Key Facts
- Start date
- 19 April 1945
- End date
- 25 May 1945
- Days after V-E Day
- 17 days after end of war in Europe
- Victor
- Yugoslav Partisans
- Theater
- Bosnian town of Odžak, Independent State of Croatia
Strategic Narrative Overview
Beginning on 19 April 1945, Yugoslav Army units under commander Miloš Zekić engaged the entrenched Croatian NDH forces commanded by Petar Rajkovačić around Odžak. The siege continued for over a month, spanning Germany's formal surrender on 8 May and persisting well beyond the general cessation of hostilities in Europe. Multiple Yugoslav divisions, including the 53rd, 27th East Bosnian, and units of the 16th Muslim Brigade, participated in reducing the pocket.
01 / The Origins
As World War II drew to a close in Europe in May 1945, remnants of the Croatian Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) continued to hold the Bosnian town of Odžak. Loyal to the collapsing NDH regime, these forces refused to surrender even as Germany capitulated on 8 May 1945, leaving a isolated pocket of resistance that the Yugoslav Army was compelled to reduce by force.
03 / The Outcome
On 25 May 1945, the Croatian NDH garrison at Odžak finally capitulated, ending the battle and marking the definitive conclusion of armed conflict in the European theater of World War II. The Partisan victory eliminated the last organized resistance of the Independent State of Croatia. The engagement has been documented in several Yugoslav military histories published between 1969 and 1983.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Petar Rajkovačić.
Side B
1 belligerent
Miloš Zekić.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.