title: Soil fertility

text: Soil fertility is a complex process that involves the constant cycling of nutrients between organic and inorganic forms. As plant material and animal wastes are decomposed by micro-organisms, they release inorganic nutrients to the soil solution, a process referred to as mineralization. Those nutrients may then undergo further transformations which may be aided or enabled by soil micro-organisms. Like plants, many micro-organisms require or preferentially use inorganic forms of nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium and will compete with plants for these nutrients, tying up the nutrients in microbial biomass, a process often called immobilization. The balance between immobilization and mineralization processes depends on the balance and availability of major nutrients and organic carbon to soil microorganisms. Natural processes such as lightning strikes may fix atmospheric nitrogen by converting it to (NO). Denitrification may occur under anaerobic conditions (flooding) in the presence of denitrifying bacteria. Nutrient cations, including potassium and many micronutrients, are held in relatively strong bonds with the negatively charged portions of the soil in a process known as cation exchange.


title: Soil fertility

text: In 2008 the cost of phosphorus as fertilizer more than doubled, while the price of rock phosphate as base commodity rose eight-fold. Recently the term peak phosphorus has been coined, due to the limited occurrence of rock phosphate in the world.


title: Soil fertility

text: A wide variety of materials have been described as soil conditioners due to their ability to improve soil quality, including biochar, offering multiple soil health benefits.


title: Soil fertility

text: Photosynthesis is the process whereby plants use light energy to drive chemical reactions which convert CO into sugars. As such, all plants require access to both light and carbon dioxide to produce energy, grow and reproduce.


title: Soil fertility

text: While typically limited by nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, low levels of carbon dioxide can also act as a limiting factor on plant growth. Peer-reviewed and published scientific studies have shown that increasing CO is highly effective at promoting plant growth up to levels over 300 ppm. Further increases in co can, to a very small degree, continue to increase net photosynthetic output.


title: Soil fertility

text: Soil depletion occurs when the components which contribute to fertility are removed and not replaced, and the conditions which support soil's fertility are not maintained. This leads to poor crop yields. In agriculture, depletion can be due to excessively intense cultivation and inadequate soil management.


title: Soil fertility

text: Soil fertility can be severely challenged when land-use changes rapidly. For example, in Colonial New England, colonists made a number of decisions that depleted the soils, including: allowing herd animals to wander freely, not replenishing soils with manure, and a sequence of events that led to erosion. William Cronon wrote that "...the long-term effect was to put those soils in jeopardy. The removal of the forest, the increase in destructive floods, the soil compaction and close-cropping wrought by grazing animals, ploughing--all served to increase erosion."


title: Soil fertility

text: One of the most widespread occurrences of soil depletion is in tropical zones where nutrient content of soils is low. The combined effects of growing population densities, large-scale industrial logging, slash-and-burn agriculture and ranching, and other factors, have in some places depleted soils through rapid and almost total nutrient removal.


title: Soil fertility

text: The depletion of soil has affected the state of plant life and crops in agriculture in many countries. In the Middle East for example, many countries find it difficult to grow produce because of droughts, lack of soil, and lack of irrigation. The Middle East has three countries that indicate a decline in crop production, the highest rates of productivity decline are found in hilly and dryland areas. Many countries in Africa also undergo a depletion of fertile soil. In regions of dry climate like Sudan and the countries that make up the Sahara Desert, droughts and soil degradation is common. Cash crops such as teas, maize, and beans require a variety of nutrients in order to grow healthy. Soil fertility has declined in the farming regions of Africa and the use of artificial and natural fertilizers has been used to regain the nutrients of ground soil.


title: Soil fertility

text: Topsoil depletion occurs when the nutrient-rich organic topsoil, which takes hundreds to thousands of years to build up under natural conditions, is eroded or depleted of its original organic material. Historically, many past civilizations' collapses can be attributed to the depletion of the topsoil. Since the beginning of agricultural production in the Great Plains of North America in the 1880s, about one-half of its topsoil has disappeared.


title: Soil fertility

text: Depletion may occur through a variety of other effects, including overtillage (which damages soil structure), underuse of nutrient inputs which leads to mining of the soil nutrient bank, and salinization of soil.


