Continuation of the essay on the history of the "Bosnian-Muslim" 13th SS Mountain Division "Khanjar". (First part: "13th SS Mountain Division" Khanjar ". The birth of an unusual military unit").
In June 1943, the division, which was in the stage of formation, was subordinated to the commander of the German forces in southern France and relocated to the Mende, Haute-Loire, Aveyron, Lozerne area. On August 9, 1943, the division was led by the Wehrmacht Colonel Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig. When moving to the SS, he received the title of Oberführer. Sauberzweig took part in the First World War, at the age of 18 he was already a company commander, was awarded military awards. In 1941, as a regiment commander, he took part in a campaign against the USSR. Although he did not speak Serbo-Croatian, he quickly earned the respect of his subordinates.
While the units of the division were in the town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, on the night of September 16-17, a group of soldiers of the sapper battalion, led by several non-commissioned officers of Muslims and Catholics, mutinied.
Unterscharfuehrer Ferid Janich, Haupsharfuehrer Nikola Vukelich, Haupsharfuehrer Eduard Matutinovich, Oberscharfuehrer Lutfia Dizdarevich and Bozho Jelenek captured most of the German personnel and killed five German officers. Among those killed was the battalion commander Obersturmbannführer Oskar Kirchbaum, who had previously served in the Austro-Hungarian and then in the royal Yugoslav armies.
The motives of the leaders of the rebellion are still not clear.
Perhaps they hoped that most of the personnel would join them, and they would be able to defect to the Western allies. But, apparently, they had no contacts either with the French Resistance or with British agents. Thanks to the division's imam Halim Malcoch and the battalion doctor Wilfried Schweiger, the riot was quickly pacified. Malcoch brought the soldiers of the 1st company into obedience, freed the captured Germans and gathered personnel to capture the instigators. Schweiger managed to do the same in the 2nd company.
Later, Himmler awarded Malcoch and Schweiger the 2nd Class Iron Crosses. Moreover, Himmler said that, despite the incident, he has no doubts about the reliability of the Bosnians. Even in the First World War, they faithfully served their emperor, why should not they continue to do this.
The leaders of the rebels Dizdarevich and Dzhanich were killed in a shootout, while Matutinovich and Yelenek managed to escape. According to some reports, Matutinovich, who became a fighter of the NOAJ, drowned in the Danube in May 1945. Yelenek managed to join the French "poppies". And he died in Zagreb in 1987.
The death toll in the mutiny varies according to various sources. German reports say 14 were executed.
In the town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, they still commemorate every September 17
"Martyrs who fell in the fight against Nazism."
In the "anti-fascist" French and Yugoslav literature, it is said about 150 dead rebels, about their
"Heroic resistance"
about hours of street fighting, about local residents who joined the rebels and about
"The first French city liberated from the Nazis."
There is no documentary evidence for this.
The place where 14 rebels were shot is named
"Field of the Yugoslav Martyrs".
And in 1950, a memorial stone was erected there by the authorities of the SFRY. In 2006, it was replaced by a monument by the Croatian sculptor Vani Radaus. The Field of the Yugoslav Martyrs was renamed into the Croatian Memorial Park.
After the mutiny, all members of the division were checked.825 Bosniaks and Croats were declared “unfit for service” and “unreliable”, transferred to the “Todt Organization” and sent to work in Germany. 265 of them refused to work in OT and were sent to the Neungamme concentration camp.
To complete the training, the division was transferred to the Neuhammer training ground in Silesia. After the introduction of a new numbering of SS formations in October 1943, the division was named the 13th Volunteer Bosnian-Herzegovinian Mountain Division (Croatian).
The organizational and staff structure of the division was as follows:
- 1st Croatian SS volunteer mining regiment;
- 2nd Croatian SS volunteer mining regiment;
- Croatian SS Cavalry Battalion;
- Croatian SS reconnaissance battalion;
- Croatian SS volunteer mountain artillery regiment;
- Croatian SS anti-tank battalion;
- Croatian SS anti-aircraft battalion;
- Croatian SS sapper battalion;
- Croatian SS communications battalion;
- support subdivisions.
By December 31, the number of personnel of the division was 21065 people, which is 2000 more than the regular one. Nevertheless, there was an extremely shortage of officers and non-commissioned officers.
On February 15, 1944, training was completed. And the division was transferred by rail to Croatia.
