Battle of Pljevlja
| Battle of Pljevlja | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Uprising in Montenegro, World War II in Yugoslavia | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 KPJ (Montenegrin Partisans) |
 Italy
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Arso Jovanović
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Giovanni Esposito |
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| Units involved | |||||||||
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5th Alpine Division Pusteria
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 4,000 | 2,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 203 killed 269 wounded |
74 killed 170 wounded 88 imprisoned |
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| more than 23 citizens of Pljevlja | |||||||||
Italian victory
The Battle of Pljevlja (1 December 1941), was a World War II attack in the state of Montenegro by partisans on Italian military forces occupying the city of Pljevlja under the command of General Arso Jovanović and Colonel Bajo Sekulić, who led 4,000 Montenegrin Partisans.
In 1941 the area had been occupied by Italian forces trying to attack Greece. On 1 November 1941, the Supreme Command of insurgent forces began planning to attack Pljevla. On 15 November, the Regional Committee of the Yugoslav Communist Party for Montenegro, Boka and Sandžak ordered all insurgent forces in the region to begin preparing for the assault. According to Arso Jovanović, the Italians had prepared for an entire month before the battle, with forces from Brodarevo and Bijelo Polje being redeployed to Pljevlja.
General Arso Jovanović commanded the 4,000 partisan troops which were split into several groups: the Kom, Zeta, Lovćen and Bijeli Pavle detachments, the Piva battalion and the Prijepolje company.
The Italian garrison in Pljevlja belonged to the 5th Alpine Division Pusteria; it was led by Giovanni Esposito and had a strength of 2,000 men.
The Partisan forces attacked Pljevlja on 1 December 1941.
Simultaneously, the Piva battalion and the Prijepolje Company attacked the village of Bučje, with the aim of cutting off communications between Priboj and Pljevlja. The Italians defending Bučje lost six men and surrendered on 2 December.
Some partisans managed to penetrate into Pljevlja but, Italian forces began shelling the town and killing the native Serbian population to prevent them from providing support to the partisans. This action hampered the partisan attack, as they failed to capture Pljevlja and retreated with heavy casualties, some 203 were killed and 269 were wounded.
Following the battle, many partisans deserted their units and joined the pro-axis Chetniks.
Partisan forces began plundering nearby villages and executing captured Italians, party "sectarians" and "perverts". As a reprisal for the attack, Italian forces, along with Muslim militia in the area, burned and plundered the houses of insurgents.
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Wikipedia