Battle of Batina







Battle of Batina or Batina operation (Bitka kod Batine) is one of the battles of the Second World War which took place from 11 to 29 November 1944 at the Croatian village of Batina in Baranja, on the right bank of the Danube River between the units of the Red Army and the People's Liberation Army and the Wehrmacht and its allies.

According to some estimates the Battle of Batina is the biggest battle by the amount of power of the participants, the intensity of fighting and the strategic importance during the World War II in Yugoslavia.

Context
After the liberation of Belgrade and Vojvodina by the 57th Army under the command of General Šarohina, and 51st Vojvodina Division under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sreten Savić, these two divisions broke out to the left bank of the Danube river and took over its defense from Baja to Bačka Palanka. In order to facilitate further operations of Red Army to Vienna and Budapest, 51st Partisan division for the Liberation of Baranja outbreak on the left bank of the Drava river. These units had task to take over bridges and provide transfer of other units across Danube.

In headquarters of the 57th Army in Srbobran, Army general in the Yugoslav National Liberation Army Kosta Nađ and Commander of Soviet units Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin agreed that the point for crossing Danube will be village Batina. For another, auxiliary place, they selected area west of Apatin.

Commanders thought that due to the extremely unfavorable and inaccessible terrain near Batina (wide and poured rivers, wetlands, almost perpendicular Banska kosa that rises to a well defined coast), the enemy won't expect an attack on this part of the coast. At the time, Baltina was a place of demarcation of two German high command: Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Army Group "Southeast") and the Supreme Command of the Nazi Army (Army Group "South").

German forces
In early November 1944 the right bank of the Danube River was defended by a number of strongholds stretching between villages Duboševica and Čarne by a strong German forces of the 68th Army Corps from the 2nd Army of the command "East" which were under the command of Marshal Maximilian von Weichs: parts of the German 31st SS Division and division "Brandenburg", four Hungarians and three battalions, one Ustaše and Home Guard regiment, one regiment of the Serbian Volunteer Corps, several police battalions, 25 artillery batteries and 30 tanks. Stronger reserves were located south of Osijek and at Pécs. In anticipation of new attacks the German command was constantly bringing new units to this area. At the beginning of the Battle of Batina German forces had about 30,000 troops, and at the end more than 60,000.

Red Army and the People's Liberation Army forces
Forces of the People's Liberation Army that participated in the Battle of Batina were: 51st divisions with 7th, 8th and 12th Vojvodina Brigade and reinforcements which were made out of operational reserves in Sombor (12th and 36th Corps of the People's Liberation Army).

Forces of the Soviet Army that participated in the Battle of Batina were: 75th shooting Corps (33rd, 73rd and 299th Rifle Division with reinforcements) and 73rd Guards Division of the 64th Shooting Corps.

Objectives and results
The plan envisioned that the 73rd and 233rd Red Army Division and the 51st NLA Division (without 8th Brigade) would attack Batina and take it over, then to extend the bridgehead to the villages Draža and Zmajevac, while the 263rd Red Army Division and the 8th Brigade of the 51st Division attack and take over Zlatna Greda and expand the bridgehead towards the village of Zmajevac and Kneževi Vinogradi.

Battle of Batina lasted from 11 to 29 November 1944 when the Allies took the bridgeheads near Batina and Apatin which gave them more power. In the decisive fight Nazi forces tried to force Red Army and NLA in several counterattacks into the Danube river. Especially critical period was from 12 to 15 November when Nazis fiercested most successful counterattacks. Thanks to the extraordinary courage and perseverance of the Red Army and NLA soldiers and officers these counterattacks were rejected and German forces in the territory between the Danube and Drava rivers destroyed and Baranja liberated. By these actions favorable conditions for the occurrence of Red Army to Vienna and Budapest were created. Background of the German forces on the Syrmian Front were weakened.

Course of the battle
First Recon Group of the 12th Vojvodina brigade and 233rd divisions of the Red Army (commanded by Colonel Sidorenko) managed to cross the Danube at night 9/10 November 1944 unnoticed. They approached the enemy positions to a few meters and waited there for the main unites to arrive. They were helping them by sending signals. On November 11, just before dawn, two battalions of the 233rd Division of the Red Army and one battalion of the 12th Brigade, with the strong support of Soviet artillery, transferred across Danube with the fishing boats to area near Batina and then undertook an attack on German positions.