According to the war log of the High Command of the Wehrmacht, its tasks were as follows:
“… The transfer in mid-February of the 13th Bosnian division from the Neuhammer training ground to Slavonski Brod significantly strengthened the troops of the South-East Command …
It should be recalled that in order for the division to fulfill its assigned tasks, it is necessary to take into account the cultural and ethnic characteristics of the Bosnian Muslims. The German soldiers of the division must respect them.
The important role of the mufti must also be taken into account.
The return of the division to Croatia is the fulfillment of the Reich's commitment to return its sons to their homeland. This should strengthen mutual trust between the German command and the local population.
The division must be stationed in Sirmium.
Its first task is to pacify the area between the Drina and Bosna rivers”.
(KTB OKW Bd. VI / I. S623)
Maintaining order in the 6,000 sq. M. Area was of paramount importance. km in the northeast of Bosnia, the so-called "peace zone".
This zone was bounded by the rivers Sava, Bosna, Drina and Specha and included the regions of Posavina, Semberia and Maevitsa. On the opposite side, the 3rd NOAU Partisan Corps operated in it.
The baptism of fire of the 13th Division took place on March 9-12, 1944, during Operation Wegweiser, the purpose of which was to protect the Zagreb-Belgrade railway from partisans operating from forests in the Bosut river basin and from villages along the Sava.
After the approach of the 13th division, the partisans, avoiding major battles, retreated to the southeast. As a result of the operation, division commander Sauberzweig reported on 573 killed and 82 captured partisans. The forests in the Bosut basin were cleared of guerrillas, and this was an undoubted success, but they could return at any time.
On March 15, 1944, a new operation "Sava" began, the task of which was to cleanse the Semberia region from partisans.
At dawn, the 1st mountaineger regiment crossed the Sava near its confluence with the Drina at Bossan Rachi. The main forces of the division were ferried with powerful artillery support at Brcko. The partisans quickly retreated into the woods.
The 1st mountaineger regiment at a fast pace advanced through Velino Selo to Bielin and, almost without encountering resistance, occupied it in the afternoon of March 16, after which it went on the defensive there.
The 2nd mountaineger regiment and the reconnaissance battalion carried out the main task in the meantime, advancing through Pukis, Chelich and Koray to the foot of the Maevitsa mountain range. The second battalion of the 2nd mountaineger regiment (II./2), led by its commander, Sturmbannführer Hans Hanke, attacked the positions of the partisans near Cielic, who, as a result of heavy losses and the use of ammunition, were forced to retreat. After clearing the area, the battalion set about equipping positions along the Chelich-Lopare road.
At the same time, reinforced (up to a company) patrols were sent for reconnaissance.
On the night of March 17-18, units of the 16th and 36th Voevodino divisions of the NOAJ attacked the positions of the 2nd regiment, but, having lost about 200 people, retreated. The reconnaissance battalion fought heavy battles with units of the 3rd Voevodinsky brigade and the 36th Voevodinsky divisions, as a result of which 124 partisans were destroyed and 14 were taken prisoner.
In early April, about 200 partisans of the 16th Muslim Brigade surrendered. Almost all of them were previously members of various Muslim self-defense groups.
Operation Osterei (Easter Egg) began on April 12, 1944.
Its goal was to clean up the area of the Maevitsa ridge, controlled by units of the 3rd NOAU corps under the command of General Costa Nada.
The 1st Mining Regiment occupied the village of Yanya and continued the offensive through Donja Trnovac to Uglevik in order to take control of the coal mines located there, which are of great importance for the German military industry. According to the results of the fighting, which lasted until the evening of April 13, the 1st regiment reported on 106 killed, 45 captured partisans and two defectors. In addition, a large number of weapons, ammunition and medicines were seized.
At this time, the first battalion of the 2nd regiment (I./2) suffered heavy losses, fighting farther south, in the area of the village of Priboy. The command of the 3rd partisan corps withdrew parts of the 16th and 36th Voevodino divisions to the south, across the Tuzla-Zvornik road.
The reconnaissance battalion broke through to the western part of Mayevitsa and occupied Srebrenik and Gradacats.
For the Germans, Operation Easter Egg was a significant success. All goals were achieved with insignificant losses of their own.
Even during the final phase of the operation, battalion I./2 was withdrawn from the battle and sent to Pristina, in Kosovo, to become the nucleus for the formation of the 21st Albanian division "Skanderbek" (1st Albanian SS division).
One of the largest operations against partisans during World War II was the Trinity Birch (Maibaum).
Its goal was to destroy the 3rd partisan corps.
