With occasional skirmishes, the stopping and disarmament of German forces in Yugoslavia lasted for a whole week. In the afternoon on the same day, also in the vicinity of Šoštanj, the Commander-in-Chief South-East Alexander Löhr signed the capitulation of his troops, surrendering to the Partisans himself (after he realised that he was the victim of a bluff, Löhr fled and surrendered to the British – who then returned him to the Partisans). The Germans, although incomparably superior in numbers, well armed and still relatively mentally strong and determined – not knowing the actual strength of the Partisan forces, eventually, after a tense battle of wits, did cave in and agreed to surrender. They had a very small force at their disposal, but well deployed strategically, so that it seemed much larger (an incomplete battalion pretended to be a brigade), and they were also threatening with an (unplanned) attack by aviation and strong (far away) ground units.
#Partizanske pesme tekst full#
(Standing on the left is Robert Plan, a member of the Anglo-American military mission at the Partisan headquarters.) During the negotiations, the Partisans were energetic and (seemingly) full of confidence – while, in fact, they were bluffing, very much fearing the exposure. Brajović (on the right), chief of staff of the Partisan IV Operational Zone, and German Major Engelbrecht (second from the left), commander of the Assault Brigade South-East (of Battle Group Fischer, which was subordinated directly to the Commander-in-Chief South-East, Colonel General Löhr). In the photo, taken in the morning on the same day, at the same crossroads, starting the negotiations are Petar S. After a brief firefight (which caused casualties on both sides, even among civilians), the fire was ceased and the column was temporarily stopped. A few hours before dawn on, at the crossroads near the village of Metleče, on the outskirts of Šoštanj (about 40 km from the German border), a company of the Protection Battalion of the Partisan IV Operational Zone tried to stop the first of endless German columns that continued retreating towards the border and the Western Allies, avoiding a surrender to the Partisans.
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