The Battle of Livno is the name of several battles fought over the town, which exchanged hands between Independent State of Croatia and Partisan forces several times.
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Operation Beta | |||||||
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Part of the Yugoslav Front of World War II | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Italy Independent State of Croatia |
Yugoslav partisans |
Operation Beta followed on the heels of Operation Alfa in which Italian forces retook Prozor from the Partisans. Ten Italian battalions and two Ustaše battalions took the city from the Partisans with neither side suffering many casualties.[1]
Battle of Livno | |||||||
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Part of the Yugoslav Front of World War II | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Independent State of Croatia 5th Ustaše Brigade |
Yugoslav partisans 2nd Proletarian Division |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Rafael Boban | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
1200 soldiers | 3000 soldiers |
The defence of the city was led by Rafael Boban and elements of his Black Legion. The battle resulted in Boban's forces retreating from Livno. Approximately 100 Croatian soldiers and 74 Partisan soldiers were killed in the battle.[2]
Operation Ziethen | |||||||
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Part of the Yugoslav Front of World War II | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Nazi Germany Independent State of Croatia |
Yugoslav partisans |
Operation Ziethen was a German-Croatian military operation which sought to reestablish control over the Livno–Šuica–Duvno area.[3] The entire operation was a great success for the Axis forces. A mass grave containing over 1000 bodies of people executed by the Partisans was subsequently discovered near Livno.[3] The success of the operation resulted in over 1000 volunteers from the area to join the Croatian forces.