Fall Weiss (1943)

: See also Fall Weiss (1939)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

Related Topics:
German - Axis - 1943 - Partisans - Yugoslavia - Independent State of Croatia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Germans aimed to destroy the central command of the Partisan movement, the Central Committee of Communist Party of Yugoslavia, as well as the main Partisan hospital. The Axis rallied nine divisions, six German, three Italian, as well as two Croatian divisions and a number of Chetnik and Ustashi formations. Estimated 150,000 Axis combatants engaged a much smaller partisan force.

Related Topics:
Communist Party of Yugoslavia - Hospital - Division - Italian - Chetnik - Ustashi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The operation was done in three stages:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Weiss I started on January 20th, 1943, with the attack on Partisan-held areas in western Bosnia and parts of central Croatia
• Weiss II followed on February 25th, with fighting done in western and southwestern Bosnia, and the Partisans retreated as far southeast as the Neretva river
• Weiss III was launched in March, and centered around the areas of northern Herzegovina, but the targetted partisans managed to breakout from an encirclement into northern Montenegro, and the third phase was not successfully completed

By the end of March, the fascist forces had killed about eight thousand partisans, capturing another two thousand. Despite these heavy losses and a tactical victory for the Axis powers, the partisan formations secured their command and the hospital, and were able to continue operations. In fact, once they reached the eastern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the partisans had to face only the Chetniks, and in turn almost entirely incapacitated them in the area west of the Drina river.

Related Topics:
Partisans - Drina

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next major operation in Yugoslavia was Operation Schwarz.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The 1969 Oscar-nominated motion picture "The Battle of Neretva" (see {{imdb title|id=0064091|title="Bitka na Neretvi"}}) depicts these events.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~