2nd Proletarian Division

2nd Proletarian Division

(Druga Proleterska Divizija)

Organization

Formed on 1 November 1942 in the village of Ticevo in the Bosanska Krajina, the division consisted of the following brigades:

2nd Proletarian Brigade

4th Proletarian Brigade

2nd Dalmatian Proletarian Brigade

At the time of formation, the division had around 2.680 men. In September 1943 the 4th Proletarian Brigade left the division and was replaced with the 3rd Proletarian (Sandzak) Brigade.

In January 1944 the 4th Proletarian Brigade again joined the division while on 27 January 1944 the 2nd Proletarian (Dalmatian) Brigade left. On 10 February the 3rd Serbian Brigade joined the division and on 1 September the 2nd Proletarian Brigade returned followed by 6th Serbian Brigade on 16 September. At the end of 1944 the division had 9.886 men.

On 15 March 1945 the Artillery Brigade of the 2nd Proletarian Division was established and on 29 February the division had 10.142 men.

Unit History

Second proletarian division took part in almost all important operations of the Yugoslav partisans (NOVJ). Immediately after it was formed it defeated a group of Italian and Chetniks troops around Knin and Bosansko Grahovo and on 14 December 1942 it took part in the battle for Livno and also later Kupres. During the Neretva battle it was engaged in some hard battles for Posusje, Imotski, Drezje and Jablanica and later it took part in the main counter-attack of the Main Operative Group in the direction of Prozor and Gornji Vakuf and also played an important role in defeating the Chetniks on the left bank of the Neretva River and than also in areas around Cicevo, Glavaticevo, Obalj, Ulog and Kalinovik. After it crossed the Drina river south of Foca, it defeated another new group of Chetniks near Celebici in the middle of March, then transferring to Montenegro. During the Sutjeska battle its units were invloved in battles near Kolasin, Foca, Durmitor, near the villages Mratinje, Maglic, Baram, Kosur, in the Sutjeska Valley, Ljubin Grob and Kosuta. After arriving in Eastern Bosnia it took Olovo, Kladanj, Cajnice, Gorazde, part of the Sandzak and Montenegro. In December 1943 it was involved in heavy battles in the direction Sjenica-Prijepolje-Plevlja, then crossed to the right bank of the Lim river. In the first half of January 1944 the division took Ivanjica and on 25 March 1944, together with 5th Division, operated again in Serbia, but after 66 days of hard fightings, it was forced out of Serbia, and returned to Montenegro. At the end of July it was part of the Operative Group of divsions and crossed over the Ibar river into Serbia again, smashed strong Chetnik forces at Kopaonik and took Brus, Aleksandrovac, Kursumljia and Prokuplje. After that operated in the valley of the Western Morava river and took part in the battles for Krusevac, Kraljevo and Cacak. After Uzice were taken the division on 16 December 1944 was transferred via Belgrade to the Syrmian Front, where in the middle of January 1945 it managed to stop the German advance in the direction Tovarnik-Ilok. In February and March 1945 it took part in battles around Zvornik and Bjeljina, in April took Brcko, Gracanica and Bosanski Samac, then crossed into Croatia over the Sava River, liberated Zupanja and established a front line near the village of Babina Greda. In the middle of April 1945 the division was transferred to Southern Serbia, where it proceed with cleaning of the area from remains of various Chetnik groups, which were still active in that area.

Sources

Vojna Enciklopedija

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