () is a river that flows through Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and is long.Čakor–
Gusinje
Gusinje (, ; ) is a small town in Montenegro in the northern region. 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 have been proposed ...
–
Andrijevica
Andrijevica (Cyrillic: Андријевица, ) is a town in Montenegro in the northern region and it is the seat of Andrijevica Municipality. According to the 2023 Census of Montenegro, it had a population of 988.
History
The town of Andrijev ...
–
Berane
Berane (Cyrillic: Беране) is a town in Montenegro in the northern region. It is former administrative centre of the Ivangrad District. The town is located on the Lim river. From 1949 to 1992, it was named Ivangrad ( cyrl, Ивангра ...
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 or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova (region), Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the ...
, 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
Operation 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 ...
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
The 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS ''Skanderbeg'' (1st Albanian) was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the German Nazi Party that served alongside, but was never formally part of, the Wehrmacht d ...
(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 Na ...
*
Brandenburgers
The Brandenburgers () were members of Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht special forces unit during World War II.
Originally, the unit was formed by and operated as an extension of the military's intelligence and counter-espionage organ, the ''Abwehr''. ...
*
* Part of 201 Brigade assault artillery
* , reinforced by the Grenadier-Regiment 363 of the 181st Infantry Division
* , made up of two Albanian army/militia battalions The was attached to this battlegroup in September 1944
* Parts of the 5th SS Police Regiment
* Bulgarian 24th Division
*
Vulnetari
The Vullnetari ("the volunteer") were an Axis collaborationnist 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 pr ...
* unspecified
Chetnik
The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...