Operation Rösselsprung (1944)
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Operation Rösselsprung was a combined airborne and ground assault by the German XV Mountain Corps and collaborationist forces on the Supreme Headquarters of the Yugoslav Partisans in the Bosnian town of Drvar in the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. It was launched 25 May 1944, with the goal of capturing or killing Partisan leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito and destroying the headquarters, support facilities and co-located Allied military missions. It is associated with the Seventh Enemy Offensive in Yugoslav history, forming part of the Seven Enemy Offensives historiographical framework. The airborne assault itself is also known as the Raid on Drvar.
Marshal Josip Broz Tito (furthest right) with his cabinet and principal staff officers in Drvar, days before the offensive.
The deployment of Partisan forces around Drvar is shown in red, with German movements shown in blue
Luftwaffe DFS230 glider as used for troop insertion during Operation Rösselsprung
View of Drvar in 2007
Airborne forces
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Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as paratroopers.
United States Air Force paratroopers from the 720th Special Tactics Group jumping from a C-130J Hercules aircraft during water rescue training off the Florida Panhandle
Queen Elizabeth and Princess Elizabeth talking to paratroopers in preparation of D-Day, 19 May 1944
King George VI inspects men of the 7th Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers, 1st Airborne Division, in the North Midlands, 1944.
Dwight D. Eisenhower speaks with American paratroopers of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on the evening of June 5, 1944.