Operation Casanova (i)

'Casanova' (i) was a German and Croat operation against the partisan forces of Marshal Josip Broz Tito in the puppet state of Croatia in German-occupied Yugoslavia (July/August 1944).

'Casanova' (i) was probably the most atypical of all the Axis operations against the partisans in occupied Yugoslavia inasmuch as it was carried out by aircraft rather than ground forces. The operation was based on flights by night reconnaissance aircraft with the object of persuading the partisans into thinking the aircraft were Allied supply flights from Italy. As the partisans illuminated the drop zone or the landing ground, the Axis aircraft noted the locations so these places could later be bombed or attacked from the ground. The results of the operation are not known, but were probably not significant.