It was attended by units of the 7th SS Mountain Division "Prince Eugen" and the 13th SS Mountain Division V. SS Mountain Corps Arthur Pleps, several army divisions and the formation of the NGH. The command of Army Group F ordered V. SS Mountain Corps to block the guerrillas from a possible retreat into eastern Serbia across the Drina River.
The 13th SS Mountain Division was tasked with occupying Tuzla and Zvornik, and then advancing along the Drina to the south, to join the main forces of the corps. The Srebrenitsa direction was supposed to be covered by her reconnaissance battalion. On April 23, the 2nd Mountaineger Regiment began to advance along the mountain roads to Tuzla and by the next day reached Stupari. On April 25, the 1st Gornoyegersky began moving south, towards Zvornik.
At the same time, the 2nd regiment sent battalion I./2 to the east, to Vlasenitsa, and II./2, to the south, to Kladani, which it occupied on April 27. Due to the Drinichi spill in the Kladani area, the battalion was unable to cross it. And instead of further advancing south, to Vlasianitsa, he continued to advance southeast, to the city of Khan-Pesak, where he united with the units of "Prince Eugen".
Battalion I./2 occupied Vlasianitsa on April 28, after which it was attacked by two partisan divisions from the south.
Another partisan division surrounded the headquarters of the 2nd mountaineger regiment near Sekovichi, 30 kilometers from Vlasyanitsa.
The 2nd and reconnaissance battalions made a quick march to Vlasianitsa to help the 1st battalion, after which they jointly liberated their headquarters from the encirclement and, in turn, surrounded Sekovichi. As a result of 48 hours of heavy fighting, the city was occupied.
During the fighting for Sekovichi, the 1st Regiment extended its defensive lines further south along the Drina. He managed to lure one of the partisan columns into an ambush. And by April 30 to reach New Kasada. After the situation with Sekovichi was resolved by May 1, the 1st regiment was able to start fulfilling its main task - protecting the Tuzla-Zvornik road.
On May 5, the 2nd regiment moved to the Simin Khan - Lopare area, and units of the 7th Mountain Division pursued the partisans retreating to the south. As a result of Operation Maibaum, the 3rd Partisan Corps suffered heavy losses and was unable to cross the Drina into Serbia.
On May 6, the command of V. The Mountain Corps returned the 13th SS Division to its place of permanent deployment in the "peace zone".
On May 15, 1944, the division was renamed the 13th SS Mountain Division "Khanjar" or the 1st Croatian Division (13. Waffen-Gebirgsdivision der SS "Handschar" (kroatische Nr. 1).
In modern German, Khanjar is called crooked daggers from Oman, but in
In Serbo-Croatian, this word means any edged weapon with a curved blade, be it a Turkish scimitar or a kilich, or an Arab saif.
On May 17-18, 1944, the "Khanjar" division carried out, together with the formation of the Chetniks of Radivoi Kerovich, the "Lily of the Valley" ("Maigloeckchen") operation. Its goal was to destroy the partisans in the Maevitsa-Tuzla area.
The partisans fortified themselves on the heights of the Capital, where they were surrounded. The attempt of the 1st Voevodino division to break through to the encircled was repulsed by the forces of the reconnaissance battalion and units of the 2nd mountaineger regiment "Khandzhara".
Only on the night of May 18, under cover of darkness, under heavy artillery fire, the partisans managed to escape in a southerly direction. In doing so, they suffered significant losses. For example, the 17th Mayevitsky brigade lost 16 killed and 60 wounded. At the end of Operation Lily of the Valley, the 1st regiment remained in the Zvornik area, and the 2nd went over to Srebrenik. The division's tasks were mainly limited to the protection of the "peace zone".
In June 1944, the 13th SS Division was reorganized. And its composition was as follows:
• 27th SS Volunteer Mining Regiment (Waffen-Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment der SS 27) - former 1st
• 28th SS volunteer mining regiment (Waffen-Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment der SS 28) - former 2nd
• 13th SS Volunteer Artillery Regiment (SS-Waffen-Artillerie-Regiment 13)
• Croatian SS tank battalion (Kroatische SS-Panzer-Abteilung)
• anti-tank battalion (SS-Gebirgs-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 13)
• cavalry battalion (Kroatische SS-Kavallerie-Abteilung)
• anti-aircraft battalion (SS-Flak-Abteilung 13)
• communications battalion (SS-Gebirgs-Nachrichten-Abteilung 13)
• reconnaissance battalion (SS-Gebirgs-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 13)
• motorized reconnaissance platoon (SS-Panzer-Aufklärungszug)
• bicycle battalion (Kroatisches SS-Radfahr-Bataillon)
• engineer battalion (SS-Gebirgs-Pionier-Bataillon 13)
• motorcycle battalion (Kroatisches SS-Kradschützen-Bataillon)
• SS supply squad (SS-Divisions-Nachschubtruppen)
• 13th sanitary battalion (SS-Sanitätsabteilung 13)
• 13th Mountain Veterinary Company (SS-Gebirgs-Veterinär-Kompanie 13)
During the division's stay in the "peace zone" it was supported by local armed formations - about 13,000 Chetniks, "green cadres" (Muslim detachments under the command of Neshad Topcic) and Croatian households.
