Background
The Axis Case White and Case Black offensives of the first six months of 1943 caused significant setbacks for the Partisans; however, in September Tito took advantage of the capitulation of Italy and managed to increase the territory under his control and double his forces in size to around 200,000 men, arming them with captured Italian weapons. In late November he held a National Congress at Jajce in the liberated area of northwestern Yugoslavia and designated himself Marshal and Prime Minister. He established his headquarters nearby at Drvar in the Dinaric Alps and temporarily quit his successful tactic of being constantly on the move. Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) Maximilian von Weichs, the Wehrmacht Commander-in-chief Southeast Europe admitted a few weeks later that: "Tito is our most dangerous enemy."
The Supreme Headquarters of the Partisans was located in the town of Drvar, Bosnia, within the territory of the German puppet state the Independent State of Croatia (which included today's Bosnia and Herzegovina). Tito's personal headquarters was initially located in a cave about one kilometre north of the centre of Drvar. The Unac River ran along the base of the ridge line in which the cave was located, creating an obstacle to movement between the town and the cave, and a rail line ran along the ridge line behind the cave. In addition to Partisan headquarters, various Partisan and Communist Party of Yugoslavia support, training and youth organisations were also based in and around Drvar at the time, along with the Tito Escort Battalion which was responsible for his personal safety. In villages close around Drvar were the British and Soviet military missions to the Partisans, and some United States military officers on various missions. The British mission was headed by Brigadier Fitzroy MacLean, who was in London at the time of the raid, and included Major Randolph Churchill, son of Winston Churchill. At the time of Operation Rösselsprung, the British mission was led by its second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Street.
Read more about this topic: Seventh Enemy Offensive
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