title: Soil fertility

text: The quality of irrigation water is very important to maintain soil fertility and tilth, and for using more soil depth by the plants. When soil is irrigated with high alkaline water, unwanted sodium salts build up in the soil which would make soil draining capacity very poor. So plant roots can not penetrate deep into the soil for optimum growth in Alkali soils. When soil is irrigated with low pH / acidic water, the useful salts ( Ca, Mg, K, P, S, etc.) are removed by draining water from the acidic soil and in addition unwanted aluminium and manganese salts to the plants are dissolved from the soil impeding plant growth. When soil is irrigated with high salinity water or sufficient water is not draining out from the irrigated soil, the soil would convert into saline soil or lose its fertility. Saline water enhance the turgor pressure or osmotic pressure requirement which impedes the off take of water and nutrients by the plant roots.


title: Soil fertility

text: Top soil loss takes place in alkali soils due to erosion by rain water surface flows or drainage as they form colloids (fine mud) in contact with water. Plants absorb water-soluble inorganic salts only from the soil for their growth. Soil as such does not lose fertility just by growing crops but it lose its fertility due to accumulation of unwanted and depletion of wanted inorganic salts from the soil by improper irrigation and acid rain water (quantity and quality of water). The fertility of many soils which are not suitable for plant growth can be enhanced many times gradually by providing adequate irrigation water of suitable quality and good drainage from the soil.


title: Winchester Model 1887/1901

text: The Winchester Model 1887 (Dellosso Shotgun) and Winchester Model 1901 are lever-action shotguns originally designed by famed American gun designer John Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


title: Winchester Model 1887/1901

text: The Model 1887 was one of the first successful repeating shotguns. Its lever-action design was chosen at the behest of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, best known at the time as manufacturers of lever-action rifles such as the Winchester Model 1873. Designer John Browning suggested that a pump-action would be much more appropriate for a repeating shotgun, but Winchester management's position was that, at the time, the company was known as a "lever-action firearm company", and felt that their new shotgun must also be a lever-action for reasons of brand recognition. Browning responded by designing a breech-loading, rolling block lever-action. To Winchester's credit, however, they later introduced a Browning designed pump-action shotgun known as the Model 1893 (an early production version of the model 1897), after the introduction of smokeless powder.


title: Winchester Model 1887/1901

text: Shotgun shells at the time used black powder as a propellant, and so the Model 1887 shotgun was designed and chambered for less powerful black powder shotshells. Both 10 and 12-gauge models were offered in the Model 1887; 12-gauge variants used a 2 5/8" shell, 10-gauge variants fired a 2 7/8" shell.


title: Winchester Model 1887/1901

text: The standard barrel length was 30" with 32" available as a special order. In 1888 a 20" barrelled version could be ordered and Winchester offered the shotguns with Damascus barrels.


title: Winchester Model 1887/1901

text: By 1900 it was soon realized that the action on the M1887 was not strong enough to handle early smokeless powder shotshells, and so a redesign resulted in the stronger Winchester Model 1901, 10-gauge only, to handle the advent of the more powerful smokeless powder. A 12-gauge chambering was not offered, as Winchester did not want the Model 1901 to compete with their successful 12-gauge Model 1897 pump-action shotgun. Other distinguishing characteristics of the Model 1901 are:


title: Winchester Model 1887/1901

text: Although a technically sound gun design, the market for lever-action shotguns waned considerably, as John Browning had predicted, after the introduction of the Winchester 1897 and other contemporary pump-action shotguns. Model 1887 production totaled 64,855 units between 1887 and 1901. Between 1901 and 1920, an additional 13,500 Model 1901 shotguns were manufactured before the Model 1887/1901 product line was discontinued.


title: Winchester Model 1887/1901

text: Over the years, a number of gun companies tried to produce Model 1887/1901 shotguns that could chamber modern, smokeless shotgun shells—largely for the cowboy action shooting discipline—but with little commercial success. Recently however, three firearm companies have successfully produced viable models for the commercial firearms market:


