Operation Rudnik ( Serbhorv. Operation Rudnik / Operacija Rudnik ) is an operation of German, Bulgarian and Serbian collaborationist units under the command of Paul Bader against the forces of the Yugoslav Chetniks under the command of Nikola Kalabich, undertaken in July-August 1943 and carried out on the outskirts of Mount Rudnik Shumadii. General Bader tried to destroy the main forces of the Chetniks, taking them into an environment on Mount Rudnik, but the troops of Captain Kalabich managed to break through the encirclement and escape from the Germans.
| Operation Mine |
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| Main Conflict: The People's Liberation War of Yugoslavia |
| date | July 23 - August 1943 |
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| A place | surroundings of the Rudnik mountain, Shumadiya |
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| Total | failure of operation, successful breakthrough of the Yugoslav chetniks |
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Nikola Calabich
| Paul Bader
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Content
Germany
In 1943, General Paul Bader signed a decree on preparations for the operation against the Chetniks on the territory of Mount Rudnik and the Shumadiya region. The operation was attended by a Wehrmacht battalion, two battalions of the Bulgarian army and a battalion of the Serbian volunteer corps of the SS - “Letichevtsy”. According to the plan, the Germans and their allies were to surround the Chetniks and force them to engage in open battle. The total number of troops was 3 thousand people.
Chetniks
The commander of the Royal Mountain Guards of the Yugoslav troops in his homeland, Captain Nikola Kalabich, was one of the first to learn about the preparation of the Germans for the operation and informed his subordinates about this. The Chetniks began to prepare for defense: the Orashiev brigade at that time was busy fighting against the Titov partisans and suffered losses, but Milan Medic , the deputy commander of the guard, told her about the German offensive. The number of guards was 1 thousand people. Kalabich divided the guard into two groups: the first he personally commanded, the second - second lieutenant Bozhidar Panich .
On July 23, 1943, the Germans and their allies surrounded Mount Rudnik and launched an offensive at the Chetniks. Panich in response began an attempt to break through and without loss managed to get through the Bulgarian sector and leave the mountain. Kalabich with his troops joined the battle with the Germans, trying to break through the encirclement. Having lost 30 people dead, the Kalabich group nevertheless left the mountain and avoided defeat. The German operation failed.