Balkan war history

We may not leave behind the wounded" - Tito Battle of the Neretva, also known as the Battle for the wounded, is a common name for a series of battles in the Neretva valley between Yugoslav Partisans and the Axis forces during February and March 1943. For the Germans, this was the Operation Weiss II, but in Yugoslav historiography, this was the culmination of the 4th Enemy Offensive. Operation  Weiss II During the Axis Operation Weiss I, the Partisans' leadership decided to initiate the offensive towards the valley of the Neretva river. On February 8th, Tito presented a plan of the offensive at a conference with the staff of three elite divisions: the 1st Proletarian Division, the 2nd Proletarian Division, and the 3rd Shock Division. Artillery of the 718th German divisions during the fight with the Partisans. Partisans' plan for the offensive: ·          Right column – the 2nd Proletarian Division was tas...

Operation Case White (German: Fall Weiss), also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive, was a combined Axis strategic offensive launched against Yugoslav Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia during the World War II. The Axis launched this offensive in order to destroy the Partisan movement and secure the territory that the Allies might invade. A meeting was held on January 2nd and 3rd 1943 in Rome. This meeting was attended by the Chief of the Italian Supreme Command Marshal Cavallero, the German Supreme Commander for Southeast General Alexander Löhr and the Commander of the 2nd Italian Army General Roatta. They adopted the general idea of the performance of winter operations against People's Liberation Army (the official name for the Partisan movement in Yugoslavia). According to this idea, the winter campaign foresaw more consecutive operations and battles in the area between the river Kupa in Croatia and the Montenegrin border. These operations were later giv...