title: Winchester Model 1887/1901

text: In some countries, gun laws restrict ownership of pump shotguns but are more permissive of ownership of lever-action shotguns.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: Markese Money Rolle (born April 1, 1991), known professionally as SpaceGhostPurrp, is an American rapper and record producer from Miami, Florida. He was the founder of the American hip hop group Raider Klan and Black Money Boys.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: Famous Raider Klan members and associates include Denzel Curry, Robb Banks, Pouya, Chris Travis, Yung Simmie and Xavier Wulf. SGP gathered a following in the underground hip hop scene through mixtapes, producing, and his work with other underground artists. He has produced tracks for Juicy J, Lil Uzi Vert, Wiz Khalifa, Robb Banks, ASAP Mob & Lil Tracy, among others. On June 12, 2012, his debut studio album "" was released. Since 2012, SpaceGhostPurrp has released over 60 mixtapes and EP's. He has since became well known for his essentric and controversial public persona.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: SpaceGhostPurrp was born in the neighborhood of Carol City in Miami, Florida. He began rapping at age 5 and producing at age 13, attended Silver Trail Middle School in Pembroke Pines and Everglades High School in Miramar. He is of Bahamian and Cuban descent.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: In high school, SpaceGhostPurrp began skateboarding frequently but later decided that he wanted to pursue a career in music. He worked to graduate from high school early. SpaceGhostPurrp began uploading music once he created his YouTube channel "Spaceeghostpurrpmj23" on May 23, 2010. SpaceGhostPurrp's early releases contained series of visuals that included Purrped & Chopped songs containing visuals with 70/80s soul-train aesthetics, Purrped & chopped Toro y Moi songs & even a Kreayshawn music video.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: In August, 2010 SpaceGhostPurrp began working on NASA: The Mixtape. SpaceGhostPurrp formed hip-hop collective Raider Klan in 2008 along with Dough Dough Da Don, Kadafi, Muney Junior, and Jitt. Jitt died in 2010. SpaceGhostPurrp recruited various rap artists to Raider Klan, including Denzel Curry, Yung Simmie, Nell, Chris Travis, Xavier Wulf, Rell, Amber London, and Key Nyata, among many others.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: At the tail end of 2010 and early 2011, SpaceGhostPurrp began collaborating with Lil Ugly Mane. Which led to Ugly Mane doing the artwork for his album Blackland Radio 66.6, Around that same time, SpaceGhostPurrp began working on the mixtape "Blackland Radio 66.6" mixtape.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: After "Blackland Radio 66.6" was released on May 1, 2011, a few weeks later SpaceGhostPurrp announced he was working on five mixtapes that were all to be released in 2011 called MIND OF PURRP, SUMMA PHONK VOL.ONE, TRILLUMINATTI, BLVCK MVRDOC, and a collaboration project with Mishka NYC called SON OF EYE. SpaceGhostPurrp dropped singles for all these mixtapes, however, he never released these mixtapes due to his change of direction once he landed & stayed in New York to begin collaborating with the ASAP Mob. In the summer of 2011, SpaceGhostPurrp was also working with fellow rappers Speak! and Juicy J.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: SpaceGhostPurrp went on to NY in August 2011 to live and work with members from the ASAP Mob. In late September 2011, SpaceGhostPurrp announced he was dismissing Trilluminatti and now was working on a new mixtape to be called GOD OF BLVCK. This mixtape was released in February 2012.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: In early 2012 SpaceGhostPurrp signed a one-off record deal with British indie label 4AD and began remixing tracks from his earlier mix tapes for his debut album. Most of his early songs feature samples from sources such as train whistles, female porn stars, and drops from the soundtrack of the "Mortal Kombat" video game, as well as other video game series. In addition to his own songs, he also produces beats for other artists (mostly those in the Raider Klan), but has made beats for other people as well. He produced one track titled "T.A.P." for Taylor Allderdice, a mixtape by Wiz Khalifa as well as "Keep it G" & "Pretty Flacko" for ASAP Rocky.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: His debut album, titled "", was released on June 12, 2012, and consists of mostly remixed tracks from previous mixtapes. He occasionally worked with rapper Juicy J and has produced a number of tracks from Juicy J's "Blue Dream & Lean". He also guest stars on Juicy J's "Deez Bitches Rollin'" with rapper fellow Speakz. SpaceGhostPurrp also featured on Domo Genesis's & The Alchemist's debut collaboration album "No Idols" on the track "Daily News" (also featuring Earl Sweatshirt & Action Bronson), as well as Freddie Gibbs' "Kush Cloud" along with Krayzie Bone.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: SpaceGhostPurrp revealed in an interview that there is an upcoming project between him and rap group Odd Future, which has supported him by playing his music at shows since he released the mixtape "BLACKLAND RADIO 66.6".


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: On July 16, 2012, SpaceGhostPurrp began his first tour with hardcore punk band Trash Talk. The mini tour lasted from July 16 to 23rd - performing four shows in California, one in Oregon, and two in Washington. His song "The Black God" was named #46 on Pitchfork's 50 best songs of 2012 list. He also performed in Miami during Ultra Music Festival on March 17, 2013, alongside fellow Raider Klan members Yung Simmie and Klan Rico.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: On January 19, 2014, SpaceGhostPurrp released a compilation titled "58 Blunts of Purrp", consisting of his own songs, hard to find tracks, and some he either produced or had a feature on. On February 28, 2014, SpaceGhostPurrp released an 18-track mixtape called "B.M.W. 2: IntoXXXicated", which included no features and returned to the lo-fi sound of his earlier mixtapes. Subsequently, he released a slightly different version of "B.M.W. 2: IntoXXXicated" that had tempos of certain songs changed, and while the overall sound quality was slightly improved it still retained much of the lo-fi qualities as before. A few months later it was remastered, had some tracks removed, a new track added, and released as an album on iTunes under the name "IntoXXXicated".


