Sutjeska offensive
Part of the Yugoslavian Front of World War II
Date May 15, 1943 - June 16, 1943 Location Near Sutjeska river, southeastern Bosnia Result Offensive failed
Combatants
Nazi Germany Fascist Italy Ustase regime Bulgaria Chetniks Combatants Allied Powers: Yugoslav Partisans Soviet Union Axis Powers: Germany Italy (until 1943) Bulgaria Croatia Milan Nedićs Serbia Montenegro Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland Commanders Josip Broz Tito many Draža Mihailović The Yugoslavian Front of World War II, also known as the Yugoslav Peoples Liberation War (Serbo... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (136th in leap years). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Approximate borders between Bosnia (marked light) and Herzegovina (marked dark) Historically and geographically, the region known as Bosnia (natively Bosna/Босна) comprises the northern part of the present-day country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946)_crowned. ... Anthem Marcia Reale dOrdinanza (Royal March of Ordinance)¹ The Kingdom of Italy at the height of its power in 1940. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Croatia_Ustasa. ... Capital Zagreb Language(s) Croatian Religion Roman Catholicism Government Monarchy King  - 1941-1943 Tomislav II1 Poglavnik  - 1941-1945 Ante Pavelić Legislature Hrvatski državni Sabor NDH (briefly in 1942) Historical era World War II  - Invasion of Yugoslavia April 6, 1941  - Established April 10, 1941  - Roma Contract May 19, 1941  - Italy... Image File history File links Flag_of_Bulgaria_(1878-1944). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Yugoslavia_(state). ... For the WWII guerilla force, see Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland. ...	YNLA
Commanders
Alexander Löhr Rudolf Lüters	Josip Broz Tito
Strength
127,000 men 300+ airplanes	18,000 men
Casualties
Unknown	6,391

The Sutjeska offensive from 15 May to 16 June 1943 was a joint attack of the Axis forces that aimed to destroy the Yugoslav partisan force, near the Sutjeska river in southeastern Bosnia. The failure of the offensive marked a turning point for Yugoslavia during World War II. May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (136th in leap years). ... June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Area under Axis control over the course of the war shown in black. ... Yugoslav Partisan Flag The Yugoslav Partisans were the main resistance movement engaged in the fight against the Axis forces in the Balkans during World War II, the Yugoslav Peoples Liberation War. ... River Sutjeska in Sutjeska National Park Sutjeska is Bosnia and Herzegovinas oldest National park. ... Motto none Anthem Intermeco Bosnia and Herzegovina() on the European continent()  —  [] Capital (and largest city) Sarajevo Official languages Bosnian Croatian Serbian Government Parliamentary democracy  -  Presidency members NebojÅ¡a Radmanović1 Haris Silajdžić2 Željko KomÅ¡ić3  -  Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikola Å pirić  -  High Representative 4 Independence... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in Latin, Југославија in Cyrillic, English: Land of the South Slavs) describes four political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The Germans codenamed the plan Operation Schwarz ("Black"). The operation immediately followed Fall Weiss which had failed in accomplishing the same objectives: to crush the Partisan army and capture their leader, Josip Broz Tito, also known as "Walter". In post-war Yugoslavia the operation was known as the Fifth enemy offensive. Fall Weiss (Plan White) was a German strategic plan for a combined Axis attack launched in early 1943 against the Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia, in the Independent State of Croatia. ... Josip Broz Tito (Cyrillic: Јосип Броз Тито, May 7, 1892 (May 25th according to official birth certificate) – May 4, 1980) was the leader of the Second Yugoslavia, which lasted from 1943 until 1991. ...

