Baština (Jan 2019)
Battle for Sjenica on the 22nd of December 1941
Abstract
After the serious defeat in Užice by the occupiers and crossing into the area of Stari Ras, the Partisan forces tried to establish control over Sjenica. Although there had been many reasons for sooner attack on the city, the action was delayed, so it was politically and militarily badly prepared. The key reason for this was the uncertainty of the members of the CPY regarding the attitude towards the Muslims. The Communists did not want a conflict with them, even when it was obvious that there was no alternative to the armed struggle for the latter. The decisiveness of Muslims, above all Hasan Zvizdić and his associates, brought them a triumph in the battle. The Partisans, on the other hand, lost a large number of fighters and a lot of weapons and ammunition, but also fell in an even deeper moral crisis after a third successive defeat in less than a month (Užice, Pljevlja, Sjenica). This will be reflected in the situation throughout Polimlje, where a stormy several months in the new 1942th year were anticipated. The battle of Sjenica also remained done of the rare moments during the occupation of Serbia, in which military and political co-operation were established between the Muslims and Christians of the Stara Raška.