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: Early in 2015, SpaceGhostPurrp released two new projects, the first of which was titled "Dark Angel" and released on January 13. The second project, a 5-track EP called "Money Mendoza" was released on January 25. Later that year, SpaceGhostPurrp left Miami, and moved to Atlanta, where he made music with artists such as Father and OG Maco. In April 2015, SpaceGhostPurrp released two compilations.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: One was titled "VENENO", it being an extended version of the EP released earlier that year, and the other was titled "PYRO Era", consisting mostly of loose tracks released in 2014 and 2015. On the 9th of May, a new EP called "Richest Revenge" under the moniker, Money Mendoza, was released through his Instagram account. In May 2015, Raider Klan released "Raider Klan Records: The Mixtape" which featured some production and vocals from SpaceGhostPurrp.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: On June 24, 2015, Dej Loaf released a song featuring Young Thug titled "Shawty", co-produced by Young Roc which featured a sample of the song "RAIDER PRAYER"'s instrumental off of SpaceGhostPurrp's album "Mysterious Phonk: The Chronicles of SPACEGHOSTPURRP". SpaceGhostPurrp was uncredited by the producer resulting in a minor conflict via Twitter which was soon resolved peacefully.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: On May 9, 2016, SpaceGhostPurrp released a mixtape entitled "Blackland Radio 66.6 Pt. 2." exclusively on Datpiff. He had stated that he had plans to release subsequent volumes under Part 2, but eventually opted to skip straight to the release of Blackland Radio 3 on March 4, 2018. Initially overlooked, Blackland Radio 66.6 Pt. 2. is now widely considered one of SpaceGhostPurrp's best projects.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: As 2016 concluded, "Tiny Mix Tapes" recognized SpaceGhostPurrp's Black Money Boys Death Row (BMB) collective as one of its favorite labels for 2016, noting that:


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: In early 2017, SpaceGhostPurrp signed a deal with label Yeah We On Entertainment, LLC, with the label distributing previously released works by SpaceGhostPurrp under its name.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: SpaceGhostPurrp has listed many artists as an influence, which include Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, Gucci Mane, Poison Clan, Paris, Three 6 Mafia, UGK, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Big L, Eazy-E, 2Pac, and DJ Screw.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: He has collaborated with many of his influences, namely Juicy J on his mixtape "Blue Dream & Lean" released in 2012. SpaceGhostPurrp often attributes his dark "phonk" sound to the dangerous and violent environment he grew up around in Carol City which he refers to as "Blackland", linking it with his references to hell, and the satanic symbolism in his critically acclaimed mixtape Blackland Radio 66.6.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: He as well as other Raider Klan members have made references to the shooting of Trayvon Martin, and he has made a tribute song titled "No Evidence" which was released on his album "Mysterious Phonk: The Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurrp". SpaceGhostPurrp has also stated he is a big fan of extreme metal bands such as Meshuggah.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: His name is derived from that of the central character of Hanna-Barbera's 1966 TV series "Space Ghost" and its 1994 parody talk show spinoff "Space Ghost Coast to Coast".


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: In a YouTube stream on August 25, 2019, that was later re-uploaded, SpaceGhostPurrp addressed that he is on the autism spectrum.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: In late 2011, ASAP Yams, an A&R artist and co-founder of the then-independent ASAP Mob artist collective, discovered SpaceGhostPurrp and his music through Tumblr. Yams told SpaceGhostPurrp he enjoyed his "Blackland Radio 66.6" mixtape and invited him to join up with ASAP Mob in New York City. SpaceGhostPurrp began producing music for ASAP Rocky who was a big fan of SpaceGhostPurrp's music, including "Keep it G" from Rocky's breakout mixtape, "Live. Love. A$AP".


