page_title: 1st Army Group (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)
section_title: 7th Army sector
hierarchical_section_title: 1st Army Group (Kingdom of Yugoslavia) / Operations during German invasion / 6–9 April / 7th Army sector
caption_attribution_description: English: Leon Rupnik (August 10, 1880 – September 4, 1946), Slovene general
context_page_description: The 1st Army Group was a Royal Yugoslav Army formation mobilised prior to the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941 during World War II. It consisted of the 4th Army, 7th Army, and the 1st Cavalry Division, which was the army group reserve. It was responsible for the defence of northwestern Yugoslavia, with the 4th Army defending the eastern sector along the Yugoslav–Hungarian border, and the 7th Army defending the western sector along the borders with Germany and Italy. Like all Yugoslav formations at the time, the 1st Army Group had serious deficiencies in both mobility and firepower.
  Despite concerns over a possible Axis invasion, orders for the general mobilisation of the Royal Yugoslav Army were not issued by the government until 3 April 1941, out of fear this would offend Adolf Hitler and precipitate war. When the invasion commenced on 6 April, the component formations of 1st Army Group were only partially mobilised, and on the first day the Germans seized bridges over the Drava River in both sectors and several mountain passes in the 7th Army sector.
context_section_description: The largely mountainous border between Germany and Yugoslavia was unsuitable for motorised operations. Due to the short notice of the invasion, the elements of the invading 2nd Army that would make up XXXXIX Mountain Corps and LI Infantry Corps had to be assembled from France, Germany and the German puppet Slovak Republic, and nearly all encountered difficulties in reaching their assembly areas. In the interim, the Germans formed a special force under the code name Feuerzauber (Magic Fire). This force was initially intended to merely reinforce the 538th Frontier Guard Division, who were manning the border. On the evening of 5 April, a particularly aggressive Feuerzauber commander led his Kampfgruppe Palten across the Mura from Spielfeld and, having secured the bridge, began attacking bunkers and other Yugoslav positions on the high ground, and sent patrols deep into the Yugoslav border fortification system. Due to a lack of Yugoslav counter-attacks, many of these positions remained in German hands into 6 April. On the morning of 6 April, German aircraft conducted surprise attacks on Yugoslav airfields in the 7th Army area, including Ljubljana and Cerklje, where the 7th Army air reconnaissance assets were based.
  The German LI Infantry Corps was tasked with attacking towards Maribor then driving towards Zagreb, while the XXXXIX Mountain Corps of General der Infanterie Ludwig Kübler was to capture Dravograd then force a crossing on the Sava. On the first day of the invasion, LI Infantry Corps captured the Mura bridges at Mureck and Radkersburg (opposite Gornja Radgona) undamaged. In the sector of the 38th Infantry Division Dravska (38th ID), one German column pushed towards Maribor from Mureck, and the other pushed on from Gornja Radgona through Lenart towards Ptuj. Some time later, other elements of LI Infantry Corps attacked the area between Sveti Duh and Dravograd. Border troops met these attacks with fierce resistance, but were forced to withdraw due to the German pressure. The 183rd Infantry Division captured 300 prisoners. A bicycle-mounted detachment of the 183rd Infantry Division reached the extreme right flank of the 7th Army at Murska Sobota without striking any resistance. Generalmajor Rudolf Sintzenich's 132nd Infantry Division also pushed south along the Sejanski valley towards Savci.
  Late that day, mountain pioneers destroyed some isolated Yugoslav bunkers in the area penetrated by Kampfgruppe Palten, and German aircraft again attacked the 7th Army's air reconnaissance assets on the ground at Cerklje, destroying most of them at the second attempt. This was followed by Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) air attacks on 7th Army troop concentrations. The VVKJ was unable to interdict the Axis air attacks because their fighters were based too far away. After having been grounded for most of the day by poor weather, in the afternoon the Yugoslav bombers flew missions against airfields and railway stations across the German frontier. By the close of 6 April, the 7th Army was still largely mobilising and concentrating, and fifth column actions meant that nearly all the fighting was conducted by border troops. The 38th ID was deployed along the southern bank of the Drava around Ptuj and Maribor, and a reinforced infantry regiment was approaching Dravograd from the west. German and Italian air attacks interfered with the deployment of troops and command was hampered by reliance on civilian telegraph and telephone services. LI Infantry Corps had occupied Gornja Radgona, Murska Sobota and Radenci, and had crossed the Drava near Sveti Duh. The XXXXIX Mountain Corps captured border crossings on the approaches to Dravograd, but were held up by border troops in mountain passes located further west.
  During 6 April, the Ban (governor) of the Drava Banovina, Marko Natlačen met with representatives of the major Slovene political parties, and created the National Council of Slovenia, whose aim was to establish a Slovenia independent of Yugoslavia. When he heard the news of fifth column-led revolts within the flanking 4th Army, 
caption: The chief of staff of Headquarters 1st Army Group, Armijski đeneral Leon Rupnik
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