Claymore 2013

Raid on Tito

The Knight's Move (Operation Rösselsprung) was a combined airborne and ground assault by the Germans on Tito’s headquarters at the Bosnian town of Drvar in May 1944. Operation Rösselsprung involved the 500th SS Parachute Battalion (Captain Rybka) making an air drop on the town while several ground force columns (XV Mountain Corps) converged on Drvar, supported by the Luftwaffe. Faulty intelligence meant the paras attacked the town rather than the nearby hut that housed Tito's HQ. By the time they realised the error, partisan units arrived to make the attack a costly failure. Tito escaped before the ground troops could close the trap.

The 500th SS Parachute Battalion would deploy 314 troops in three groups for the first wave parachute drop and another 354 in glider-borne assaults. Due to insufficient transport capacity, a second wave would consist of a further 220 troops. Nine battle groups (Regimental or battalion size) would converge on Drvar in ground attacks. 

Partisan forces in the town consisted of two weak engineer battalions (mainly labourers) and some 800 partially armed Communist Party people attending a conference. There was a cadet school and Tito’s bodyguard of four companies. There were six Partisan divisions (12,000 troops) in the area, but the nearest was an 800 strong brigade 3 miles away. Small Allied Missions were also present with Tito, although Fitzroy MacLean and Churchill’s son Randolph were away at the time.

Game

The operation is being refought using 28mm figures from a variety of ranges. The rules are Bolt Action.