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: SpaceGhostPurrp and ASAP Mob remained friends until SpaceGhostPurrp had an argument with ASAP Twelvyy on Twitter in December 2011. This led to Rocky dissing Raider Klan on a song called "Yao Ming (Remix)". That release from Rocky furthered the Twitter fight between SpaceGhostPurrp and ASAP Mob, but the fight was short lived when other ASAP Mob members spoke for SpaceGhostPurrp's sake.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: About a week afterward, Rocky dropped "Pretty Flacko" as a shout-out to the Trillwave genre and SpaceGhostPurrp. SpaceGhostPurrp and ASAP Mob members were on good terms again up until April 2012 when ASAP Mob played an unreleased SpaceGhostPurrp track at Coachella, leading to another short-lived argument ending on bad terms, this time between SpaceGhostPurrp and ASAP Yams. Through the rest of 2012 and early 2013, ASAP Mob used some of SpaceGhostPurrp's music production without giving him credit to make the tracks "I Need Money" (which later became "Max Julien") and "Suddenly" by ASAP Rocky.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: The feud was quiet and they seemed to be on good terms until former Raider Klan member Stoops was assaulted by ASAP Twelvyy in June 2012. This caused the feud between SpaceGhostPurrp and Twelvyy to reach its peak and eventually extend to the entirety of Raider Klan and ASAP Mob. The feud quickly turned physical in November 2012 when affiliates of Raider Klan alongside SpaceGhostPurrp attacked members of ASAP Mob outside Miami. This led to ASAP Nast calling the police and SpaceGhostPurrp being arrested.


title: SpaceGhostPurrp

text: In March 2013, SpaceGhostPurrp and affiliates once again attacked ASAP Mob in their home city of New York. The feud quickly began to die down in terms of aggression and took to social media. According to SpaceGhostPurrp, the feud with ASAP Mob was resolved before the death of ASAP Yams in 2015, but ASAP Bari prevented SpaceGhostPurrp and ASAP from reuniting, thus perpetuating the conflict.


title: Negative (photography)

text: In photography, a negative is an image, usually on a strip or sheet of transparent plastic film, in which the lightest areas of the photographed subject appear darkest and the darkest areas appear lightest. This reversed order occurs because the extremely light-sensitive chemicals a camera film must use to capture an image quickly enough for ordinary picture-taking are darkened, rather than bleached, by exposure to light and subsequent photographic processing.


title: Negative (photography)

text: In the case of color negatives, the colors are also reversed into their respective complementary colors. Typical color negatives have an overall dull orange tint due to an automatic color-masking feature that ultimately results in improved color reproduction.


title: Negative (photography)

text: Negatives are normally used to make positive prints on photographic paper by projecting the negative onto the paper with a photographic enlarger or making a contact print. The paper is also darkened in proportion to its exposure to light, so a second reversal results which restores light and dark to their normal order.


title: Negative (photography)

text: Negatives were once commonly made on a thin sheet of glass rather than a plastic film, and some of the earliest negatives were made on paper.


title: Negative (photography)

text: It is incorrect to call an image a negative solely because it is on a transparent material. Transparent prints can be made by printing a negative onto special positive film, as is done to make traditional motion picture film prints for use in theaters. Some films used in cameras are designed to be developed by reversal processing, which produces the final positive, instead of a negative, on the original film. Positives on film or glass are known as transparencies or diapositives, and if mounted in small frames designed for use in a slide projector or magnifying viewer they are commonly called slides.


title: Negative (photography)

text: The first creation of a negative photograph was done by the French scientist Nicephore Niepce in 1826. The photograph, titled View from the Window at Le Gras is an image of parts of the buildings of Niepce's estate and the surrounding landscape. The development of photographic film and monochrome photography developed rapidly in the following decades.


title: Negative (photography)

text: A positive image is a normal image. A negative image is a total inversion, in which light areas appear dark and vice versa. A negative color image is additionally color-reversed, with red areas appearing cyan, greens appearing magenta, and blues appearing yellow, and vice versa.


title: Negative (photography)

text: Film negatives usually have less contrast, but a wider dynamic range, than the final printed positive images. The contrast typically increases when they are printed onto photographic paper. When negative film images are brought into the digital realm, their contrast may be adjusted at the time of scanning or, more usually, during subsequent post-processing.


title: Negative (photography)

text: Film for cameras that use the 35 mm still format is sold as a long strip of emulsion-coated and perforated plastic spooled in a light-tight cassette. Before each exposure, a mechanism inside the camera is used to pull an unexposed area of the strip out of the cassette and into position behind the camera lens. When all exposures have been made the strip is rewound into the cassette. After the film is chemically developed, the strip shows a series of small negative images. It is usually then cut into sections for easier handling. Medium format cameras use 120 film, which yields a strip of negatives 60 mm wide, and large format cameras capture each image on a single sheet of film which may be as large as 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 inches) or even larger. Each of these photographed images may be referred to as a negative and an entire strip or set of images may be collectively referred to as "the negatives". They are the master images, from which all positive prints will derive, so they are handled and stored with special care.


