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author: wuming.

about the author: wuming, male, a senior high school student at nankai middle school in chongqing, likes military history and geopolitics, has studied macroeconomics, microeconomics, statistics, calculus, and java c++ languages ​​in college. when he is free, he will try to copy the small virus codes he saw during the xuexin competition to prank his friends and never get tired of it.

from september 27 to october 15, 1941, the german and chetnik operations against the partisans in western serbia, which yugoslavia called the first enemy offensive, broke out. the republic of užice was not a state with a single authority and a single armed force. the republic of užice had two different military forces, one was the partisans and the other was the chetnik movement. the headquarters of the partisans in this territory was in užice (hence the name of the republic of užice), while the headquarters of the chetniks was in the town of pozega.

figure 1. tito's office in the republic of užice

the economy of the town of užice was in a state of war. there was a textile workshop in the town, which produced linen, towels, and some medical supplies. in addition, there was a tailor's workshop for making military uniforms, a shoemaking workshop, a guerrilla bakery, and a leather workshop. three small hydroelectric power stations on the jetinje river were in constant operation, and the town and all important facilities had normal electricity supply. there was also a railway, which was mainly used for military purposes (transporting soldiers to the front), but also met civilian needs. workers built an armored guerrilla train to ensure transportation safety.

in this free land, kitchens were set up for the disabled. the influx of people and the evacuation of the wounded to the towns prompted the free town hospitals to organize free medical services. a strong cultural life also developed. in užice, the partisans printed newspapers and published news of the battles. there was even an art department in the partisan company, with active drama, art and music sections.

figure 2. guerrilla soldiers

after the partisans entered the town of užice on september 24, 1941, they established an ammunition factory. frequent bombings by the germans made it impossible for the factory to continue production, so the factory was moved several times to different locations in the town to conceal its presence. part of the machines and tools of the ammunition department were placed in underground facilities that were built before the war to meet the needs of the national bank.

in the užice republic, the partisans produced and secured weapons and ammunition for the front, including:

rifles: 21,000

rifle ammunition: 2.7 million rounds

pistol ammunition: 90,000 rounds

grenade launcher: 300

grenade 30,000

fixed machine gun about 300

mines 2,000

figure 3. operation uzice offensive

hitler was furious at the rise of the largest territory in occupied europe that was not yet fully controlled. on september 16, hitler issued an order to retake the liberated areas. command was given to general franz böhme, commander of the 18th army. the german 342nd division began its offensive on september 28, 1941. wehrmacht units fought fiercely with the partisans for a month. the partisans and chetniks negotiated repeatedly in the fall, but they did not reach an agreement on cooperation. on october 26, 1941, tito and mihajlovic met again in the town of brajić near ravna gora to try to reach a final understanding, but mihajlovic rejected tito's proposals, including the establishment of a common headquarters, joint military operations against the germans and bandits, the establishment of a joint staff responsible for the supply of troops, and the establishment of a national liberation committee. the chetnik command had sent two of mihajlović’s lieutenants, colonel branislav pantić and captain nenad mitrović, to belgrade, where they made contact with german intelligence officer captain josef matl on october 28. they told the bundeswehr that colonel mihajlović had authorized them to establish contact with prime minister milan nedić and the relevant bundeswehr commands, telling them that the colonel was willing to “put himself and his men at their disposal to fight communism.” the two representatives also assured the germans that their commander would “completely clear serbian territory of communist gangs” and requested assistance from the occupation forces in the form of “about 5,000 rifles, 350 machine guns and 20 heavy machine guns.”

in late november 1941, partisan intelligence informed partisan commander tito that german soldiers were about to attack. german aircraft began bombing the city on november 22, with one of the bombs hitting the bank building used as the partisans' headquarters, causing an explosion in the underground vault where ammunition was being manufactured, killing 120 people. then, on november 28, the workers' battalion in užice and two partisan units from posavina and oraše (both commanded by andrija đurović) were ordered to intercept the wehrmacht's 342nd infantry division, which had been spotted advancing towards kadinjaca mountain, just 14 kilometers from the edge of užice.

figure 4. oath of allegiance

at 8 a.m. on november 29, before the german troops reached the kadinjaca ridge, they were intercepted by the guerrillas. the german 342nd infantry division consisted of more than 3,000 soldiers, far outnumbering the approximately 400 fighters of the guerrilla workers' battalion, but the guerrillas continued to fight. as a result, almost all members of the workers' battalion were killed, but they still held their positions and fought the german wehrmacht for nearly 6 hours, buying enough time for the civilians of the supreme headquarters and the guerrilla leaders to evacuate užice. after leaving užice, the guerrillas went to sandzak and entered the italian-occupied area. some guerrillas failed to retreat in time and were dispersed or destroyed. after the main force of the guerrillas went to sandzak, only parts of 5 guerrilla detachments remained in serbia to continue fighting.

figure 5. schematic diagram of the enemy's first attack

second enemy offensive (southeast croatia and ozil)

between january 15 and february 4, 1942, germany led the southeast croatia operation (called the second enemy offensive by yugoslavia), which targeted yugoslav partisans in eastern bosnia. a few days after the southeast croatia operation ended, a follow-up operation called ozren was launched between the bosna and spreca rivers.

general paul bader was the overall commander of both operations. the main force of the operation was the german 342nd infantry division, which had been replaced by bulgarian troops in stabilization duties in occupied serbian territory. the commander of the 342nd infantry division, generalmajor (brigadier general) paul hoffman, also commanded generalmajor johann fortner's 718th infantry division during the operation. the germans were assisted by the croatian national guard, which included seven infantry battalions and nine artillery batteries. the total number of axis forces available for the operation was 30,000-35,000. luftwaffe support included reconnaissance aircraft and a combat squadron. the targets of the offensive were the areas controlled by the romanian, zwijezda, birac and ozren partisan detachments between sarajevo, tuzla, zvornik and višegrad. in the south, the italians set up cordons along the "vienna line" that separated the german-occupied and italian-occupied areas of the ndh. the germans estimated that there were a total of about 8,000 partisans and 20,000 bosnian chetniks in the target area of ​​the operation.

figure 6. the enemy's second offensive battle site

on january 9, 1942, the 718th infantry division issued orders to its two regiments that any captured partisans would be shot immediately, as would any other insurgents who attacked the germans, were captured with ammunition or information, resisted or escaped. in addition, any house that fired at german troops was to be burned.