But their reliability and fighting qualities were highly questionable.
An important event in the anti-guerrilla war in Yugoslavia was Operation Knight's Ride.
The command of the 2nd Panzer Army of General Lothar Rendulich planned to capture the partisan commander Tito and thus weaken the leadership of the NOAJ.
To solve this problem, the 500th SS parachute battalion suddenly landed for the partisans in Bosnian Drvar, where Tito's main headquarters, as well as Soviet, British and American military missions were located.
At the same time, other German and Croatian troops, which included parts of the XV. Mountain Corps, 373rd Croatian Division, 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division "Prince Eugen" attacked Drvar from different directions and captured it by 26 May.
The leading structures of the partisan army were mostly defeated, but Tito himself managed to escape. Subsequently, he was taken on an English destroyer to the island of Vis, where he organized his new headquarters. There she planned a counterattack, including against the Bosnian SS men.
The 3rd partisan corps in three columns launched an offensive on the area of the Maevitsa ridge in order to regain control over the Posavina-Maevitsa region. These columns had the following composition:
- Western grouping - 16th Voevodino division;
- the central grouping - the 38th East Bosnian Division;
- Eastern grouping - 36th Voevodino division.
Sauberzweig was already warned by counterintelligence about this maneuver on June 6.
He planned his own operation "Vollmond" ("Full Moon"), in which it was supposed to gather his own forces into a fist and push the partisans to the Drina. But Sauberzweig underestimated the forces of the "western" group of partisans and left as a cover against them only one battalion (I./28), entrenched in the heights.
There were many inexperienced recruits in this battalion. He was also supposed to cover two batteries of the 13th artillery regiment, one of which (7th) was located in Lopar. On the afternoon of June 7, the partisans managed to defeat the 1st Battalion (I./28), despite the fact that the 2nd Battalion from Srebrenik hurried to help it. The 16th Voevodinskaya attacked the positions of the 7th battery (7./Ar13).
This battery numbered 80 people, armed with four 150-mm howitzers and one machine gun. After a four-hour battle, after the gunners ran out of ammunition, they were forced to leave their positions along with the guns.
Counterattacks II./28 on June 9 and 10 threw back the partisans of the "western" and "central" groupings with heavy losses in a southerly direction. The partisans were unable to take the captured heavy weapons and tractors with them and therefore destroyed them. The losses of the 7th battery were 38 killed and 8 missing.
The "eastern" grouping of partisans was attacked by the 27th regiment and by June 12 threw them back across the Sprecha River.
Operation Full Moon cost the division 205 killed, 528 wounded and 89 missing. According to German data, the losses of the partisans amounted to more than 1,500 people, in addition, large trophies were captured. According to Yugoslavian reports, the losses of the 3rd partisan corps were:
- Western grouping - 58 killed, 198 wounded, 29 missing;
- central grouping - 12 killed, 19 wounded, 17 missing;
- eastern grouping - 72 killed, 142 wounded, 9 missing.
These numbers are very different from the German ones.
At the end of Operation Full Moon on June 19, the commander of the 27th Regiment, Standartenführer Desiderius Hampel, was appointed division commander. As regiment commander, he was replaced by Sturmbannführer Sepp Sire.
The commander of the 28th regiment also changed. It was Sturmbannführer Hans Hanke. Sauberzweig was entrusted with the formation of a new IX. Mountain Corps SS (Croatian).
Former commander of the 28th Regiment Helmut Raitel took up the formation of the new 23rd SS Mountain Division "Kama" (2nd Croatian). Three non-commissioned officers from each Khanjar company were dispatched to the newly formed units. The headquarters of the formed corps and divisions were located in southern Hungary.
Soon after Hampel took command of the regiment, he learned that the Chetniks were collecting weapons belonging to the 13th division on the battlefield and taking them over. Hampel had to enter into negotiations with the leader of the Chetniks, Radivo Kerovich. And after long bargaining to agree on the exchange of weapons for ammunition for small arms and hand grenades.
