User:OakMapping/sandbox/Battle of Sanski Most (1942)

Battle of Sanski Most
Part of World War II in Yugoslavia
Date 10 – 14 December 1942 Location Sanski Most, Independent State of Croatia Result German victory
Belligerents
Partisans	Germany Independent State of Croatia
Units involved
1st Bosnian Corps 4th Division 5th Division Artillery Divizion	721st Regiment of the 714th Infantry Division 10th Home Guard Infantry Regiment Gendarmerie
Strength
3,500 soldiers 7 artillery guns	4,500 soldiers and gendarmerie 2 Howitzers

The Battle of Sanski Most was an unsuccessful attempt by the Yugoslav Partisans to capture the town of Sanski Most in December 1942.

Prelude

Planning and preparation

Attack on Sanski Most was planned by the Staff of the 1st Bosnian Corps which decided that both of the corps' divisions will participate in the battle. Partisan scouting mission determined that their enemy created a strong line of defense in the villages surrounding Sanski Most. After the mission Staff of the 1st Bosnian Corps wrongly estimated enemy strength to be around 2,500 men when in reality it was around 4,500 men. On 6 December 1942, the staff issued an order for an attack on Sanski Most by which the 4th Division was to attack the town from the west while the 5th Division would attack it from the east, both beginning with the attack on 10 December at 23:00.

The 5th Division brought all three of its brigades (the 1st, the 4th and the 7th Krajina Brigade) at village of Kozica, south of Sanski Most. On 5 December, the 1st Krajina Brigade retreated from the battles near Bosanski Novi and conducted a forced march to Kozica. At that time, the 4th Krajina Brigade was located in the area of the villages of Vrhpolje, Podovi and Sokolovo nearby Kozica, so it easily arrived to Kozica. One battalion of the 7th Krajina Brigade also arrived at Kozica to participate in the attack.

References

Sources

• Karasijević, Drago (1988). Četvrta krajiška NOU divizija. Belgrade: Vojnoizdavački i novinski centar.
• Morača, Milutin (1985). Peta krajiška divizija [5th Krajina Division] (in Serbo-Croatian). Belgrade: Vojvnoizdavački zavod.