In early January 1943, Axis forces launched a series of ambitious operations in the Balkans. Their aim was to smash the bulk of the Yugoslav People’s Liberation Army and secure the strategically important hinterland of the Adriatic coast. These companies, called „white“ and „black“, were among the largest of their kind.
The Wehrmacht alone brought in between 40,000 and 60,000 of its soldiers and up to 100 aircraft, which even eclipsed the otherwise massive „gang combat operations“ in the USSR. Whether sheer material and numerical superiority would enable the Germans to impose a Moltkescher-style battle on their agile enemy and thus put down the entire Communist-led uprising in one afternoon, remains to be seen.
With 41 pictures.