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|combatant2 = Partisans |commander1 = |commander2 = |units1 = |strength1 = 30,000–35,000 troops |units2 = |strength2 = 8,000 troops |casualties1 = |casualties2 = |campaignbox = |}} Operation Southeast Croatia ((ドイツ語:Unternehmen Südost Kroatien)) was a large-scale German-led counter-insurgency operation conducted in the southeastern parts of the Independent State of Croatia ((クロアチア語:Nezavisna Država Hrvatska), NDH), (modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina) during World War II. It was the first of two German-led operations targeting mainly Yugoslav Partisans in eastern Bosnia between 15 January and 4 February 1942. Several days after the conclusion of Operation Southeast Croatia, a follow-up operation known as Operation Ozren was carried out between the Bosna and Spreča rivers. Both operations also involved Croatian Home Guard and Italian troops and are associated with what is known as the Second Enemy Offensive () in Yugoslav historiography. The insurgents in the area of operations included some groups led by communist Partisans and some led by Serb–chauvinist Chetniks. Although the Partisans and Chetniks had already irrevocably split in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia following Operation Uzice, this had not yet happened in eastern Bosnia and in some areas they were still cooperating. As a result, differentiating between the rank and file of the two groups was difficult, as even the communist-led insurgent groups consisted mainly of Serb peasants who had little understanding of the political aims of their leaders. While there were 20,000 Chetnik-led insurgents located within the area of operations, they offered no resistance to the German–NDH forces and many withdrew east across the Drina river to avoid being engaged. This contributed to the complete unravelling of Chetnik–Partisan cooperation in eastern Bosnia. The Partisan main force was able to evade the Germans, infiltrate through the Italian cordon to the south and establish itself around Foča. The failure of the Axis forces to decisively engage the Partisans during these operations necessitated a further major offensive, Operation Trio, in the area immediately south of where Operations Southeast Croatia and Ozren had taken place. ==Background== On 6 April 1941 the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia from multiple directions, rapidly overwhelming the under-prepared Royal Yugoslav Army which capitulated 11 days later. In the aftermath of the invasion Yugoslavia was partitioned between the Axis powers through a combination of annexations and occupation zones. Outside of these areas, an Axis puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was established on the territory of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The NDH was divided by a German–Italian demarcation line, known as the "Vienna Line", with the Germans occupying the north and northeastern parts of the NDH, and the Italians the south and southwestern sections. The NDH immediately implemented genocidal policies against the Serb, Jewish and Romani population. Armed resistance to the occupation and the NDH initially formed into two loosely-cooperating factions, the Partisans who were led by communists, and the Chetniks who were mostly led by Serb–chauvinist officers of the defeated Yugoslav Army. In November and December 1941, almost all Partisan forces from the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia had been forced to withdraw into eastern Bosnia where they combined with local Partisan forces. Most of the Chetnik forces in eastern Bosnia were local Serb peasants. The insurgency in eastern Bosnia meant that NDH authorities were unable to retain control of the region. At the end of 1941, there were six Partisan detachments in eastern Bosnia, with about 7,300 fighters operating in the Majevica, Ozren, Birač, Romanija, Zvijezda and Kalinovik areas. According to Enver Redžić, in early January 1942, the Chetniks controlled a large portion of eastern Bosnia, including the towns of Zvornik, Višegrad, Vlasenica, Srebrenica, Drinjača, Bratunac, Foča, Ustikolina, Goražde and Čajniče. Due to continuing cooperation between the two groups, the Chetniks also shared control of the towns of Rogatica, Olovo and Han Pijesak with the Partisans. 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 Southeast Croatia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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