The Axis rallied 127,000 land troops for the offensive, including German, Italian, NDH, Chetnik, and Bulgarian units, and over 300 airplanes, under German operative command, against 18,000 soldiers of Yugoslav National Liberation Army operational group in 16 brigades. After a period of troop concentration, the offensive started on 15 May 1943. The Axis troops used the advantage of better starting positions to encircle and isolate the partisans on the Durmitor mountain area, located between the Tara and Piva rivers in the mountainous areas of northern Montenegro and forced them to engage in a fierce month-long battle on waste territory. Capital Zagreb Language(s) Croatian Religion Roman Catholicism Government Monarchy King  - 1941-1943 Tomislav II1 Poglavnik  - 1941-1945 Ante Pavelić Legislature Hrvatski državni Sabor NDH (briefly in 1942) Historical era World War II  - Invasion of Yugoslavia April 6, 1941  - Established April 10, 1941  - Roma Contract May 19, 1941  - Italy... Chetniks (Serbian Četnici, Четници) were an organization of Yugoslavs (mostly Serbs) who supported the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and formed a notable resistance force during World War II. The name is derived from the Serbian word četa which means company (of about 100... The Yugoslav partisans were the main anti-fascist resistance movement which fought against the occupation of Yugoslavia by Axis forces during World War II. The uniting force of the anti-fascist partisans on the territory was Peoples Liberation Army and Partisan detachments of Yugoslavia (NOV i POJ; Narodnooslobodila&#269... In military science a brigade is a military unit that is part of a division and includes regiments (where that level exists), or (in modern armies) is composed of several battalions (typically two to four) and directly attached supporting units. ... Durmitor is a mountain and the name of a national park in Montenegro. ... Tara is a river in Montenegro. ... The Piva (Serbian Cyrillic: Пива) is the river in Montenegro, Serbia and Montenegro, shorther headwater of the Drina river, which it forms with the Tara river on the border with Bosnia and Hercegovina. ... Anthem Oj, svijetla majska zoro Oh, the bright dawn of May Montenegro() on the European continent()  —  [] Capital (and largest city) Podgorica Official languages Serbian (Ijekavian dialect)1 Government Republic  -  President Filip Vujanović  -  Prime Minister Željko Å turanović Independence due to the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro   -  Declared June 3, 2006   -  Recognized...

On June 9th, the Germans almost succeeded in liquidating Tito, as a bomb fell near the leading group and wounded him in the arm. The popular post-war report of the event credited Tito's dog Luks, a German shepherd for sacrificing his life to save Tito's. The Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb produced in the United States. ... Country of origin Germany Classification Breed standards (external links) FCI, AKC, ANKC, CKC KC(UK), NZKC, UKC The German Shepherd Dog (known also as the Alsatian or Schäfer(hund)) is an intelligent breed of dog. ...

Facing almost exclusively German troops in the final encirclement, YNLA finally succeeded in breaking out across the Sutjeska river through the lines of the German 118th and 104th Jäger and 369th (Croatian) Infantry divisions in the northwestern direction, towards Eastern Bosnia. Three brigades and the central hospital with over 2000 wounded remained surrounded, and following Hitler's instructions, German commander in chief general Alexander Löhr ordered and carried out their annihilation, including the wounded and unarmed medical personnel. In addition, YNLA troops suffered from severe lack of food and medical supplies, and many were struck down by typhoid. This is about the disease typhoid fever. ...

In total there were 6,391 partisan casualties, more than a third of the initial force. The German commander in field, general Rudolf Lüters in his final report described the so-called "communist rebels" as "well organized, skillfuly lead and with combat morale unbelievably high".

Immediately after the breakout, YNLA regrouped and mounted a counteroffensive in Eastern Bosnia, clearing Axis garrisons of Vlasenica, Srebrenica, Olovo, Kladanj and Zvornik in the following 20 days. Vlasenica is a municipality and town in the northeastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Srebrenica (Cyrillic: Сребреница; IPA: /srɛ.brɛ.ni. ... Olovo is a city situated about 50 km north-west of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Kladanj is a town and municipality in Tuzla Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Zvornik (Зворник) is a city on the Drina river in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, located southeast of Tuzla and north of Srebrenica. ...

The Monument commemorating the Battle of Sutjeska in Tjentište, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The battle marked a turning point toward Allied control of Yugoslavia, and became an integral part of the Yugoslav post-war mythology, celebrating the self-sacrifice and extreme suffering and moral firmness of the partisans. Image File history File links Note: This image is freely available on the internet from various sources in the public domain. ... Image File history File links Note: This image is freely available on the internet from various sources in the public domain. ...

See also

• List of anti-Partisan operations in Yugoslavia

This is a detailed list of axis-perpetrated anti-Partisan operations on the territory of Yugoslavia during World War II. 1941-09-30 - Operation Višegrad 1941-12-02 - Operation Ozren 1942-01-15 - Operation Süd-Kroatien I 1942-01-28 - Operation Süd-Kroatien II 1942-02-18...

External links

• Operation SCHWARZ - Sutjeska offensive
• A History of Yugoslavian Reistance in WWII