On January 6, 1943, the German administration decided to form a second Croatian Infantry Division (MP) with the sole purpose of fighting the partisans. The division received the number 373. But its men gave it the nickname "Tiger Division". The division had two Grenadier Regiments, the 383rd and 384th, the 373rd Artillery Regiment, a reconnaissance battalion, a tank destroyer battalion, engineer, transport and service battalions.
The 373rd MP was made up of 3,500 Germans and 8,500 Croats, some of them members of national guard units. Lieutenant General Emil Chellner was appointed commander. Most officers and non-commissioned officers were German. Of all the battalions, only the 373rd Reconnaissance Battalion was not commanded by a German officer, but had a Croat in command, Major Bakarec.
Lipotaxes
The division after completing the training of its men was moved to the area north-northwest of Mostar where there were mines of bauxite, a mineral crucial to the German war effort. After the first skirmishes, the division formed light units of "hunters" with the aim of pursuing and exterminating the partisan forces. At the beginning of July 1943 the division undertook liquidation operations with the assistance of Chetnik units.
On August 5, Lt. Gen. Adrian assumed command of the division, replacing Chellner. In the meantime the division was subordinated to the 2nd Panzer Army which had been deployed in the Balkans from the Eastern Front. However desertions were frequent. Between August 18-22 alone, 100 Croat and Bosnian Muslim soldiers deserted. After the Italian capitulation, desertions increased. Nevertheless the division was transferred to Bihac replacing the German 114th Fighter Division. During their movement, however, parts of the division fell into partisan ambushes, causing serious losses in men and material.
Businesses
The division at Bihac was placed under the command of the German XV Mountain Army Corps (SS), under General Rudolf Lotters. In mid-October the division undertook its first large-scale operation breaking the partisan cordon around the town of Prizendor spearheaded by the 383rd Grenadier Regiment (Sgr). The division took part in Operation "Panther" (Panther), in the period 10-24 December 1943, together with the German 371st MP and the 1st Cossack Division. The aim of the operation was to encircle the Partisan forces on Mount Samarica and in the forest of Kostainica in today's Republika Srpska of Bosnia.
Despite the heavy losses of the division the result was not successful. New businesses in the area followed. The 383rd SR was again the spearhead, reinforced by three tanks and the 1/373rd Artillery Squadron. However, again it had no serious results, despite the losses suffered by the said forces.
At the beginning of 1944 the partisans took the initiative of the movements by attacking Banja Luka, the second largest city in Bosnia. There was also the headquarters of the XV Mountain SS. The threat was serious, but the intervention of the 1/383 Grenadier Battalion saved the situation. Then this regiment was deployed, in March 1944 in Knin, controlling the routes from that city to Bihac in Bosnia.
In the period 7-16 May the division participated in Operation "Morgen Stern" (Star of the Day), together with elements of the Croatian 392nd MP, elements of German divisions and Ustasi divisions. This operation was considered successful as 438 partisans were killed, 56 captured and 18 defected. Weapons, ammunition and supplies of Tito's forces were also seized.
The division participated, together with the 369th MP, in the anti-partisan operations in western Bosnia and in the operation to kill Tito. The division took part in the battles at Dvar spearheaded by the "Vilam" battle group of the 384th SR, trying, without success, to break the partisan cordon around the 500th SS Parachute Battalion. After the failure of the operation and Tito's escape, the 373rd MP deployed to the Una River Valley in Bosnia. In the end, only two battalions remained there. Another four developed north and south. As a result of the over-extension of the division, its isolated parts were constantly attacked by the partisans.
Defeats
On August 1, 1944, the 2/384th Battalion, under German Major Schreiber, which was guarding the town of Petrovac, repulsed attacks by two partisan brigades. On September 6, however, the city was attacked by the entire 6th Partisan Division. The 2/384th Battalion had been reinforced with units of national guards and civil guards of reduced militancy. These units could not withstand the onslaught of the partisans and, fatally, Schreiber's battalion surrendered the next day and the city was captured.
The partisans then attacked Ljubija which was guarded by the 1/383 Battalion, along with two Ustasi battalions of national guards and militia. The regular Croatian battalion was commanded by German Captain Arendt. The captain realized that he could not face the partisans and decided to retreat with the entire garrison numbering around 3,000 men. Not without reason, the German officer had no confidence in the Ustasi who were mainly capable of massacring women and children from the safe.
But the retreat did not go smoothly. The partisans caught up with the retreaters and began to harass them and carry out continuous attacks against the German-Croatian phalanx. Captain Arendt had a mental breakdown and handed over command to Captain Rettich. Nevertheless, the crash was not avoided. In the end only the 1/383 Battalion managed to execute the retreating maneuver without being disbanded, although it suffered significant losses. The division had generally suffered heavy losses and so it was decided to reinforce it with the 2nd National Guard Brigade. This unit was renamed the 385th Sgr and was the third regiment of the 373rd MP.
In the fall of 1944, Tito's forces deployed two SS against the Croats in the Una river valley. On November 7, the 4th Partisan SS launched an attack against the city of Kazin. A reinforced company of the division was also located there. Naturally the defenders were swept by their numerically superior opponents. Few men survived. From the reinforced company, only two men escaped death.
At the same time at Knin the 3/383rd Battalion was also wiped out, its men literally down to one. Shortly afterwards, on 5 December, the 2/383rd Battalion and a company of the 2/384th were encircled at Grasak. The besieged fought bravely as long as they had ammunition. When these were finished they were forced to surrender. Few men escaped and took refuge in Bihac.
Fatal ending
Under these conditions morale had completely collapsed and the number of deserters was increasing daily. In one case entire companies deserted and joined the partisans. By January 1945 the remnants of the division had gathered at Bihac. Incorporated into the XV Mountain SS, the division continued to fight until the end of the war. When the "Yugoslav People's Liberation Army" launched its major offensive in the spring of 1945, what was left of the division was surrounded in Bihac.
Yet fighting, literally for their lives, her men, along with the 10th Ustasi Division, repulsed all attacks until the German 104th Fighter Division broke the cordon and saved the Croats from certain annihilation. The division was then ordered to stop the partisan advance towards Zagreb. In Kosteinica, however, the Croatian soldiers of the division, approximately 2-3,000, were disarmed and expelled by the Germans. The division finally surrendered on 10 May. Its last commander, Major General Hans Gravenstein was convicted as a war criminal and hanged in 1947.