Action Reports For Battles In Lika County, Croatia

[DeltaOne]

Looking for any action reports pertaining to fighting that took place around the town of Gospic in Lika County Croatia during WWII.
My father-in-law was 8 when the war broke out in that region. He spoke of his mom taking him and his brothers and hiding in the hills. He also spoke of Italian troops coming to their farm and killing all the chickens for food and how they would come into their home and take it over.
If anyone knows what units arrived in this area in 1941 through the end of the war or could provide action reports for this region, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

[G. Trifkovic]

Hi,

it would be advisable to find the relevant books of Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu [Belgrade: 1949-1986], Volume V: Operations in Croatia and Diario storico del comando supremo (Rome: 1992-2002), for Partisan and NDH, and for Italian reports, respectively.

To the best of my knowledge, very little material is available on these events in English. Below a few excerpts from my book Sea of Blood: A Military History of the Partisan Movement in Yugoslavia 1941-45 (Helion, 2022). (check out the footnotes for additional sources).

Best,

Gaius

The Regio Esercito would intervene in strength only if the guerrilla encroachment in one area or another threatened to become more permanent. In mid-July 1942, the XVIII AC sent seven infantry battalions, plus the usual array of artillery, air support, and the Chetniks, against the 3rd Lika and Northern Dalmatia Detachments around Gračac. The operation, known as “Velebit”, succeeded in pushing the Partisans to the northeast, towards Srb. The damage done to the guerrilla units was small, except for one Dalmatian battalion, which was at the end of its tethers after having been chased by the enemy for nearly a month without interruption. In late September and early October, the V AC used elements of the “Granatieri di Sardegna” and “Re”, as well as the task force “Gianuzzi” of the XVIII AC (whose strength varied from three to seven battalions), to clear the stretch of territory between Gospić and the southern slopes of the Velika Kapela. The offensive succeeded in liquidating the recently-established Partisan “bridgehead” in Western Lika centered on the Kosinj Valley, but the 1st and 2nd Lika Brigades managed to extricate themselves without heavier losses. 41

41 Milan R. Drobac, “Razvoj partizanskih jedinica i njihove borbe u kotaru Gračac od aprila 1942. do januara 1943. godine”, in Kotar Gračac u narodnooslobodilačkom ratu 1941-1945. (Karlovac: HAK, 1984), Vol. I, pp. 754-56; Đorđe J. Orlović, “Borbe u zapadnoj Lici (septembar—oktobar 1942.)”, in Kotar Gospić i kotar Perušić u Narodnooslobodilačkom ratu 1941—1945. (Karlovac: HAK, 1989), pp. 586- 606; Zbornik/V/5/455-63, Lika GoD to 1st OZ (27.7.1942).

...

[...] Otočac became the center of this large new liberated territory and the NOP capital of Croatia and would remain so until February 1944. Only one thing stood between the guerrillas and a total triumph: Gospić.44

“Heaven save us from another Bihać!” noted one Ustasha captain, clearly worried about the very real possibility that the nightmare scenario from November 1942 would repeat itself in the town considered the cradle of the Croat fascist movement. Out of nine battalions originally subordinated to the NDH’s Lika Operational Area Command (Zapovjedništvo operativnog područja Lika, ZAPOLI), only three were available for the direct defense of Gospić; together with local militia and gendarmerie, they numbered about 1,400 men. By the end of April 1943, the garrison found itself cut off from the outside world when their foe occupied the surrounding countryside and severed the main supply road leading to Karlobag.”The boil has burst”, wrote the same Ustasha officer in his diary for 9 May. Supported by four tanks and seven field guns, two brigades each from the 6th and 8th Divisions launched an all-out, concentric assault. Their target turned out to be not Bihać, but Udbina: well-fortified and motivated, the defenders fought back fiercely, stopping the guerrillas in their tracks. Partisan commanders had matured since Udbina, however: rather than pressing on with the attack, they canceled it as soon as it became clear that the cost would be too high (there were already 52 KIA and MIA, and 192 WIA). Instead, they settled down for a formal siege. The great symbolic importance attached to the survival of the garrison is evident from the sustained supply-and-support campaign conducted by the air forces of all three Axis nations. The siege lasted for roughly one month before it was lifted by a joint Italian-NDH attack across the Velebit. By this time there was only one Partisan brigade left in the area, whose sole task was to watch over the Gospić garrison and defend the approaches to the liberated territory. The stalemate in this sector, punctuated by skirmishes, would last until early September [...]45

