# Operation Foča

The Operation Foča (in German: Unternehmen "Foca"; in Croatian: Operacija Foča), also known as Operation Trio II (in German: Unternehmen "Trio II"; in Italian: Operazione Trio II) was a joint anti-partisan operation of mainly Italian forces, but included forces of the Wehrmacht and Ustaše–Home Guard troops against the forces of the People's Liberation Partisan and Volunteer Army of Yugoslavia (NLPiDAJ), the 2nd stage of the Trio operation cycle. It was carried out from May 2 to 15, 1942, in Eastern Bosnia, at the time part of the Independent State of Croatia.

## Course of the operation

The second stage of the cycle of operations "Trio", which had the code names "Trio-2" and "Foca" depending on the language of staff records, was launched by the Italian forces on May 2, 1942. The concept of the operation was to encircle and eliminate the NOPiDAJ group in the Sarajevo–Goražde–Foča–Kalinovik area. One German and three Italian divisions participated in the operation. The Italians were assigned the main role in the operation. The German 718th Infantry Division advanced in five battle groups together with attached Ustaše–Croat units from the northeast on the partisan-controlled area between Foča and Trnovo, pushing them south into the "cauldron" being prepared by the Italians. The southern segment of the encirclement ring from Kalinovik towards Foča and to Višegrad was to be closed by three Italian divisions. The Italian 1st Alpine Division "Taurinense" advanced from the northwest through Trnovo in the direction of Kalinovik and Jahorina. To meet it and the 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria", the 22nd Infantry Division "Cacciatori delle Alpi" was moving from the south in two columns (one along the Nevesinje–Ulog–Kalinovik road, and the other from Gacko to Foča). The 5th Alpine Division "Pusteria" blocked the possible escape routes of the partisans to the east across the Drina.
On May 4, the 718th Division crossed the Prača river and, without encountering strong resistance from the partisans, combed the area between the settlements of Mesići, Ustiprača and Goražde by May 6. On May 8, units of the division occupied the left bank of Goražde without a fight and captured about 5,000 people in its vicinity, mostly refugees, since only a small number of them were armed. On May 10, German troops and units of the "Pusteria" Division entered Foča, abandoned by the partisans of the 1st Proletarian Brigade. After Foča, the Germans turned west and combed the Foča–Kalinovik road. With these actions, the task of the 718th Division in Operation Trio-2 was completed.
The "Taurinense" Division cleared the Sarajevo area at the start of the operation and occupied the town of Trnovo without a fight on May 9. On the way to the village of Dobro Polje, it overcame the resistance of the "Kalinovik" partisan detachment and forced it to retreat. On May 10, the advance units of the "Taurinense" Division made first contact with units of the 718th Division. On May 11 and 12, they occupied Dobro Polje without a fight and unblocked Kalinovik.
The "Pusteria" Division operated in an area with a high concentration of partisan formations. On May 1, its units repelled a three-hour partisan attack on Čajniče. On May 5, the division's stronghold in Miljeno was subjected to a strong partisan attack, which was repelled with heavy losses. The next day, an attack followed on a supply column on the outskirts of Čajniče. After this, the division suffered further losses in clashes with the partisans, losing 20 men killed and 30 wounded by May 8. On May 10, the attack on Miljeno was repeated, after which the partisans were defeated and retreated from the Čajniče and Goražde area to the outskirts of Pljevlja. The last battle of the division's units with the partisans during Operation Trio-2 took place during the attack of the 2nd Proletarian Brigade on Foča on the night of May 18–19. During the two-hour battle, 2 Italian officers and 2 soldiers were killed and several were wounded. The partisan losses were not confirmed, but were presumed heavy.
The task of the "Cacciatori delle Alpi" Division was to encircle the partisan area from the south in order to close the encirclement by linking up with the Italian divisions near Foča and Dobro Polje. The division was to advance from Nevesinje with two tactical regimental combat groups: one through Gacko to Foča, the other to Kalinovik and Dobro Polje. Already when advancing to the starting position near the town of Gacko, which was blockaded by partisans, the division encountered fierce resistance from the partisans. The fighting near Gacko lasted from April 25 to 28 and cost the Italians 7 killed, 34 wounded and 54 missing, while the partisans had extremely heavy losses. A week after the unblocking of Gacko, the division began to break through to the north on May 6. The combat group, advancing in the direction of Ulog–Kalinovik–Dobro Polje, was opposed by a group of partisans numbering about 1,300 people. The centre of the partisan defence was in Ulog, which had fortifications built by the Austro-Hungarian army. The Italian advance was slow. On May 8 at 2pm the division captured Ulog, but the advance slowed down even more. On May 10 the division took the village of Strane, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) from Ulog. Pressing the partisans, the Italians reached a destroyed bridge 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) from Kalinovik on May 12. However, that same day the town was occupied by units of the "Taurinense" Division and the battle group was returned to Nevesinje.
The second battle group of the "Cacciatori delle Alpi" Division failed to complete its mission of closing the encirclement ring at Foča. On its way northwest of Gacko stood a partisan group of about 2,000 men, stationed in the villages of Slivlje, Dubljevići and Jugovići. The Italians were unable to overcome the partisan defenses and did not break through beyond the village of Čemerno, located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Gacko. Due to the failure of the "Cacciatori delle Alpi" Division, the Axis were unable to close the encirclement ring around the NOPiDAJ forces. Taking advantage of this, the Supreme Headquarters, together with the 1st and 2nd Proletarian Brigades, which were located on Zelengora between Foča and Gacko, broke out of the encirclement through Žabljak and Plužine into the border region between Montenegro and Herzegovina. On May 15, the operation was terminated.