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The Sutjeska offensive in mid-1943 was a joint attack of the Axis forces that aimed to destroy the Yugoslav partisan force, near the Sutjeska river in southeastern Bosnia. The failure of the offensive marked a turning point for Yugoslavia during World War II.
The Germans codenamed the plan Operation Schwarz ("Black"). The operation immediately followed Fall Weiss which had failed in accomplishing the same objectives: to crush the Partisan army and capture their leader, Josip Broz Tito, also known as "Walter". This was the fifth attempt by the fascists to crush the resistance movement since 1941.
The Axis rallied 127,000 land troops for the offensive, including German, Italian, NDH and Bulgarian units, and over 300 airplanes, under German operative command, against 18,000 soldiers of YNLA operational group in 16 brigades. After a period of troop concentration, the offensive started in May 1943. The Axis troops used the advantage of better starting positions to encircle and isolate the partisans on the Durmitor mountain area, located between the Tara and Piva rivers in the mountainous areas of northern Montenegro and forced them to engage in a one month long fierce battle on waste territory. YNLA troops suffered from severe lack of food and medical supplies. Following Hitler's instructions German commander in chief general Alexander Löhr ordered merciless annihilation of partisans and exemplar brutality to civilians. The Axis troops (almost exclusively Germans in the front line) advanced to narrow the encirclement and YNLA units manoeuvred to find the weak part in German position. After a month of severe and dramatic clashes in wild mountains, YNLA succeeded to break out the encirclement across the Sutjeska river through the lines of German 118th and 104th Hunter and 369th legionary divisions in the Northwestern direction, towards Eastern Bosnia. This breakthrough was not painless nor complete: three brigades and central hospital with more then 2000 wounded remained inside the circle. Germans mercilessly killed all wounded as well as all hospital unarmed personnel.
Germans managed to inflict severe casualties to YNLA operational group (over 50%), but they, in spite of intense efforts, did not succeed neither to destroy their military strength nor to undermine their popularity and political influence. The same YNLA operational group that was encircled, immediately after breakout continued with offensive and cleared Axis garrisons of Vlasenica, Srebrenica, Olovo, Kladanj and Zvornik in Eastern Bosnia in following 20 days. In other parts of Yugoslavia, outside of the range of the current German operation, National Liberation Movement grew even faster. Battle on Sutjeska river became a symbol of self-sacrifice and extreme suffering and moral firmness of Yugoslav freedom fighters. Even German commander in field, general Rudolf Lüters in his final report admitted that so-called "communist rebels" were "well organized, skillfuly leaded and with combat morale hard to believe high".
On June 9th, a bomb fell near the leading group, killing captain Stuart and Tito's dog Luks, a German Shepherd, who jumped at Tito, saving his life, though he was wounded in his arm. The situation did not look good for the partisans, but, eager to defeat the fascists and bent on survival, they twice broke the enemy line during the following week. Eventually they made it through the line, though at the cost of 6,391 partisan lives.
With the capitulation of Italy, the Axis was never again able to sum up enough troops to mount such a major attack on the partisans (although they did come close to capturing Tito in Drvar in May 1944). The battle marked a turning point toward Allied control of Yugoslavia..
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