Operation Kopaonik

Operation Kopaonik was a large-scale Axis offensive launched against the Mihailović's Chetniks in Axis occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. The operation was inspired by Heinrich Himmler who believed that the annihilation of Draža Mihailović and his forces was a basis for a success in Serbia and South East Europe. Since Dragutin Keserović and his Rasina Corps was probably the most active commander of Mihailovićs Chetniks in Serbia, the newly established 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen was engaged to participate in Operation Kopaonik to destroy Keserović and Chetnik unit under his command.

Besides the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen the Axis forces consisted of several battalions of Bulgarian 9th Infantry Division also. All of them commanded by Artur Phleps. The Yugoslav forces targeted in Operation Kopaonik consisted of Rasina Corps of Chetniks of Draža Mihailović under command of Dragutin Keserović. The operation failed because Keserović was informed about the movement of the Axis forces and successfully retreated his forces before the Axis forces surrounded the targeted region. Still, Himmler was pleased with participation of the Prinz Eugen Division and immediately after the operation ended he visited it for three days.

During this operation Axis forces committed mass murder of hundreds of Serb civilians in the targeted region. After the operation Prinz Eugen division attacked Mihailovićs Chetniks in region of Gornji Milanovac and Čačak.

According to Heinrich Himmler, the annihilation of Mihailović and his forces was a basis for a success in Serbia and South East Europe. This operation was part of larger plan of Axis forces to disarm Chetnik units. The Military Commander in Serbia prepared a list of 24 Chetnik officers to be arrested by SS Prinz Eugen Division, one of them being Keserović. Keserović was probably the most active commander of Mihailović's Chetniks in Serbia.

Operation Kopaonik was aimed against the insurgent Chetnik units in Central Serbia under command of Major Dragutin Keserović in the region around Kriva Reka on the Kopaonik mountains. The operation was aimed against these forces because they were considered as the center of organized guerilla rebel forces in Central Serbia. The operation was in fact a punitive expedition aimed against Mihailović's Chetniks who were the chief target of the German command who wanted to secure its control of Serbia before important battles in North Africa.

The outline of the operation was prepared on 30 September and the order for its execution was issued on 5 October 1942.

The Axis forces in Operation Kopaonik consisted of 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen and several battalions of the Bulgarian 9th Infantry Division. According to some sources the Bulgarian forces included the 36th Infantry Regiment. This operation was the first large-scale engagement of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen under command of Artur Phleps who personally commanded the Axis forces during Operation Kopaonik. The SS division had three regiments, two infantry and one artillery regiment. One of those two regiments that participated in Operation Kopaonik was 14th SS Infangry Regiment with total number of soldiers, together with supporting artillery regiment, of up to 6,000 men (according to Schmidhuber). The German forces were also supported by the Russian Protective Corps. The commander of the 14th SS Infantry Regiment was August Schmidhuber while its three battalions were commanded by Richard Kaaserer, Wagner and Landverer. Several Bulgarian battalions consisting of 1,000 men and Russian Protective Corps with 300 men also participated in this operation. The commander of Bulgarian forces that participated in the operation was Petar Panev.

The attacked Yugoslav rebel forces of Draža Mihailović were organized into Rasina Corps under command of Major Dragutin Keserović. In May 1942 Mihailović ordered to Keserović to prepare for receiving military supplies from Allies through air transport. Starting in the half of 1942, Allied airplanes supplied with arms and other military equipment to Chetnik detachment on Kopaonik. The Axis forces were informed that the headquarters of this Chetnik unit was in village Kriva Reka and that a British military mission was with them. In August 1942 joint Axis forces of German and Bulgarian troops attacked Chetniks of Major Keserović on Kopaonik and captured 9 members of his headquarter, three of them being members of British mission, executed when they were leaving village Kriva Reka.