Battle of Batina

Battle of Batina
Part of World War II in Yugoslavia

Monument to the Battle of Batina in Batina by Antun Augustinčić
Date11–29 November 1944
LocationBatina
Result Victory of the Allies
Belligerents
Partisans (NLA)
Red Army
Nazi Germany
Kingdom of Hungary
 Independent State of Croatia
Serbia
Strength
Two divisions
57th Army
51st Partisan divisions		 Three divisions
Brandenburgers
31st SS Division
44th Infantry Division
Casualties and losses
Partisan: 648 killed[1]
Red Army: 1,237 killed[2]
Total: 1885		 2000 dead and wounded
Batina after the battle, November 30, 1944
Detail from the Batina monument which represents Yugoslav partisan going to battle
Inscription on the Batina monument stating: "(Erected in honor of) Soldiers and officers of the heroic Red Army who fell in November 1944 in a beetle against fascist aggressors. 1297 buried".

The Battle of Batina or The Batina operation (Croatian: Bitka kod Batine) is one of the battles of the Second World War which took place from 11 to 29 November 1944 at the Croatian village of Batina in Baranja, on the right bank of the Danube River, between the units of the Red Army, the People's Liberation Army, the Wehrmacht, and its allies.

According to some estimates, the Battle of Batina is the biggest battle by the amount of power of the participants, the intensity of fighting, and the strategic importance during the World War II in Yugoslavia.[3]

Context

After the liberation of Belgrade and Vojvodina by the 57th Army, under the command of General Šarohina from the 51st Vojvodina Division and the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sreten Savić, these two divisions broke out to the left bank of the Danube river and took over its defense from Baja to Bačka Palanka. In order to facilitate further operations of the Red Army towards Vienna and Budapest, the 51st Partisan division broke out on the left bank of the Drava river. These units had the task to take over bridges and provide transfer of other units across the Danube.

In the headquarters of the 57th Army in Srbobran, Yugoslav National Liberation Army general Kosta Nađ and the Soviet units commander, Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin, agreed to choose the point for crossing the Danube river at the village of Batina. As a backup place, they selected the area west of Apatin.

Both commanders thought that, due to the extremely unfavorable and inaccessible terrain near Batina (wide and flooded rivers, wetlands and almost perpendicular cliffs), the enemy would not expect an attack on this part of the coast.

German forces

In early November 1944, the right bank of the Danube River was defended by a number of German strongholds, stretching between the villages of Duboševica and Čarne. They were manned by forces of the 68th Army Corps from the 2nd Army of the command "East", under the command of Marshal Maximilian von Weichs: parts of the German 31st SS and "Brandenburg" divisions, four Hungarian and three battalions, one Ustaše and Home Guard regiment, one regiment of the Serbian Volunteer Corps, several police battalions, 25 artillery batteries and 30 tanks. Stronger reserves were located south of Osijek and at Pécs. In anticipation of new attacks, the German command was constantly bringing new units to this area. At the beginning of the Battle of Batina, German forces had about 30,000 troops, a number which increased to more than 60,000 at the end of the battle.[4]

Red Army and the People's Liberation Army forces

Forces of the People's Liberation Army that participated in the Battle of Batina were: 51st divisions with 7th, 8th and 12th Vojvodina Brigade and reinforcements which were made out of operational reserves in Sombor (The 12th and 36th Corps of the People's Liberation Army).

Forces of the Soviet Army that participated in the Battle of Batina were: the 75th Rifle Corps (33rd, 73rd and 299th Rifle Division with reinforcements) and the 73rd Guards Division of the 64th Rifle Corps.

Objectives and results

The Allied plan envisioned that the 73rd and 233rd Red Army Division and the 51st NLA Division (without 8th Brigade) would attack Batina and take it over. They would later extend the bridgehead up to the villages Draža and Zmajevac. The 263rd Red Army Division and the 8th Brigade of the 51st Division would attack and take over Zlatna Greda and expand the bridgehead towards the village of Zmajevac and Kneževi Vinogradi.

The battle of Batina lasted from 11 to 29 November 1944, when the Allies took the bridgeheads near Batina and Apatin. In the decisive fight, the German forces tried to force the Red Army and the NLA back to the Danube with several counterattacks, in particolar from 12 to 15 November. All the counterattacks, however, were rejected, and the Germans forces in the territory between the Danube and Drava rivers were substantially destroyed; Baranja was liberated as well. These actions created favorable conditions for the subsequent Red Army offensive towards Vienna and Budapest, and the whole German front on the Syrmian Front was weakened.

Course of the battle

The First Recon Group of the 12th Vojvodina brigade and the 233rd divisions of the Red Army (commanded by Colonel Sidorenko) managed to cross the Danube in the night of 9/10 November 1944, unnoticed. They approached the enemy positions to a few meters and waited there for the main units to arrive, helping them by sending signals. On November 11, just before dawn, two battalions of the 233rd Division of the Red Army and one battalion of the 12th Brigade, with the strong support of Soviet artillery; transferred across Danube with the fishing boats to an area near

Batina, and then launched an attack on the German positions.

They first attaked Draž, trig 205 and Zmajevac, in front of which they were retained. In the afternoon on November 11 and at the night of November 11/12, other battalions of the 12th Brigade were transferred across the Danube, and joined those units that had been transferred in the morning. On November 12, around noon, the 35th SS Division, supported by tanks and 20 planes, conducted a counter-attack; and by nightfall, pushed the 12th brigade and 233rd battalion Division to the western edge of Batina. The fighting continued on November 13, when the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Brigade was transferred across Danube in order to help the Red Army and NLA forces there. On the next day the Germans continued to attack in a very tough fight and managed to push troops to the eastern part of Batina. In the next two days, heavy street fighting took place in the streets of Batina. The Soviet troops and the 51st divisions were suppressed on November 15. In this critical moment, the whole 73rd Division of the Red Army, and, in the night of November 15/16, other battalions of the 7th Brigade were also transferred across the river, replacing the exhausted battalions of the 12th Brigade. The bloodiest battles were fought around the Batina train station and Quote 169, known as the "Bloody Quote" (Krvava Kota in Croatian). On November 16, the Red Army and NLA attacked Nazis with everything they had, managing to push the 35th SS Division to Draž and Zmajevac. Along with the development of the struggle in the direction of Zmajevac and Draž, on November 18, they crossed the Danube, north of Apatin. The 236th Red Army division and a battalion of the 8th Brigade of the 51st Division headed for Monjoroš and Tikveš Castle. By November 22, the other troops of the 236th Soviet Division and the 8th Brigade were transferred across Danube; and the next day, in a general strike, the 73rd Division took Zmajevac in conjunction with the 51st Division; while the 8th Brigade, Monjoroš, and the 233rd Division took Draž.

Sources

References

  1. ↑ Nikola Božić: BATINSKA BITKA, page 559
  2. ↑ Nikola Božić: BATINSKA BITKA, page 501
  3. ↑ http://www.scribd.com/doc/50893747/Rusi-i-drugisvetski-rat-u-Jugoslaviji
  4. ↑ Срета Савић: 51. Војвођанска дивизија, страна 28, према Архив Војноисторијског института, к. 2, рег. бр. 12/1; НАВ. НТ. 311 ф. 191; генерал-пуковник Шарохин, пук. В. Петрукин: Војноисторијски журнал, 1961, 2. стр. 25-36; Архив Војноисторијског института, к. 1395, рег. бр. 1-4.
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