(also Domdo Regiment Tuzla, Moslem Legion)
by H.L. deZeng IV

Formed summer 1941 as a local self-defense militia to protect the Moslem villages in the Tuzla area in East Bosnia against Chetniks. The earliest date it can be traced to is 30 August 1941 when Moslem militia were reported as already being active in small villages between Zvornik and Bijeljina. Eventually expanded to 6 battalions. (1)

Operational History

31 Dec 41: I Bn. in Puračić with 363 men, II Bn. in Banović with 463 men, III Bn. in Tupković with 218 men, and IV Bn. in Petroviće with 290 men. All were subordinated to the Croatian 4th Division on this date.
12-13 Jan 42: I Bn. successfully defended a Moslem village near Puračić from an attack by the Ozren Partisan Detachment, killing 14 of the enemy.
28 Jan 42: I Bn. fought side-by-side with the Ustasha “Black Legion” during Operation “Süd-Kroatien” on this date. After the operation concluded, the Battalion was reassigned to industrial security duties in Živinice and Stupari in the Tuzla area.
Dec 42: V Bn. formed during the second half of 1942 in Bijeljina.
15 Jan 43: Rgt. HQ in Tuzla under Croatian 3d Infantry Division/II Corps with I Bn. (1st – 4th Co.), II Bn. (5th – 7th Co.), III Bn. (8th – 11th Co.), IV Bn. (12th – 15th Co.), V Bn. (16th – 19th Co.), and VI Bn. (20th – 24th Co.).
29-30 Jan 43: elements of III Bn. fought an engagement with the 6th East Bosnian NOU Brigade near Zvornik and was driven out of a small village located nearby.
Feb 43: Croatian II Corps attempted to reorganize the Moslem militia in East Bosnia into a brigade with two regiments. This caused a great deal of agitation among the Moslem leadership, which was largely led by the Regiment’s commander, Pukovnik Hadžiefendić, and the plan collapsed with the Regiment reluctantly allowed to retain its separate identity and a degree of independence.
16 Jun 43: Partisans attacked and took the ruined mining complex at Ugljevik near Bijeljina, overrunning and routing troops from the Croatian 6th Infantry Regiment and 230 local militia from the Regiment’s V Bn.
1 Jul 43: I Bn. in Puračić, II Bn. in Kladanj, III Bn. in Gračanica/SE of Živinice, IV Bn. deployed along the Zvornik – Tuzla road, and V Bn. in Zvornik.
24 Jul 43: Rgt. HQ in Tuzla directly under Croatian II Corps for administrative purposes and under German 369. Inf.Div. (kroat.) for tactical purposes. Composition: I Bn. (HQ, Reserve Co. and 3d Co. in Puračić, 1st Co. in Seona, 2d Co. in Turija, 4th Co. in Miricina, and 5th Co. in Podorašje), II Bn. (HQ, Res. Co. and 9th Co. in Živinice, 6th Co. in Ribnica, 7th Co. in Banovići, 8th Co. in Brgule), III Bn. (HQ, Res. Co. and 12th Co. in Medjaš, 10th Co. in Tupković, 11th Co. in Kalesija, 13th Co. in Požarnica), VI Bn. (HQ, Res. Co. and 29th Co. in Zvornik, 27th Co. in Teočak, 28th Co. in Kozluk). No mention of IV and V Battalion, which may have been incorporated into the Tuzla Brigade or conscripted into the new 13. SS-Freiwillige-Gebirgsdivision (kroat.).
Jul – Aug 43: large scale defections from the Regiment to the Partisans. Toward the end of August or beginning of September, the scattered remnants of the Regiment were rounded up and used to form the new Domdo Regiment “Bosanski planinci.”

Commanders

Pukovnik Muhamed Hadžiefendić (? - ?) Sep 1942, Aug 1943

Footnotes

1. [Vojnoistorijski institute] - Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu jugoslovenskih naroda, Tom IV/19, pp.519-21 (citing a Croatian GLAVSIGUR report dated 25.11.43); [Vojnoistorijski institute] - Hronologija oslobodilačke borbe naroda jugoslavije 1941-1945 (Belgrade, 1964), pp.78, 192, 409, 492; NARA WashDC: RG 242 (T-315 roll 2155/197; roll 2156/852; roll 2271/427 and 750); (T-501 roll 250/607).

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -