List of Partisan detachments in Bosnia and Herzegovina


The Yugoslav Partisans formed operational detachments in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia during World War II. These detachments were formed to conduct local operations against the occupying powers and those collaborating with them, and a total of 108 detachments were created in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war. The detachments were named after a district, town, region or geographic feature, and ranged in size from 16 to 3,000 fighters. Larger detachments were usually divided into several companies or battalions. Some detachments had a very brief existence, whereas others existed for most of the war and a few were disestablished and re-established several times. Information on some small or short-lived detachments is very limited. There were also a significant number of independent battalions outside the detachment framework, but these are not included in the scope of this article.

Background

After the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia began to organise for military resistance if Germany attacked the Soviet Union. This involved the establishment of a central military committee on 10 April while the invasion was still underway, and the creation of a military committee for each of the "provinces" of Yugoslavia in late April after the surrender. These provinces were based on the historical "national" entities of the country, rather than the pre-war political divisions, or banovina which had artificially divided the "national" entities to reduce the threat of nationalism. Each province already had a Provincial Committee of the KPJ reporting to the Central Committee, so these provincial military committees were created in parallel with the party organisation. One of the "national" entities consisted of the regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were now encompassed by the Axis puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia. The NDH also included much of present-day Croatia. The Provincial Committee for Bosnia-Herzegovina was based in Sarajevo.
In late May and June 1941, members of the Provincial Committee for Bosnia-Herzegovina travelled to the oblast centres of Banja Luka in the Bosanska Krajina region, Mostar in Herzegovina, and Tuzla in the Birač region of eastern Bosnia to advise the oblast KPJ committees of the decisions of the Central Committee, and to form oblast military committees. This also occurred in Sarajevo, for an oblast military committee responsible for the Romanija region of eastern Bosnia located north of that city. Each oblast military committee formed district military committees, who in turn contacted KPJ members in towns and villages of their district to organise resistance. This pyramid-like structure mirrored the KPJ structure, and following the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June, the Central Committee met on 4 July and decided to initiate an armed uprising against the occupiers. This included the creation of a formal military structure, headed by the Chief Headquarters for the People's Liberation Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito, who was also the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the KPJ.
Svetozar Vukmanović, a Montenegrin member of the Central Committee was appointed to command the Provincial Military Staff for Bosnia-Herzegovina. Vukmanović was widely known by the nickname "Tempo" owing to his constant urging of his subordinates to hurry. Vukmanović-Tempo called a meeting of the Provincial KPJ Committee in Sarajevo on 13 July. This meeting appointed Iso Jovanović, the secretary of the Provincial KPJ Committee, and Boriša Kovačević as the other two members of the Provincial Military Staff for Bosnia-Herzegovina, and redesignated the four oblast military committees as "military staffs". One member of the Provincial KPJ Committee was sent to each of the three military staffs outside Sarajevo to assist them. Đuro Pucar-Stari, a native of Bosansko Grahovo in the Krajina was sent to Banja Luka, Uglješa Danilović, a native of Odžak in northeastern Bosnia was sent to Tuzla, and Avdo Humo was sent to his home town of Mostar. The leaders at the district level in each region were appointed as military commissioners, and this was repeated at the village level if KPJ members or sympathisers existed.

Major developments

July uprising

On 27 July, an uprising broke out in the Krajina, triggered by the ambush and killing of a Croatian Home Guard officer. This had resulted in the rounding up and maltreatment of ethnic Serb villagers in the Bosansko Grahovo district. The local KPJ structures were not ready to launch an uprising, and had no instructions to do so. They were drawn into a mass Serb uprising not of their creation, and quickly had to adapt to their circumstances. The following day, an uprising broke out in the Romanija region, and this was followed by an outbreak of resistance in the Birač region on 5 August. The forces involved in this fighting were spontaneously formed companies based on the traditional social structure of villages, which were grouped into battalions when numbers dictated. Where the opportunity arose, KPJ members and military staff at the district and village level would attempt to gain some control over these units, but they were far from communist-led as a whole, at least initially. KPJ-led rebels across Bosnia-Herzegovina formed military structures as needed, without any central direction, and brigades and even a division were formed. In the Drvar district for example, units were known as "Guerilla" rather than "Partisan" detachments, and in some cases several companies formed a detachment, where in others, several detachments formed a company.

Establishment of a uniform system of organisation

On 26 September 1941, the Chief Headquarters for the People's Liberation Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia held a conference at Stolice in the German-occupied territory of Serbia, at which it adopted a standard structure for the military organisation of the resistance. The Chief Headquarters was renamed the Supreme Headquarters, and the Military Staff of each province became the General Staff. The basic Partisan unit was to be a company of 80–100 soldiers, composed of platoons and sections. Two to four companies were to make up a battalion, and three to four battalions formed a detachment, the largest unit of the Partisan forces. Each detachment would have a staff consisting of a commander and deputy, with a political commissar and deputy, and the detachment staff would be directly responsible to the General Staff. On that basis, the existing Partisan units operating in Bosnia-Herzegovina were re-organised in October and November 1941 into ten detachments, six in east Bosnia, three in Bosanska Krajina, and one in Herzegovina. The Sarajevo and Tuzla Military Staffs were dissolved and detachments in those regions were placed under the direct control of the General Staff for the People's Liberation Partisan Detachments of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The "Volunteer Army"

As a result of simmering tension between Serb-chauvinists and the communists, the Provincial Committee of the KPJ for Bosnia-Herzegovina held a conference at Ivančići in the Romanija region on 7–8 January 1942. This conference was chaired by Tito, and one of the outcomes was the creation of a "Volunteer Army" of soldiers that would fight alongside the Partisans under shared command, but were not willing to become Partisans themselves. The Supreme Headquarters was renamed the Supreme Headquarters for the People's Liberation Partisan and Volunteer Army of Yugoslavia. This was intended to drive a wedge between Bosnian Chetnik bands and the Serbian-based Chetnik movement of Draža Mihailović. Seven "volunteer" detachments were raised, all in eastern Bosnia, and some battalions and companies of former Chetniks were placed under the command of existing detachments. In all, the "Volunteer Army" numbered a maximum of 7,000–8,000 fighters who were, according to the historian Marko Attila Hoare, of "dubious political loyalty and military value". The short-lived "Volunteer Army" concept was dispensed with following pro-Chetnik coups in both "volunteer" and Partisan detachments in eastern Bosnia in April and May 1942, and was quietly abolished by Tito in November 1942. After this, until the formation of the Yugoslav Army in the last six months of the war, the title of the Partisan army was the People's Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia.

Detachments

A total of 108 detachments were created in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war. The detachments were named after a district, town, region or geographic feature, and ranged in size from 16 to 3,000 fighters. Larger detachments were usually divided into several companies or battalions. Some detachments had a very brief existence, whereas others existed for most of the war and a few were disestablished and re-established several times. Information on some small or short-lived detachments is very limited.
DetachmentDate of formationPlace of formationStrengthCompositionSuperior headquartersDisestablishedRe-established/Re-organisedNotes/Footnotes
Banja LukaCentral Bosnia—4 companies
2 battalions 		11th Division
1st Corps
39th Division 		1. 13 January 1944
2. May 1945		re-established 18 February 1944
Bijeljina15 August 1941———Substaff Majevica1 September 1941—
Bileća—30–100——23 November 1943 –7 December 1944re-established October 1944
Birač15 August 1941Birač500–700
200–300 		3 battalions 1st Corps 15 February 1945— This detachment was one of the 10 Bosnia-Herzegovina detachments remaining after the Stolice re-organisation.
Birač-Kladanj15 February 1945———27th Division11 May 1945—
Bišina—30–100——23 November 1943—
Blagaj———10th Division6 September 1943—
Blagaj-Janj6 September 1943—250 2 companies 10th Division——
Cazin8 September 1943Cazin262 2 battalions —8 February 1944—
Cazin Krajina15 March 1944Cazin808 3 battalions
3 battalions 		Una Operational Group 1. May 1944
2. September 1944
3. May 1945		1. re-established August 1944
2. re-established February 1945
Cikote15 August 1941—86 —Birač district headquarters20 September 1941redesignated as a company
Crni Vrh18 October 1943Prnjavor100 2 companies11th Divisionlate December 1944—
Dabar—30–100——23 November 1943—This detachment was also known as the "Miro Popara" Detachment.
Doboj-DerventaDoboj district100 —11th Division 13 January 1944—
Drina Volunteer13 March 1942Goražde and Čajniče districts8803 battalions—23 May 1942—
Drvar-PetrovacDrvar district300
883 		5 companies
2 battalions 		2nd Corps
4th Division 		January 1945—This detachment was also known as the Grabovač Detachment.
Dulići—30–100——23 November 1944—This detachment was also known as the Gatački Detachment.
Duvno30 October 1943Duvno district—2 companies8th Corps
5th Corps 		11 April 1944—
Foča Volunteer24 February 1942——4 battalions—18 May 1942—
Glamoč———20th Division
10th Division 		10 October 1944—
Glamoč Guerilla30 July 1941——————
Glamoč-LivnoGlamoč district—2 battalions
3 battalions and one company 		10th Division ——
Grabovac15 August 1941—60 —Birač district headquarters——
Gradiška-Lijevče20 November 1943Lijevče80
400+ 		3 companies
2 battalions 		5th Corps
Kozara Group 		12 October 1944—This detachment was also known as the Lijevče Detachment.
Grahovo-PeuljeBosansko Grahovo district250
800 		2 companies
2 battalions and one company 		5th Corps 1. September 1941
2. March 1945		re-established August 1943
re-organised October 1943		This detachment was also known as "Gavrilo Princip" Detachment.
HerzegovinaSuho330 3 battalions Interim operational staff for Herzegovina 1. February 1942
2. 10 August 1942		re-established from North Herzegovina and South Herzegovina Detachments in March 1942 This detachment was one of the 10 Bosnia-Herzegovina detachments remaining after the Stolice re-organisation, and was formed from the Herzegovinian Brigade.
JahorinaJahorina250 —27th Division30 April 1944
Jahorina Volunteer21 January 1942—900 13 companies in 3 battalions early May 1942
Jajce-Travnik18 October 194490 —10th DivisionFebruary 1945
JanjaJanja90 —10th Division14 October 1944
Janj—10th Division6 September 1943
Japra Guerilla28 September 1941———Krupa and Sana district headquarters
Jelašinovci Guerilla28 September 1941———Krupa and Sana district headquarters
Kalinovik4 battalions This detachment was one of the 10 Bosnia-Herzegovina detachments remaining after the Stolice re-organisation, and was formed from the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Brigade.
Kladanj
Kladanj-Ozren
Konjic
Kozara
Krajina Drvar/
Podgrmeč		600 7 companies Operational staff for Bosanska Krajina This detachment was one of the 10 Bosnia-Herzegovina detachments remaining after the Stolice re-organisation, and was formed from the Drvar Brigade.
Krajina Kozara6 companies Operational staff for Bosanska Krajina This detachment was one of the 10 Bosnia-Herzegovina detachments remaining after the Stolice re-organisation, and was formed from the Kozara Detachment.
Krajina central Bosnia6 battalions Operational staff for Bosanska Krajina This detachment was one of the 10 Bosnia-Herzegovina detachments remaining after the Stolice re-organisation.
Krajina Operational staff for Bosanska KrajinaThis detachment was formed from elements of the 3rd Krajina Detachment.
Krajina Operational staff for Bosanska KrajinaThis detachment was formed from elements of the 1st Krajina Detachment.
Krajina 1 May 1942Manjača1,000 1 battalion
3 battalions 		Operational staff for Bosanska Krajina1. 20 May 1942
2. 22 October 1942		re-established 17 August 1942
Krajina Volunteer
Kupres-JanjKupres—2 companies 10th Division June 1943
Kupres27 July 1943—230 1 battalion10th DivisionSeptember 1943This detachment was also known as the Blagaj Detachment or Blagaj-Janj Detachment.
Lim4 November 1943Rudo and Višegrad districts150 3 battalions 2nd Shock Corps 15 December 1943
Livno14 October 1941Cincar—one company 20th Division
5th Corps 		1. 6 June 1942
2. 11 April 1944		re-established September 1943
Livno-Duvno11 April 1944Livno and Duvno districts1,000 two battalions
6 battalions 		10th Division 17 March 1945—
LjubinjeHerzegovina———7 December 1944—
MajevicaMajevica50
200 		2 companies
1 battalion and 2 companies 		—1. September 1941
2. March 1942		re-established September 1941 This detachment was one of the 10 Bosnia-Herzegovina detachments remaining after the Stolice re-organisation.
Majevica 28 July 1942Majevica300 2 battalions
3 battalions 		—25 March 1943—
Majevica Majevica500 3 battalions
4 battalions 		1st Bosnian Shock Corps10 October 1943—
Majevica Majevica—2–4 battalions16th Division
38th Division 		11 May 1945—
Manjača11 August 1941——————
Mostar16 March 1944Konjic district2302 battalions—25 May 1944—
Motajica11 November 1943Motajica1 company
3 companies 		11th Division
53rd Division 		1. 13 January 1944
2. May 1945		re-established 14 February 1944
Nevesinje Uprising30–100
North Herzegovina———4 battalions
3 battalions 		29th Division 1. June 1942
2. 18 April 1944		re-established November 1943
OzrenOzren500
1,000
230 		3 companies
4 battalions
5 battalions 		17th Division 1. 18 April 1942
2. 25 January 1944		re-established 21 July 1943 This detachment was one of the 10 Bosnia-Herzegovina detachments remaining after the Stolice re-organisation.
Palanka28 September 1941———Krupa and Sana district headquarters——
Papraća15 August 1941—100 —Birač district headquarters20 September 1941redesignated as a company
PlaninaHerzegovina———September 1943—
Pljeva8 October 1943Mrkonjić Grad district150 2 companies
4 companies 		10th Division
39th Division 		January 1945—This detachment was also known as the Mrkonjić Detachment or Mrkonjić-Pljeva Detachment.
Podgrmeč7 May 1943Podgrmeč300–5003 companies 4th Division
Grmeč Operational Group
2nd Corps
4th Division
39th Division 		12 July 1945—
Podrinje-SemberijaBijeljina region——17th Division early October 1943—
Popovo—30–100——23 November 1943—
Posavina16 September 1943Bosanski Šamac district250
700 		3 battalions 17th Division early February 1944—
Posavina-Trebava—2703 battalions 38th Division early June 1945—
Površ————23 November 1943—
Prekaja Guerilla31 July 1941———Bosansko Grahovo County Guerilla Detachment staff——
Prnjavor10 June 1943Prnjavor1,000 1 battalion
4 or 5 battalions 		11th Division1. 13 January 1944
2. July 1944		re-organised 16 October 1943
re-established 18 February 1944
Prozor————October 1944—
RamaProzor district80
180 		2 battalions10th Division 1. February 1943
2. 14 May 1944		re-established July 1943
Ribnik—Crkveno district250
900 		2 battalions4th Division
Grmeč Operational Group
10th Division 		1. 26 August 1943
2. 26 March 1944		re-established 18 November 1943
Rogatica Volunteer——9503 battalions—May 1942—
Romanija—Romanija region1,230–3,000
70–80
500 		3 battalions
9 battalions
3 battalions 		Sarajevo oblast staff
General Staff for Bosnia-Herzegovina
Operational Staff for East Bosnia
17th Division
27th Division
17th Division
27th Division 10 October 1944		1. May 1942
2. 20 May 1944		re-established August 1943 This detachment was one of the 10 Bosnia-Herzegovina detachments remaining after the Stolice re-organisation.
Sana——100 2 companies 4th Division26 March 1944—
Sitnica26 June 1944———29th Division 7 December 1944—
South Herzegovina—300 4 battalions
3 battalions 		29th Division 1. June 1942
2. 10 September 1944		re-established 23 November 1943
Spreča15 August 1941—60 —Birač district headquarters20 October 1941—
Srebrenica9 October 1943Fakovići16–50
727
600 		——1. late December 1943
2. early April 1945		re-established 5 March 1944
re-organised into 2 battalions on 27 March 1944
Srebrenica Volunteer——3 battalions—April 1942—
Stolac—30–100——1. 23 September 1943
2. 7 December 1944		re-established October 1944
Stupari15 August 1941eastern Bosnia80 —Birač district headquarters20 October 1941—
Šehovići15 August 1941eastern Bosnia120 —Birač district headquarters20 October 1941—
ŠumaHerzegovina30–100——23 November 1943—
Tešanj-Teslić18 September 1943eastern Bosnia50—11th Division1. 13 January 1944
2. 7 September 1944		re-established 18 February 1944This detachment was also known as the Tešanj Detachment.
Timar15 May 1944Prijedor district600 —4th Division
Kozara Group 		12 October 1944—
TravnikVlašić region800 2 companies
2 battalions 		10th Division 1. 15 May 1942
2. 18 October 1944		re-established May 1943
TrebavaTrebava region1603 battalions 17th Division
16th Division 		February 1944—
Trebinje————7 December 1944—
Tupanar15 August 1941eastern Bosnia100 —Birač district headquarters20 September 1941—This detachment was also known as the Trnavski Detachment.
Tuzla24 October 1943Tuzla region600
500 		4 battalions17th DivisionMay 1945—
Udarni2 December 1943Bosanska Krajina region—3 battalions5th Corps5 May 1944—
UdrežanjHerzegovina30–100——October 1943—
Visoko-FojnicaKotor Varoš district100—53rd Division April 1945—
Visoko-Fojnica17 July 1943Kreševo district—10th Division8 January 1945—
VlahovićiHerzegovina30–100——23 November 1945—
Vlasenica Volunteer—7004 battalions—April 1942—
VlašićTravnik district1002 companies4th Division
Zenica Brigade Group 		May 1945—
Vukovsko27 July 1943Kupres district100—10th Division January 1944—
West HerzegovinaDuge Njive100 4 companies South Dalmatia Group
29th Division 		7 December 1944—
Zenica9 April 1942Zenica200——6 May 1942—
Zmijanje29 November 1943Mrkonjić Grad district180—5th Corps
4th Division
39th Division 		May 1945—
ZvijezdaZvijezda region1,200 4 battalions and 1 company —May 1942— This detachment was one of the 10 Bosnia-Herzegovina detachments remaining after the Stolice re-organisation.

Footnotes