45 War diary of Josip Hübl (18.4 and 11.5.1943), available on http://www.cro-eu.com/forum/index. php?topic=1355.0 (last accessed on 20.7.2019); Đorđe Orlović, “Borbe na teritoriji Gospića i Perušića (april-maj 1943. godine)”, in Gospić, pp. 844-78; Đoko Jovanić, “Šesta lička proleterska divizija ‘Nikola Tesla’ u trećoj godini rata (1.VII 1943-30.VI 1944)”, in Treća godina narodno-oslobodilačkog rata na području Karlovca, Korduna, Like, Pokuplja i Žumberka (Karlovac: HAK, 1977), pp. 561-71; Mikić, Zrakoplovstvo, pp. 74-75 [...]

...

[...] October and first half of November 1943 in Lika were marked by the usual guerrilla activity against Axis traffic and other targets of opportunity, as well as the stalemate on the Gospić front. This situation changed with the departure of the 6th Division to Central Bosnia; in its stead, the provisional OHQ for Lika received two inexperienced brigades from the 13th Division. The ZAPOLI soon discovered about the transfer and decided to take advantage of it. After successfully probing the NOVJ defenses, the 4th UAB took the port of Karlobag in a surprising attack on 19-21 November. A further notable blow came on 14 December, when a Partisan battalion was routed southeast of Gospić [...] 29

29 Petar Kleut, “Borbe jedinica operativnog štaba za Liku oko Gospića i na teritoriji Perušića (oktobar 1943-januar 1944.)”, in Gospić, pp. 879-908; Zbornik/V/19/672, ZAPOLI, Report (16.9.1943) [...] području Karlovca, Korduna, Like, Pokuplja i Žumberka (Karlovac: HAK, 1977), pp. 561-71; Mikić, Zrakoplovstvo, pp. 74-75 [...].

...

[...]Farther south, the bulk of the 11th Corps remained locked in a stalemate around Gospić and Otočac. In addition to the crack 4th UAB, the Partisans had a new opponent, the 392nd ID [...]

...

[...]The Lika summer campaign consisted of a series of alternating thrusts by the 11th NOVJ Corps’ 35th Division on the one, and the 4th UAB and 392nd ID on the other side, against each other’s territories. In early July 1944, the Partisans broke through the Ustasha defenses just north of Gospić but were forced to retreat by an Axis counterattack in the direction of Korenica [...].

[DeltaOne]

Thank you for the information. I really appreciate it. It has been challenging to find information on action around this location.

[DeltaOne]

Gaj,
I ordered your book ‘Sea of Blood: A Military History of the Partisan Movement in Yugoslavia 1941-1945. I’m looking forward to reading your research on what happened.
Again, thank you.

[G. Trifkovic]

Gaj,
I ordered your book ‘Sea of Blood: A Military History of the Partisan Movement in Yugoslavia 1941-1945. I’m looking forward to reading your research on what happened.
Again, thank you.

Thank you for putting your trust in my work. I must add, however, that the above-mentioned collections of documents and the literature cited in the footnotes contain far more information on the operations around Gospić than the "Sea of Blood", which covers the entire country and the entire war.

Best regards,

Gaj

[DeltaOne]

I tried to open the link in the footnote at www.cro-eu.com/forum/index but it won’t open.

[luda]

I tried to open the link in the footnote at www.cro-eu.com/forum/index but it won’t open.

http://web.archive.org/web/202207111737 ... com/forum/