Ground Combat
Due to the collection of rescued aviators near Pranjani, fighting occurred between the Chetniks and German and Bulgarian occupation forces. On 14 March 1944 the Germans moved into the village of Oplanić, near Gružа, looking for the crew of a downed Liberator. Captain Nikola Petković's 4th battalion of the Gruža brigade opened fire on the German armored vehicles to lure them away from the portion of the village where the aviators were hiding. Three Chetniks were killed and two more captured during the firefight. After the war the communists destroyed their gravestones.
The 1st Dragačevo Brigade of the First Ravna Gora Corps engaged German forces attempting to capture an American aircrew bailing out over the Čačak - Užice road. Vučković reported the deaths of a few Chetnik soldiers in the fight. The fallen Chetniks were buried in a cemetery in Dljin village.
American pilot William Hill was captured in April 1944 by units from the German-led 392nd (Croatian) Infantry Division. Chetnik scouts observed Hill in the ruins of the village of Gračac in the Lika region of the NDH. He was rescued by Chetniks of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, of the Lika Corps of the Dinara Division. The Chetniks approached the enemy post in darkness and released the pilot during the confusion caused by throwing a grenade into the camp kitchen. A German patrol failed to find the pilot in Cvetković. Hill dressed in the Serbian national costume and stayed with elements of the Dinara Division until he was transferred to an American base in Italy.
Lieutenant Colonel Todor Gogić, commander of the Morava group Corps sent a radiogram to Mihailović on 17 April:
| “ | On 15 April at about 11 hours, due to engine failure, a B-24 Liberator with a crew of 10 made an emergency landing near the village of Drenovac south of Paraćin. We managed to rescue nine crew members from the Germans and Bulgarians, but one airmen was captured. The crew is from the 861st Squadron, 460th bomber group. | ” |
Read more about this topic: Operation Halyard
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