Battle of Kupres | |||||||
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Part of World War II in Yugoslavia | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Axis : Independent State of Croatia | Allies : Partisans | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Franjo Šimić Rafael Boban | Sreten Žujović | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Kupres Militia | 2nd Proletarian brigade 3rd Proletarian 4th Proletarian brigade 10th Herzegovinian Brigade 1st Krajina Brigade 3rd Krajina NOP Detachment | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1,400–1,500 | 2,100–3,000 |
The Battle of Kupres (Croatian : Bitka za Kupres) was fought in 1942 during World War II in the Independent State of Croatia, between the forces of the Independent State of Croatia and the Yugoslav Partisans, in and around the town of Kupres in western Bosnia. The Partisans launched three concentrated attacks against the garrison of 1,500 men during the nights of 11/12 August, 14 August, and 19 August. Although outnumbered, the Black Legion, Croatian Home Guard, and local militia units successfully defended the town against several Partisan brigades.
In July 1942, the 2nd Proletarian Brigade moved on Kupres and, with the assistance of local Partisans, seized control over several villages in the vicinity. During the night of 4 August 1942 the Partisans attacked the town of Livno and captured it in the following days. The plan of the National Liberation Army Supreme Command, following the seizure of Livno, was to move the Proletarian Assault Brigades to Kupres, whose capture was vital for further actions in the valley of River Vrbas. [1]
Yugoslav Partisans 11/12 August 1942, 13 battalions with around 2,100 men [2]
14 August 1942, 16 battalions with around 2,400 [3] - 3,000 [4] men
Independent State of Croatia 11/12 August 1942, in total around 1,400 men [2]
14 August 1942, around 1,500 armed men [5]
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The Black Legion, officially the 1st Standing Active Brigade, was an Ustaše Militia infantry unit active during World War II in Independent State of Croatia. The legion was formed in September 1941 as the 1st Ustaša Regiment. It consisted largely of Bosnian Muslim and Croat refugees from eastern Bosnia, where large massacres were carried out by Chetniks and to a small degree by the Yugoslav Partisans. It became known for its fierce fighting against the Chetniks and the Partisans and massacres against Serb civilians. The legion's commanders were Colonel Jure Francetić and Major Rafael Boban. It consisted of between 1,000 and 1,500 trained mechanized infantrymen.
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Kupres is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Kupres in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 5,057 inhabitants, while the town of Kupres has a population of 2,883 inhabitants.
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The Battle of Kupres was a battle of the Bosnian War, fought between the Bosnian Croat Territorial Defence Force supported by the Croatian Army troops on one side and the Yugoslav People's Army, augmented by the Bosnian Serb TO on the other at the Kupres Plateau, on 3–11 April 1992. During the fighting on 8 April, the Bosnian Croat TO was reorganised as the Croatian Defence Council. The objective of the battle was to control the strategic Kupres Plateau, a major supply route.
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