1st Sisak Partisan Detachment
제1 시사크 파르티잔 분견대
The 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment was the first organized Partisan armed anti-fascist resistance unit formed in occupied Yugoslavia. The outlawed Communist Party of Croatia formed it in Brezovica Forest near Sisak on 22 June 1941, after which it began armed resistance through railway sabotage and attacks on occupation forces.
In depth
The detachment began with roughly 80 fighters, commanded by Vlado Janić, with Marijan Cvetković as political commissar. It sabotaged railways and telegraph infrastructure, seized arms and ammunition, and fought the Ustaše forces of the Independent State of Croatia. After retreating south across the Sava in September 1941, it was combined with other Partisan formations and renamed the Banija Partisan Unit. Croatia commemorates 22 June as Anti-Fascist Struggle Day.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) formation, location, date, political organizers, membership, commander, and initial resistance activities
- spomenikdatabase.org independent historical account of the formation in Brezovica, approximate size, leadership, sabotage actions, subsequent retreat and reorganization