"Rösselprung" Topic

"After 1941, the Balkans provided a much-required supply of natural resources for the Reich. One source, citing post-war reports from the Nuremberg trials, stated the Balkans provided "50% of petroleum, 100% of chrome, 60% of bauxite and 21% of Copper" for the German war machine. To protect both this vital source of resources and the lines of communication for its substantial occupation forces in Greece, Germany had some 18 Divisions in Yugoslavia, along with numerous other independent formations. This was an ulcer in the side of Germany as they sought to find troops to bolster their deteriorating position on the Eastern Front. These forces were still not sufficient to dominate the country and consequently they occupied the major urban areas and important communication nodes, while Partisan forces controlled the rugged countryside and were free to attack at will. The resulting situation for the Germans was dismal. In fact, in some areas morale was so low amongst German troops that many thought their prospects were better against the Russians and took the extraordinary move of volunteering for transfer to the Eastern Front rather than take their chances against the Partisans…"

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Armand

Thanks for posting this – it is a little known but very interesting battle

Regards
Andrew

A votre service mon ami….

Armand

And a VERY nasty fight from Both sides.
Barbed Wire Handcuffs en-route to 'oblivion'?
And that was not, in the 'instance' recounted to me, done by the pro- Nazi side.

Nasty indeed….

Armand