The XXI Mountain Corps was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

military formation in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. At the beginning of November 1944 the XXI Mountain Corps retreated from

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

in Montenegro. In mid-November they tried to break through

Danilovgrad Danilovgrad (Cyrillic: Даниловград) is a town in central Montenegro. It has a population of 6,852, according to the 2011 census. It is situated in the Danilovgrad Municipality which lies along the main route between Montenegro's two la ...

and

Nikšić Nikšić (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Никшић, ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 32,046 (2023 census) located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot of Trebjesa ...

toward

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, but Yugoslav partisan forces supported by two British artillery batteries, code-named

Floydforce Operation Floxo was an intervention by the British army in Yugoslavia in October 1944, during the Second World War. The operation's main objective was to aid Yugoslav Partisans, led by Marshal Tito, in preventing the German withdrawal from Greec ...

, stopped them after ten days fighting. At the end of November 1944 they had to retreat through a much longer route, via

Kolašin Kolašin (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Колашин, ) is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 2,989 (2003 census). Kolašin is the centre of Kolašin Municipality (population 9,949) and an unofficial centre of Morača region, nam ...

Prijepolje Prijepolje ( sr-Cyrl, Пријепоље, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. As of 2022, the town has 11,928 inhabitants, while the municipality has 32,214 inhabitants. Etymology One possible mean ...

, and

Višegrad Višegrad ( sr-cyrl, Вишеград, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It rests at the confluence of the Drina and the Rzav (Drina), Rzav river. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 10,668 in ...

Commanders

Paul Bader Paul Bader (20 July 1883 – 28 February 1971) was a ''General der Artillerie'' (lieutenant general) of the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 2nd Motorized Infantry Division in the invasions of Poland and France then served as ...

(25 August 1943 – 10 October 1943) *

Gustav Fehn __NOTOC__ Gustav Fehn (21 February 1892 – 5 June 1945) was a German general during World War II. Fehn served in the Afrika Korps from November 1942 to January 1943, LXXVI Panzer Corps from July–August 1943, the XXI Army Corps from October 1 ...

(10 October 1943 – 20 July 1944) *

Ernst von Leyser Ernst Ulrich Hans von Leyser () (18 November 1889 – 23 September 1962) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded several army corps. After the war, in 1947, Leyser was tried for war crimes commit ...

(20 July 1944 – 29 April 1945) *

Hartwig von Ludwiger Hartwig von Ludwiger (29 June 1895 – 3 or 5 May 1947) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Ludwiger was responsible for numerous atrocities committed throughout the Balkans. After the war, he was charged wit ...

(29 April 1945 – 8 May 1945)

was put on the trial after World War II and hanged in 1947.

References

Sources

* * * Mountain corps of Germany in World War II {{Germany-WWII-stub