(XX. žestra bojna)
by H.L. deZeng IV

Formed fall 1942 in Karlovac to guard the railway line in the Karlovac – Zagreb area to the southwest of the capital. (1)

Oct 42: formation said to have been completed in October. Battalion was established to guard the track sections between Horvati/17 km SW of Zagreb and Dubrava/6 km E of Zagreb, and between Karlovac and Rečica/10 km ENE of Karlovac. On formation the Battalion had 1,000 men with this increasing to 1,200 by spring 1943.
May 43: Battalion HQ in Karlovac.
Aug 43: by this date the Battalion had been reorganized and reduced in strength and was now deployed with HQ in Karlovac, 1st Co. in Jastrebarsko, 2d Co. in Ozalj and 3d Co. in Generalski Stol.
24 Sep 43: 3d Co. lost 1 officer and 51 men captured when the train station at Generalski Stol was assaulted and taken by elements of the 8th Division NOVJ.
27-28 Sep 43: 1 officer and 32 men from 1st Co. were taken prisoner by the Partisans in the village of Desinec/4 km NE of Jastrebarsko.
20 Nov 43: HQ in Karlovac - strength: 9 officers, 31 NCOs and 360 men.
Apr 44: Battalion incorporated into the 2d Garrison Brigade during April.

Commanders

?

Footnotes

1. NARA WashDC: RG 242 (T-315 roll 2270/1005-06); occasional references in other German documents and in the [Vojnoistorijski institute] - Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu jugoslovenskih naroda series (e.g., Tom V/19, p.737) and in [Vojnoistorijski institute] - Hronologija oslobodilačke borbe naroda jugoslavije 1941-1945 (e.g., p.552).

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -