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Operation SONNENWENDE

(Unternehmen Sonnenwende / Operation Solstice / Operacija Zonenvende)

History

Anti-partisan operation carried out by German 392nd Division "Blue Division" against Yugoslav Partisans 13th (Primorsko-goranska) division from 10 to 12 June 1944 in Delnice - Lokve region.

Operation target was destruction of Partisan 11th Corps forces in order to secure rear area of Croatian Littoral from Sušak to Crikvenica and is one of several operations carried out along the coast. Because 13th Division whose staff Germans hoped to find in or around Delnice was at that time in Karlovac region Germans easily broke through defenses of 2nd Primorsko-goranski Partisan detachment entering Delnice officially ending the operation.

13th Division quickly reacted sending its 1st Brigade back to Delnice region. Brigade attacked Delnice immediately on arrival forcing Germans to retreat but failed to purse them which allowed Germans to regroup and around 200 soldiers with 2 tanks launched counterattack causing confusion amongst Partisans and forcing 1st Brigade to retreat from Delnice again. Only assault company remained in the town fighting off Germans who launched their final attack on 1st Brigade at 14:00 after which they gathered dead and wounded and retreated towards Lokve and back to their starting garrisons on 14 June.

Orders of Battle

  • Axis ORBAT - 1500 soldiers, 2 tanks, 24 trucks
    • Alarm Regiment Brandenburg reinforced with police forces
    • parts of 846th Regiment
  • NOVJ ORBAT
    • 13th Division

Casualties

German claimed 70 killed Partisans in two days of combat.

Partisan claimed 80 killed and 110 wounded enemy soldiers while suffering only 14 killed and 20 wounded.

Aftermath

Operation changed little but it forced 13th Division to chage its plans and 1st Brigade was ordered to attack Crikvenica in attempt to weaken German threat to Partisan held area.

Reference

  • Svetozar Tintor: Trinaesta primorsko-goranska udarna divizija, page 169-171
  • Petar Kleut: Jedanaesti korpus NOVJ, page 192-195
  • Antun Giron: Zapadna Hrvatska u Drugom svjetskom ratu, page 383
  • Franz Schraml: Hrvatsko ratište : njemačko-hrvatske legijske divizije -369., 373., 392. pješ. div. (hrv.)

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