Third Anti-partisan Offensive - Planning

Planning

Planning for Operation Trio and the associated Operation West-Bosnien in the Bosanska Krajina occurred during two Axis conferences in March 1942. During the initial conference at Opatija on 2–3 March, the NDH Chief of the General Staff Vladimir Laxa objected to an Italian proposal to involve the Bosnian and Herzegovinian Chetniks in the planned operations, and with the support of the Germans, this idea was initially shelved. Operation Trio was to be one of a series of counter-insurgency operations planned for eastern Bosnia, Herzegovina, Sandžak, Montenegro, western Bosnia and Lika. Despite this, the only operations that were actually conducted between March and June 1942 were Operation Trio, and a combined Italian-Montenegrin Chetnik offensive in Montenegro and eastern Herzegovina which is also associated with the Third Enemy Offensive in Yugoslav historiography.

Detailed planning and orders for Operation Trio were finalised at a conference in Ljubljana on 28–29 March 1942. Laxa, General Mario Roatta (the commander of the Italian Second Army), and General der Artillerie Paul Bader (the commander of German forces in the NDH) negotiated a compromise permitting temporary non-political agreements to be concluded with the Herzegovinian Chetniks, led by Dobroslav Jevđević, but not with any of the Bosnian Chetnik groups, whose leaders were Petar Baćović in the area of Foča and Jezdimir Dangić, who was aligned with the Serb collaborationist Milan Nedić.

Significant delays in finalising arrangements for Operation Trio were caused by disagreements regarding where it would commence, who would be in command, the involvement of Chetniks and NDH forces, how to deal with the demarcation line between the German and Italian zones of occupation, and what local authorities would be put in place as localities were cleared of insurgents. The NDH contributed to the mutual suspicion between the Germans and Italians. The Italian demands prevailed, because they were committing larger forces to the operation. The decision was ultimately made to target all insurgents in eastern Bosnia between Sarajevo and the Drina. Throughout the preparation for Operation Trio, the Italians looked for opportunities to cross over the demarcation line and expand their sphere of influence into eastern Bosnia to take advantage of German weakness in the NDH. Bader's final orders for the operation granted several key Italian demands, including military control over civil affairs in the area of operations, fair treatment of the local population, and treating non-resisting Chetniks as prisoners of war.

Bader was named tactical commander of the combined forces (known as Kampfgruppe Bader) committed to Operation Trio, but to appease the Italians the force was formally under the overall command of the Italian Second Army, commanded by Roatta. Kampfgruppe Bader consisted of the 718th Infantry Division (the only German division stationed in the NDH at the time), the Italian 22nd Infantry Division, 1st Alpine Division, 5th Alpine Division and 28 NDH battalions. Since 18 February, the 718th Infantry Division had been responsible for an area of operations bounded by the Sava and Bosna in the north, the Drina to the east and the German-Italian demarcation line to the south. Mainly because of lack of transport and firepower, the division had only conducted limited offensive operations against the Partisans between mid-February and mid-April.

The original planned start date of 15 April was pushed back when the Italians had problems moving to their start positions and later had trouble providing transport to establish lines of communication across the Adriatic. The operation was rescheduled to 25 April. Prior to the Ljubljana conference, the Ustaše authorities were concerned about negotiations between the German and Italian commanders and Dangić, and were particularly worried that the Germans would permit the Italians and Chetniks to use Sarajevo as a base. On 31 March the commander of the Ustaše Black Legion, Jure Francetić, launched a pre-emptive offensive primarily against Dangić's Chetniks. Francetić captured Vlasenica, Bratunac and Srebrenica, meeting limited resistance from the Partisans, and then scattered the more numerous Chetniks while inflicting significant losses.

In early April, Dangić travelled to Belgrade for discussions with representatives of Nedić and Chetnik leaders. He was arrested by the German authorities and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in occupied Poland. Dangić was replaced by Stevan Botić. On 15 April 1942 the Wehrmacht commander in south-east Europe, Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) Wilhelm List, issued an order forbidding Wehrmacht units to negotiate with any rebel groups. Only Abwehr (military intelligence) and police units were to maintain surveillance of such groups through informants and undercover agents.

Bratunac Srebrenica Rogatica Majevica Ozren Birač Romanija Zvijezda Kalinovik Foča Goražde Map of the eastern NDH with the demarcation line (dashed) between the Italian (southwest) and German (northeast) zones. Towns captured by German and NDH forces during Operation Trio are in red, and the Partisan detachments in eastern Bosnia at the end of 1941 are in blue. Foča and Goražde are in green.

After several months of increasing tension between the factions struggling for power within the insurgency, the first of the pro-Chetnik coups occurred, in the Ozren Partisan Detachment. It was sparked by the arrest and execution on 18 April of pro-Chetnik agitator Bogdan Jovićić by Vukmanović-Tempo and the newly formed 1st East Bosnian Shock Battalion. Fighting ensued between pro-Chetnik members of the detachment and the Shock Battalion. Vukmanović-Tempo then abandoned the Ozren Partisan Detachment, taking the detachment staff and remaining loyal Partisans with him.