Koprivnitsa Assault (1944)

As a result of the successful offensive of the 6th and 10th corps of the NOAJ in Slavonia, in September-October 1944 most of Podravina was liberated, including the towns of Virovitica , Virje , Djurdjevac , Kloshtar , Novigrad-Podravski , Pitomacha , Podravska-Slatina , Chadzhavitsa and others. In accordance with the plan of the Podravska offensive, parts of the two Croatian corps were to be taken by storm by the city of Koprivnica. After that, it was planned to strike at the main communications of the Germans Belgrade - Zagreb and capture the city of Bjelovar .

According to the plan of operation, the assault on the city was assigned to the 32nd and 7th divisions of the 10th Corps. The 32nd Division was to operate on the west and south sides of the city, the 7th division — on the north and east. The 33rd Croatian Division blocked the city from the directions of Ludbreg - Koprivnica and Krizevetsi - Koprivnica. The 40th Slavon Division of the 6th Corps blocked the direction north of Koprivnica along the line Drne - Torpec - Pustakovac. The 12th Slavon division was in reserve.

To manage the operation, an operational headquarters was created consisting of: Major General Pavle Jaksic, Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments (NOAiPO) of Croatia; Colonel Mate Erkovich , commander of the 6th Corps; Major General Vlado Matetic, commander of the 10th Corps; and the commissars of the two corps, Colonels Otmar Kreachich and Ivan Shibi ^[1] .

The Koprivnitsa garrison consisted of the 20th and 36th battalions of the 5th Ustash Brigade ( Serbohorv. V. stajaći djelatni zdrug ), units of the 1st Regiment of the Brigade of the Postmaster and the Ustashsky units from other Garrisons of Podravina, who retreated here during the October offensive units NOAU. These forces were led by the commander of the 5th Ustash Brigade, Colonel Rafael Boban . The city was defended by two defensive belts. Stone houses, water barriers, a cemetery, two brick factories, a railway embankment were used for the fortifications. All this was reinforced by numerous bunkers, barbed wire fences, trenches and minefields ^[2] .

On October 13, 1944, at 22:00, the storming of the city began with the forces of four brigades — two each from the 32nd and 7th divisions. Ustaстаi and the householders were waiting for the strike and defended with firmness. The first night did not succeed. The next day, at 11:00, the attack resumed with the support of artillery and again to no avail.

The command replaced the defeated 7th division. She was replaced by the Osijek Brigade of the 12th Division and the 18th Brigade of the 40th Division. The party and the housemates fought with extreme persistence. From the city center they were supported by artillery fire and a strong reserve used at the right moment. Despite 5-6 attacks, it was not possible to build on success on the night of October 14-15 . The enemy constantly counterattacked and restored previously lost positions. The next day, the 12th Slavonskaya shock brigade of the 12th division replaced the Osijek brigade. The attacks continued during the night of October 15-16. October 16 storming the city was terminated ^{[1] [3]} .

In the battles for Koprivnitsa the 7th, 32nd and 40th divisions lost 108 people killed, 474 - wounded, 62 people were missing. Data on losses of the 12th division are not available. 104 soldiers were killed by the defenders and about 200 were injured ^[1] . There are many discrepancies and contradictions in publications on this topic, which is generally characteristic of information about military losses.

The result of an unsuccessful assault on Koprivnitsa was the refusal of the command of the General Staff of NOAiPO of Croatia to attack Bielovar.

The overall successful Podravskaya offensive operation of the Slavonian and Zagreb corps ended in battle for the city, during which an area of ​​about 100 km was liberated from September 25 to October 12. Despite the latest setback, the operation was of great political importance, since for the first time during World War II in Podravina, NOAJ troops achieved serious success ^[1] .

• Mladenko Colić. Pregled operacija na jugoslovenskom ratištu: 1941-1945. - Beograd: Vojnoistorijski Institut, 1988.
• Zdravko B. Cvetkovic. Osijek shock brigade (Zdravko B. Cvetković “Osječka udarna brigada”), monograph. - Belgrade: Vojnoizdavački zavod, 1981.