1950 Serbian Battle Map of the Fifth Enemy Offensive During World War II

This is a c. 1950 Serbian battle map of the Fifth Enemy Offensive, also known as Case Black, a key battle in the Balkans during World War II. The battle is often identified by its final phase, the Battle of Sutjeska, and was an Axis offensive with the goal of the destruction of the Yugoslav Partisan force led by Marshal Josip Broz Tito. The map depicts the battle area from Sarajevo to Podgorica and from Dubrovnik to Priboj. The Axis mustered over 127,000 troops for the offensive, bringing together German, Italian, Bulgarian, and Fascist Croat forces to annihilate the 22,000-man Yugoslav National Liberation Army. Axis forces, which are illustrated here in blue, surrounded the Yugoslav Nationalist army and launched the assault on May 15, 1943. After nearly a month of fighting, the Yugoslav force (depicted here in red) succeeded in breaking through the lines of the German 118th and 104th Jager and 369th (Croatian) Infantry. The breakthrough has become known as the Battle of Sutjeska, because the Yugoslav force succeeded in crossing the Sutjeska River. The battle has since become an integral part of Yugoslav post-war mythology.