They first attaked Draž, trig 205 and Zmajevac in front of which they were retained. In the afternoon on November 11 and at night November 11/12 other battalions of the 12th Brigade were transferred across the Danube and joined with those units that were transferred in the morning. On November 12 around noon 35th SS Division, supported by tanks and 20 planes, conducted the counter-attack and by nightfall pushed the 12th brigade and 233rd battalion Division to the western edge of Batina. Fighting continued on November 13 on which 2nd Battalion of the 7th Brigade was transferred across Danube in order to help Red Army and NLA. On the next day Nazis continued to attack in a very tough fight and managed to push transferred troops to the eastern part of Batina. In next two days heavy street fighting on the streets of Batina occurred. Red Army units and 51st divisions were suppressed on November 15. In this critical moment whole 73rd Division of the Red Army was transferred across Danube. At night of November 15/16 other battalions of the 7th Brigade were also transferred across the river. They replaced battalions of the 12th Brigade which members were exhausted. The bloodiest battles were fought around the Batina train station and Kota 169, known as the "Bloody Kota" (Krvava Kota). On November 16, Red Army and NLA attacked Nazis with everything they had and managed to dismissed 35th SS Division to Draž and Zmajevac. Along with the development of the struggle in direction of Zmajevac and Draž, on November 18, they crossed the Danube north of Apatin. 236th Red Army division and 1 Battalion of the 8th Brigade of the 51st Division headed for Monjoroš and Tikveš Castle. By November 22 other members of the 236th Division of the Red Army and 8th Brigade were transferred across Danube, and the next day, in a general strike, 73rd Division in conjunction with the 51st Division took Zmajevac, 8th Brigade Monjoroš and 233rd Division Draž.

Literature

 * Božić, Nikola: '' 'Batinska battle' '. Belgrade: Work, 1978 // 568, p. : Ill. ; 21 cm //
 * Christmas, Nicholas:  'Batinska battle'  [second supplemented ed.] / Kosta Nadj - author of the foreword. Novi Sad: Matica Serbian; Museum of Vojvodina Socialist Revolution, 1990 // 469 p., [16] p. of plates: ill. ; 25 cm //
 * Sreta Savic: 51 Vojvodanska Division, Military Institute, Belgrade in 1974.
 * Nicholas Christmas: SEVENTH Vojvodanska NOU Brigade, Military Institute, Belgrade in 1984.
 * Nicholas Christmas: trenches and bridgehead (EIGHT Vojvodanska Brigade), Institute for the History of Novi Sad in 1989.
 * Božić, Nikola: 'The "stick historic monument' '. Osijek: Inter-municipal Committee SUBNOR for Slavonia and Baranja, 1981 // 112 pages. : Ill. ; 17 cm. //
 * Božić, Nikola: "The seventh Vojvodina NOU Brigade". Belgrade: Military Publishing Institute, 1984 // 575 p. : Ill. ; 21 cm; n. ; [Library] War history of nations and nationalities of Yugoslavia: a book hundred sixty: Monographs units NOV and PO Yugoslavia: book twenty second //
 * Lazic, Hope, '' 'Baranja: 1941 - 1945' '/ [foreword Mirko Boskovic]. Slavonski Brod: Historical Institute of Slavonia and Baranja, 1979 // 350 p. ; 22 cm //
 * Petrov, Marinko:  In the ranks of Vojvodina VII: (Adventures of Brigadier courier) . Novi Sad, Vojvodina NOU Committee VII Brigade, 1974 // 251 pages. : Ill. ; 20 cm //
 * Petrov, Marinko: '' 'The Baranja battlefield: (1944-1945)' '. White Monastery: Federation of the Association of WWII Veterans, Municipal Committee of the White Monastery; Darda: SOUR Belje, Novi Sad, 1982 // 271 p. : Ill. ; 20 cm //
 * D (imitrije) Tr (ifunović):  The "stick" , in: Military encyclopedia, 1958.
 * S (Retail) All (ic):  The "stick in the Liberation War , in: Encyclopedia of Yugoslavia, in 1980.
 * Nataša Mataušić (author of the exhibition and catalog): '' 'Battle of Batina in November 1944: exhibition catalog ". Zagreb: Croatian Ministry of Culture; Batina Memorial Complex Battle of Batina, V. 2,001th