1st Proletarian Brigade

1st Proletarian Brigade
Supreme Commander Tito inspects the First Proletarian Brigade
Active	21 December 1941–1945
Country	Yugoslavia
Allegiance	Yugoslav Partisans
Branch	Infantry
Size	Brigade
Disbanded	1945
Commanders
Notable commanders	Koča Popović

The 1st Proletarian Brigade was the first regular formation raised by the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II.

At the time of formation, the Brigade numbered 1.186 soldiers, NCOs and officers, 71 of which were women. The brigade then fought in many battles against the Italians, Germans and their Chetnik auxiliaries, as well as the forces of the Axis puppet Independent State of Croatia from its creation until the end of the war. It fought in six of the Seven Enemy Offensives described in Yugoslav historiography. During 41 months of battle engagement, in the Brigade fought 13.443 men and 651 women, and 4.818 of them died in battle.

The Brigade was one of the elite formations of the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia. Its combat value was respected by the enemy. Artur Phleps, V SS Mountain Corps Commander, in his war journal in 1944 assessed 1st Proletarian Division as a serious opponent, very well managed and well trained, who fights like a regular troop.

It was formed by Josip Broz Tito and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia on 22 December 1941 (Stalin's birthday) in the village of Rudo in eastern Bosnia. Initially comprising 1,200 of the best Serb and Montenegrin Partisans under the command of the Spanish Civil War veteran Koča Popović, it began to take on a more multi-ethnic character from March 1942 when 15 Bosnian Muslims from Sarajevo joined the brigade. The formation of the brigade represented a significant change for the Partisans, as it gave the Partisan Supreme Command a politically reliable and mobile force that was not tied to a particular geographic area. This innovation allowed the Partisans to more easily concentrate fighting power at a particular point to achieve a decision, and permitted withdrawal when faced by a superior enemy force. The brigade fought its first battle on the day following its creation, when it encountered Italian troops and Chetniks as it marched out of Rudo.