Operation Prijedor Explained

Conflict:Operation Prijedor
Partof:World War II in Yugoslavia
Date:mid to late February 1942
Place:northwest Bosnia
Coordinates:44.9808°N 16.7133°W
Result: Partisan withdrawal
Combatant1:Axis



Combatant2:Allies


Partisans

Commander1: Oberst Rudolf Wutte
Strength1:around 5,000 troops
Strength2:1,000 troops
Casualties1:Unknown
Casualties2:Unknown

Operation Prijedor was a German-Croatian joint counter-insurgency operation conducted around Prijedor in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II. It targeted the Yugoslav Partisans that had isolated the garrison of Prijedor in Bosnia between late January and mid-February 1942.

Operation

The operation was led by the German 750th Infantry Regiment of the 718th Infantry Division reinforced by a number of units of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) (including several battalions of the Croatian Home Guard). It commenced in mid-February 1942 after Operation Ozren had concluded.

The Germans advanced south from Dubica towards Prijedor, where a German garrison battalion and a number of NDH units had been isolated by Partisan attacks on the railway lines in the surrounding area. The NDH units consisted of four infantry battalions, a gendarmerie battalion and artillery support, along with 29 companies of various types. The NDH units were used to guard the roads and effect a cordon around the area of the operation. The objective of the operation was achieved, and the garrison was relieved.

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