Operation Rübezahl () was the name of 3 German anti-partisan operations in Yugoslavia during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The first operation announced the beginning of a strategic retreat by
Nazi German
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
troops from Serbia after the front change of
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
.
Operation Rübezahl I
In summer 1944, German soldiers were doing sweeps against communist-led
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 ...
under the overall command of
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
. But on 30 August, after Romania and Bulgaria split from their Nazi ally, Germany entered into a crisis on the
Balkan
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
front. While the forces of the Partisans were moving to unite with the Soviet
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
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:
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1st Mountain Division
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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 ...
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21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian)
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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
The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
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.
Operation Rübezahl II
Operation Rübezahl II was a German offensive in February 1945 against Yugoslav partisans in the
Slovene Littoral
The Slovene Littoral, or simply Littoral (, ; ; ), is one of the traditional regions of Slovenia. The littoral in its name – for a coastal-adjacent area – recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg possess ...
.
Operation Rübezahl III
Operation Rübezahl III was a German offensive in March 1945 against the Yugoslav
30th 'Slovenia' Division, who was threatening the important port city of
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
.
[Mihovilović, A.; Novak, J., ''Zbornik'', vol. XI, Book 4, (1975). p. 244]
References
Bibliography
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{{Campaignbox Yugofront
Yugoslav Resistance