Operation Klasnice

(Yugoslav town)

'Klasnice' was a German and Croat operation against the partisan forces of Josip Broz Tito in the puppet state of Croatia in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia (2/4 January 1943).

The undertaking’s objective was the destruction of a partisan concentration (1st and 3rd Proletarian Assault Brigades) in the area to the east of Klasnice, some 10 miles (16 km) to the north-north-east of Banja Luka and south-west of Prnjavor in western Bosnia. The German contribution to the operation was the 3/741st Grenadierregiment and 661st Artillerieabteilung of Generalleutnant Josef Reichert’s 714th Division, and the Volksdeutschbataillon 'Ludwig von Baden', and that of the Croats the reinforced 'Prnjavor' Battalion, which was probably a Četnik unit.

The relatively small attacking force combed an area that included the villages of Lisnja, Dubrava, Crni Vrh and Devetina, but did not bring the main partisan body to action. The total partisan losses were only 11 men killed and 27 wounded, but a number of villages were looted and destroyed by the Axis troops.