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Raid on Mljet
Part of World War II in Yugoslavia
Date 19–23 April 1944 Location Mljet Result Partisan victory
Belligerents
Germany	Partisans
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Ante Biočić Milan Atlagić Bogdan Pecotić
Units involved
118th Division 750th Regiment two companies	26th Division 1st Brigade 3rd Battalion 11th Brigade 1st Battallion 2nd Batallion
Strength
c. 200–250 troops	c. 900 troops 16 vessels
Casualties and losses
96 killed 46 captured	25 killed 76 wounded 1 armed ship scuttled

The raid on Mljet (Serbo-Croatian: Desantni prepad na Mljet) was an amphibious raid carried out by the Yugoslav Partisans in April 1944 against the German garrison on the Dalmatian island of Mljet. Occupied by Italian Forces during the Invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the island briefly came under Partisan control following the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943. It was soon captured by German Forces during their anti-Partisan operations aimed at securing the coastal areas of Yugoslavia previously occupied by the Italians. By early 1944, almost all of the Dalmatian islands were under German control, the exception being Vis which soon became a Partisans stronghold from which Allied Commandos would begin launching raids against German island garrisons.

The raid on Mljet was planned as a diversionary attack with the goal of confusing and tying-up German Forces while the Partisans conducted a much larger raid against the Germans on Korčula. The Partisan plan was to land three battalions of the 1st and 11th Brigades on two locations on the south of Mljet one day before the raid on Korčula would commence. A significant obstacle for the Partisans was the lack of appropriate ships to transports the raiding party. With Allied Forces declining to take part in the raid, the Partisans would carry-on using motor-powered sailboats and small galleys escorted by two armed ships, both of which were in fact lightly-armed civilian vessels. Because the distance from Vis to Mljet is 64 nautical miles (119 kilometres) and the Partisan ships were unable to attain a speed greater than 4–5 knots (7.4–9.3 km/h; 4.6–5.8 mph), it was impossible for them to reach Mljet in a single night and conduct the transport by sea under the cover of darkness. Instead, it was decided to conduct it in two legs: first by departing for Lastovo during the first night and continuing to Mljet during the second night.

The raiding party departed Vis at 19/20:00 hours of 19 April 1944 with 16 vessels organized in two convoys. They reached Skrivena Luka at 05:30 20 April after which the troops were disembarked and the ships were camouflaged along the cove. The convoys departed Lastovo during the second night, finally reaching Mljet shortly after midnight of 21 April. At 06/07:00, the Partisans engaged German Forces which consisted of two companies numbering around 250 men. By 18:00 of the same day, the Germans began preparations to transport two companies of reinforcements to Mljet. Meanwhile, the Partisans were successful in overruning the majority of German positions, though some remained and continued to resist. The German reinforcements arrived during the night of 22 April but didn't launch any major counter-attacks. With their goals largely achieved, the Partisans retreated to the Sutmiholjska cove where they boarded their ships and departed for Lastovo during the night of 23 April.

Although the German garrison wasn't completely overrun, the Partisans were successful in inflicting heavy casualtines on the Germans and diverting three companies of their reserves to Mljet. During night of 22 April, the Partisans began their main effort on Korčula by landing seven battalions on the island. The raid proved to be highly successful, with German Forces suffering hundreds of killed and captured in action and loosing large amounts of materiel.

Background

Following the Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, Dalmatia was partitioned between the Kingdom of Italy and the newly-established Axis puppet state of Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna država Hrvatska – NDH). In accordance with the treaties of Rome signed on 18 May 1941, Split, Šibenik, Ravni Kotari and all of the Dalmatian islands excluding Brač and Hvar were annexed by the Kingdom of Italy. The Italian surrender in September 1943 gave way to a large scale Partisan uprising in Dalmatia;

Aftermath

https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/309437

References

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