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| combatant2 = Allies: | commander1 = | commander2 = | strength1 = 20,000 German and NDH troops | strength2 = 17,000 | casualties1 = | casualties2 = See Aftermath section | campaignbox = }} Operation ''Rösselsprung'' (Knight's move) was a combined airborne and ground assault by the German XV Mountain Corps and their allies on the Supreme Headquarters of the Yugoslav Partisans located at the town of Drvar in the western Independent State of Croatia (of which modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina was a part) during World War II. The operation was launched on 25 May 1944, and was aimed at capturing or killing Marshal Josip Broz Tito and destroying the headquarters, support facilities and co-located Allied military missions. It is associated with the Seventh Enemy Offensive () in Yugoslav history. The airborne assault itself is also known as the Raid on Drvar (). Operation ''Rösselsprung'' was a coup de main operation, involving direct action by a combined parachute and glider-borne assault by the 500th SS Parachute Battalion and a planned subsequent link-up with ground forces of the XV Mountain Corps converging on Drvar. The airborne assault was preceded by heavy bombing of the town by the ''Luftwaffe''. The ground forces included Home Guard forces of the Independent State of Croatia. Tito, his principal headquarters staff and the Allied military personnel escaped, despite their presence in Drvar at the time of the airborne assault. The operation failed due to a number of factors, including Partisan resistance in the town itself and along the approaches to Drvar. The failure of the various German intelligence agencies to share the limited intelligence available on Tito's exact location and the lack of contingency planning by the commander of the German airborne force also contributed to the unsuccessful outcome for the Germans. ==Background== The Axis Case White and Case Black offensives of the first six months of 1943 caused significant setbacks for the Partisans; however, in September Tito took advantage of the capitulation of Italy and managed to increase the territory under his control and double his forces in size to around 200,000 men, arming them with captured Italian weapons. In late November, he held a National Congress at Jajce in the liberated area of northwestern Yugoslavia and designated himself Marshal and Prime Minister. He established his headquarters nearby at Drvar in the Dinaric Alps and temporarily suspended his successful tactic of being constantly on the move. ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Maximilian von Weichs, the Wehrmacht Commander-in-chief Southeast Europe, admitted a few weeks later that "Tito is our most dangerous enemy." Drvar was located within the territory of the German puppet state, the Independent State of Croatia (which included today's Bosnia and Herzegovina). Tito's personal headquarters was initially located in a cave about north of the centre of Drvar. The Unac River ran along the base of the ridge line above the cave, creating an obstacle to movement between the town and the cave, and a rail line ran along the ridge line behind the cave. In addition to Partisan headquarters, various Partisan and Communist Party of Yugoslavia support, training and youth organisations were also based in and around Drvar at the time, along with the Tito Escort Battalion which was responsible for his personal safety. The British and Soviet military missions to the Partisans were also stationed in villages close to Drvar, as were some United States military officers on various missions. The British mission was headed by Brigadier Fitzroy Maclean, who was in London at the time of the raid, and included Major Randolph Churchill, son of Winston Churchill. At the time of Operation ''Rösselsprung'' ((ドイツ語:Unternehmen Rösselsprung)), the British mission was led by its second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Street. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Rösselsprung (1944)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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