German Antiguerrilla Operations in the Balkans (1941-1944)

by Robert M. Kennedy

 

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HISTORICAL STUDY

 

GERMAN
ANTIGUERRILLA
OPERATIONS IN
THE BALKANS
(1941–1944)

 

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Department of the Army Pamphlets Published
in the
GERMAN REPORT SERIES
No.	Title	Publication date
20–201	Military Improvisations During the Russian Campaign	Aug 51
20–202	German Tank Maintenance in World War II	June 54
20–230	Russian Combat Methods in World War II	Nov 50
20–231	Combat in Russian Forests and Swamps	Jul 51
20–232	Airborne Operations: A German Appraisal	Oct 51
20–233	German Defense Tactics Against Russian Break-Throughs	Oct 51
20–234	Operations of Encircled Force—German Experience in Russia	Jan 52
20–236	Night Combat	Jun 53
20–240	Rear Area Security in Russia—The Soviet Second Front Behind the German Lines	Jul 51
20–242	German Armored Traffic Control During the Russian Campaign	Jun 52
20–260	The German Campaigns in the Balkans (Spring 1941)	Nov 53
20–269	Small Unit Actions During the Campaign in Russia	Jul 53
20–290	Terrain Factors in the Russian Campaign	Jul 51
20–291	Effects of Climate on Combat in European Russia	Feb 52
20–292	Warfare in the Far North	Oct 51

 

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GERMAN
ANTIGUERRILLA
OPERATIONS
IN THE
BALKANS
(1941–1944)

 

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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
Washington 25, D. C., 5 August 1954

Department of the Army Pamphlet 20–243 is published for the information and use of all concerned.

[AG 385 (1 Jun 54)]

By order of the Secretary of the Army:

 

M. B. RIDGWAY,
General, United States Army,
Chief of Staff.

Official:

JOHN A. KLEIN,
Major General, United States Army,
The Adjutant General.

 

Distribution:

Active Army:

Gen Staff, DA (5)
SS, DA (5)
Tec Svc, DA (25)
Admin & Tee Svc Bd (10)
AFF (10)
OS Maj Comd (50)
Armies (10)
Corps (10)
Div (8)
Brig (3)
Regt (3)
Gen & Br Svc Sch (25)
PMST ROTC Units (1)
T/O & E 30–500A, Teams AA through AE (1)
T/O & E 30–510, Teams A–1 through A–5 (1)
T/O & E 30–600, Teams AA through AE (1)

NG: Special.
USAR: Special.
Unless otherwise noted, distribution applies to ConUS and Oversea.
For explanation of abbreviations used, see SR 320–50–1.

FOREWORD

The purpose of this study is to describe briefly the German campaign against the guerrillas in the Balkans during the period of the European Axis occupation, from the end of hostilities against Greece and Yugoslavia in April 1941 to the capture of Belgrade by the Soviet forces and the Partisans in October 1944. The activities of Germany's Italian, Bulgarian, Croatian, and other allies, as well as the British, Soviet, and United States forces in the area, are treated only to the extent that they affected German operations. In sequence of time, this study is a continuation of Department of the Army Pamphlet 20–260, The German Campaigns in the Balkans (Spring 1941), of November 1953.

The material for this study was obtained from German military records now in the custody of The Adjutant General, Department of the Army. In addition to these official records, monographs by former German officers who participated in these operations furnished considerable general information and were of assistance in supplementing the terse official reports of specific actions. The authors of these monographs, prepared for the Historical Division, United States Army, Europe, include General der Gebirgstruppen (Lieutenant General) Hubert Lanz, former commander of the XXII Mountain Corps, and Polizeioberst (Colonel of Police) Karl Gaisser, German technical adviser to the Croatian Police.

The work of preparing this study was done by Major Robert M. Kennedy of the Office of the Chief of Military History. In its presentation, every effort was made to give an accurate account of the protracted attempt by the German occupation forces to destroy their elusive guerrilla enemy in this secondary theater of war from 1941 through 1944.

CONTENTS

			Page
Part One THE BALKAN AREA AND ITS PEOPLES			1
Chapter 1.	Physical Geography
	I.	Topography	2
	II.	Climate	3
2.	National States
	I.	General	4
	II.	Greece	4
	III.	Yugoslavia	5
	IV.	Albania	6
	V.	Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Turkey	7
3.	Transportation and Communications
	I.	General	8
	II.	Main Rail Lines	8
	III.	Principal Highways	9
	IV.	Waterways, Airfields, and Signal Facilities	9
Part Two. THE OCCUPATION OF THE BALKANS AND THE RISE OF THE GUERRILLA MOVEMENT (1941–42)			10
Chapter 4.	The Occupation Zones and Force
	I.	Division and Dismemberment	13
	II.	The Italians	13
	III.	The Germans	15
	IV.	The Bulgarians and Hungarians	17
	V.	The Puppet Governments	18
5.	The Early Movement and Axis Countermeasures
	I.	Yugoslavia	20
	II.	Greece	27
6.	Organization of Guerrilla Units
	I.	Unit and Command Structure	31
	II.	Communications and Supply	32
	III.	Training and Tactics	33
Part Three. THE GUERRILLA MOVEMENT IN GREECE, YUGOSLAVIA, AND ALBANIA (1943–44)			35
Chapter 7.	Operations (January–August 1943)
	I.	Yugoslavia	36
	II.	Greece	38
	III.	The German Situation by Mid-1943	40
8.	The Defection of Italy and Its Effects
	I.	General	44
	II.	Yugoslavia and Albania	44
	III.	Greece	45
Chapter 9.	Operations to the End of 1943
	I.	General	47
	II.	Yugoslavia and Albania	50
	III.	Greece	52
10.	Operations in 1944
	I.	General	53
	II.	The Area of Army Group E	54
	III.	The Area of Army Group F	64
11.	GEMSBOCK and STEINADLER		70
Part Four. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS			73
Appendix I.	Chronology of Events		79
II.	Bibliographical Note		82

 

MAPS

No.
1. General Reference Map		Facing	1
2. The Partition of Greece			12
3. The Partition of Yugoslavia			14
4. German Dispositions in the Balkans as of Mid-August 1944		Facing	53
5. German Estimate of Guerrilla Strength and Dispositions in Greece as of Mid-August 1944			61
6. German Estimate of Guerrilla Strength and Dispositions in Yugoslavia and Albania as of Mid-August 1944		Facing	67
7. Operation GEMSBOCK		Facing	70
8. Operation STEINADLER		Facing	72

 

CHARTS

No.
1.	German Ground Forces in Occupied Greece and Yugoslavia as of July 1941	17
2.	German Ground Forces in Occupied Greece and Yugoslavia as of 1 December 1942	27
3.	German and Bulgarian Ground Forces in Occupied Greece, Yugoslavia and Albania as of 26 December 1943	51
4.	German Ground Forces in Occupied Yugoslavia and Albania as of the Fall of Belgrade 20 October 1944	68

Map 1. General reference map.

Map 1. General reference map.