“Livno mora pasti”: borbe dijelova V. ustaškog stajaćeg zdruga s II. proleterskom divizijom za Livno u prosincu 1942. godine
“LIVNO MUST FALL”: THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE ELEMENTS OF THE Vth USTAŠA ACTIVE SERVICE BRIGADE AND THE IInd PROLETARIAN DIVISION FOR LIVNO IN DECEMBER 19

Summary/Abstract: On the basis of published and unpublished documents and scholarly literature the author reviews the battle for Livno in December 1942. An attack was carried out according to the orders of the Partisan High Command on 25 November 1942, but it took the Partisan II Proletarian Division twenty days to complete the task. Livno was defended by a force which during the battle rose to no more than 1200 in strength. The attacker was at least three times greater in number and possessed better weaponry. The defenders' only advantage was that they were fighting in a relatively well-fortified settlement. The battle showed that the Partisans were better organized and more willing to accept casualties than the defending Ustaša. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the brunt of Ustaša casualties occurred during a disorganized retreat. An unknown number of civilians died during the battle, and after taking the town the Partisans unjustifiably shot a number of civilians from Croat villages who had fled to the town ahead of the Partisans. This was a war crime that went unacknowledged for over fifty years until in 1989 a document was issued in which the crime was admitted and presented as a "great error."

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