title: Negative (photography)

text: Many photographic processes create negative images: the chemicals involved react when exposed to light, so that during development they produce deposits of microscopic dark silver particles or colored dyes in proportion to the amount of exposure. However, when a negative image is created from a negative image (just like multiplying two negative numbers in mathematics) a positive image results. This makes most chemical-based photography a two-step process, which uses negative film and ordinary processing. Special films and development processes have been devised so that positive images can be created directly on the film; these are called positive, or slide, or (perhaps confusingly) reversal films and reversal processing.


title: Negative (photography)

text: Despite the market's evolution away from film, there is still a desire and market for products which allow fine art photographers to produce negatives from digital images for their use in alternative processes such as cyanotypes, gum bichromate, platinum prints, and many others.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: Naim Süleymanoğlu (; 23 January 1967 – 18 November 2017) was a Bulgarian-born Turkish Olympic weightlifter. He was a seven-time World Weightlifting champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist who set 46 world records. At 147 cm in height, Süleymanoğlu's short stature and great strength led to him being nicknamed "Pocket Hercules". He is widely considered as one of the greatest Olympic weightlifters of all time. He is the best pound-for-pound weightlifter in the history of weightlifting.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: At the 1988 Summer Olympics, Süleymanoğlu set multiple world records in the featherweight division in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total. Following the 1988 Summer Olympics, he made the cover of "Time" magazine. Süleymanoğlu went on to win Olympic gold in 1992 and 1996. He was awarded the Olympic Order in 2001. In 2000 and 2004, he was elected as a member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: Süleymanoğlu was born in Ptichar, Kardzhali Province, Bulgaria to an ethnic Turkish family. His father was a miner who stood only five feet tall, while his mother was four-foot-seven. He set a world weightlifting record during his teens and would have been an overwhelming favorite to win gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics had Bulgaria not joined in a boycott by the Eastern Bloc.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: In the 1980s, Bulgaria's government implemented a program called the Revival Process which required ethnic minorities to adopt Slavic names and barred their languages. As a result, Süleymanoğlu was forced to change his name to Naum Shalamanov (Bulgarian: Наум Шаламанов) in 1985. He decided to leave Bulgaria after these experiences and he conducted encrypted correspondence with Turkish Squad during the period.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: While on a trip to the World Cup Final in Melbourne in 1986, Süleymanoğlu escaped his handlers, and after several days in hiding, he defected at the Turkish Embassy in Canberra. When Embassy officials reported the situation to Turgut Özal, The Prime Minister ordered him to be brought at once. He landed in London first, where he was transferred into a private jet to fly into Istanbul and Ankara eventually. After making his way to Istanbul, he changed his name back to Süleymanoğlu.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: In 2012, Süleymanoğlu said, "Against all the odds, I've never been nostalgic. After being treated with such attitude, you wouldn't regret it. The Bulgarians changed the names of 2 million people by force. It was a very difficult period. People who witnessed the events would know. I wouldn't change any of the decisions I took that day in my life. Even if I could set back the clock, I would still escape Bulgaria. Because as the Turkish people, we were too hard-pressed in Bulgaria."


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: In order for Süleymanoğlu to compete at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the Bulgarian government had to agree to release his eligibility to Turkey. The Turks paid Bulgaria $1.25 million for his release.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: At the Olympics, Süleymanoğlu competed in the featherweight division. His main competition was his old teammate from the Bulgarian team, Stefan Topurov. He came out for the snatch portion of the competition after all other athletes had finished and made three consecutive lifts, setting world records in his last two attempts. In the clean and jerk portion, Topurov completed a 175.0 kg clean and jerk after Süleymanoğlu. With his next two lifts, Süleymanoğlu set two more world records and won his first Olympic gold. His last lift was a 190.0 kg clean and jerk that was 3.15 times his body weight, which is the highest ratio clean and jerk to body weight of all time. Using the Sinclair coefficient, his performance at the 1988 Seoul Olympics was the most dominating weightlifting performance of all time. His total was high enough to win the weight class above his. After the 1988 Summer Olympics, Süleymanoğlu appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine. The 4'10" Süleymanoğlu's "diminutive size and stunning strength" led to him being nicknamed "Pocket Hercules".


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: Süleymanoğlu retired from weightlifting at the age of 22 after winning the world championship in 1989. However, he returned to the sport in 1991 and won a second Olympic gold medal in Barcelona in 1992. He retired after winning a third consecutive Olympic gold medal in Atlanta at the 1996 Olympic Games. That competition was noted for the rivalry between Süleymanoğlu and Greece's Valerios Leonidis, with the arena divided into partisan Turkish and Greek crowds. At the end of the competition, they were the last competitors remaining as they traded three straight world-record lifts. Süleymanoğlu managed to raise 187.5 kg and then Leonidis failed in his attempt to lift 190 kg, which guaranteed him (Leonidis) the silver medal. Announcer Lynn Jones proclaimed, "You have just witnessed the greatest weightlifting competition in history," according to Ken Jones of "The Independent".


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: Süleymanoğlu made another comeback in a late attempt to earn a fourth gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, which would have been an Olympic record. However, he failed three attempts at 145 kg and was eliminated from the competition.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: Süleymanoğlu is the first and only weightlifter to have snatched 2.5 times his body weight and also is the second of only seven lifters to date to clean and jerk three times his body weight. He is the only weightlifter to date to clean and jerk 10 kilos more than triple his bodyweight.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: Over the course of his career, Süleymanoğlu won seven World Weightlifting champion and three Olympic gold medals, and set a total of 46 world records. He was awarded the Olympic Order in 2001. In 2000 and 2004, he was elected a member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame. Süleymanoğlu is widely considered to have been the best pound-for-pound Olympic weightlifter of all time, and one of the greatest Olympic weightlifters ever. He is regarded as a national hero in Turkey.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: At the 1999 general elections, Süleymanoğlu stood as an independent candidate to represent Bursa at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. In 2002, he was the candidate of the Nationalist Movement Party for the mayor of Kıraç municipality in Büyükçekmece district of Istanbul Province; he represented the same party in general elections in 2006. Süleymanoğlu was unsuccessful in each of these bids for public office.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: Süleymanoğlu suffered from cirrhosis of the liver. In 2009, he was hospitalized for nearly three months.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: On 25 September 2017, Süleymanoğlu was admitted to a hospital due to liver failure. On 6 October, a liver transplantation was made when a liver donor was found. On 11 November, he had surgery due to a hemorrhage in the brain and a subsequent edema. He died on 18 November 2017 and was interred at the Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery in Istanbul.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: After Süleymanoğlu's death, a movie about his life and career, "Cep Herkülü: Naim Süleymanoğlu" was released in Turkey on November 22, 2019.


title: Naim Süleymanoğlu

text: Süleymanoğlu's grave was opened on July 4, 2018 for the purpose of extracting a DNA sample. Following his death, a Japanese woman had claimed that her daughter, Sekai Mori, had been fathered by him, and filed a paternity case at a Turkish court. A DNA test confirmed the paternity claim. Süleymanoğlu also had three daughters by a Turkish woman.


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: Seasons in the Abyss is the fifth studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on October 9, 1990, through Def American Records. Recording sessions began in March 1990 at Hit City West and Hollywood Sound, and ended in June 1990 at The Record Plant in Los Angeles, California. It was the band's last album to feature their full original lineup with drummer Dave Lombardo until his return on the band's 2006 album "Christ Illusion". "Seasons in the Abyss" musical style has been compared by critics to the band's previous two albums, "South of Heaven" (1988) and "Reign in Blood" (1986).


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: Upon its release, "Seasons in the Abyss" received a generally positive reception and peaked at number 40 on the US "Billboard" 200. It was later certified gold in the United States and Canada. By 2017, it had sold over 813,000 copies in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan inception.


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: The album was recorded from March to June 1990 in two separate studios: Hit City West, Hollywood Sound, and Record Plant in Los Angeles, California. "Seasons in the Abyss" was produced by Rick Rubin, who had also produced their previous two albums "Reign in Blood" and "South of Heaven".


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: Track eight, "Temptation", featured an overdub of lead vocalist Tom Araya's singing; the vocal arrangement on the track was unintentional. Araya sang the song twice: once the way he felt it sounded best; the second time at the insistence of Kerry King the way he thought it should be sung. By accident both tracks were played back simultaneously; King liked the way it sounded together and so it was left that way for the final version.


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: According to Nathan Brackett, author of "The Rolling Stone Album Guide", "Seasons in the Abyss" continued the band's sound as displayed in their first four albums. The songs on the album have complex guitar riffs that proceed at both "blinding speed" tempos and mid-tempo hefts. Brackett said that the songs' themes shy away from the "fantasy and into the hells here on Earth" and instead was "music to conquer nations by".


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: Deathmetal.org characterizes "Seasons in the Abyss" as "an onslaught of sonic distortion" with "abrupt two-string chord barrage and a rippling roar of unleashed tremolo strumming", which accentuates melody in a "hummingbird wingbeat technique" similar to Discharge's "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing". The album also contains longer, whole-interval phrases and chromatic extensions compared to previous Slayer records.


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: The album combines "grim" vocals and "frenetic" guitars. Blabbermouth.net said that the album is "considered to be among the genre's all-time classics". "War Ensemble", "Dead Skin Mask", and "Seasons in the Abyss" were described as setting the album's standard and the songs, according to the site, produced a sound that could not be matched by anyone else.


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: AllMusic said that it combines the mid-tempo grooves of "South of Heaven" with "manic bursts of aggression" à la "Reign in Blood". AllMusic also said that when writing the album's lyrics, Slayer "rarely turns to demonic visions of the afterlife anymore, preferring instead to find tangible horror in real life—war, murder, [and] human weakness. There's even full-fledged social criticism, which should convince any doubters that Slayer aren't trying to promote the subjects they sing about."


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: Slayer released "Seasons in the Abyss" on October 9, 1990, through Def American Records. Later that year it was released again through Warner Music Group. It was re-released in 1994 through American Recordings. Although it was "unwelcome" to music shows and rock–radio outlets, it got substantial airplay on MTV's "Headbangers Ball". "Seasons in the Abyss" features Slayer's first music video, filmed at the Giza Plateau in Giza, Egypt.


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: The album received generally positive reviews by critics. In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Steve Huey said that it "brought back some of the pounding speed of "Reign in Blood" for their third major-label album", and addressed it to be "their most accessible album, displaying the full range of their abilities all in one place, with sharp, clean production". Huey also wrote that the album "paints Reagan-era America as a cesspool of corruption and cruelty, and the music is as devilishly effective as ever".


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: Deathmetal.org describes "Seasons in the Abyss" as a "solid" album and "the last of the Slayer albums to contain any strength of will or spirit", noting it is not as subtle nor as intense as previous Slayer records; the songwriting is thematically more unfocused and disorganized, sometimes giving way to forced aggression.


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: J. D. Considine noted about "War Ensemble": "it's not a pretty song by any means. An aural blitzkrieg whose chorus climaxes with the lines, 'The final swing is not a drill/It's how many people I can kill,' it is filled with brutal images and blaring guitars, all propelled at the breathless pace of thrash metal." Considine would later say that the album's music "so accurately sums up the controlled panic of combat that the Army itself has been using Slayer songs to psych its troops for military maneuvers in the Saudi desert". Mike Stagno from Sputnikmusic said that the album was a well-received return by Slayer. "Entertainment Weekly" reviewer David Browne said that listening to "Seasons in the Abyss" was "like listening to a single speed-metal song—the world's longest". In 2017, it was ranked 31st on "Rolling Stone"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: The album peaked at number 40 on the "Billboard" 200 and number 18 on the UK Albums Chart. "Seasons in the Abyss" was certified gold in both the United States and Canada. The title track and "War Ensemble" earned Slayer its heaviest airplay on MTV to date. In an October 2007 interview, Evile frontman Matt Drake described "Seasons in the Abyss" as "the perfect mix" between the two styles ("speed" and "slow material") showcased on "Reign in Blood" and "South of Heaven" respectively. Children of Bodom bassist Henkka T. Blacksmith hailed "Seasons in the Abyss" as "the best metal album ever". The crossover thrash supergroup S.O.D. released a single named "Seasoning the Obese" in tribute to the album.


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: In 2016, "Loudwire" ranked "Seasons in the Abyss" #2 among Slayer's eleven studio albums. At the 1991 Foundations Forum, the music video for the title track won a Concrete Foundations Award for Best Video, tying with Jane's Addiction's "Been Caught Stealing."


title: Seasons in the Abyss

text: A Christmas-themed version of "Seasons in the Abyss", titled "Seasons Greetings in the Abyss", was released by Sleigher, a homophone of Slayer. The track features festive-themed lyrics, alongside traditionally non-metal instruments such as the tuba. It was performed by Charles Griffiths and Raymond Hearne of Haken, Dan Goldsworthy, who had previously done artworks for bands such as Accept, Jeramie Kling of Venom Inc., Daniel Firth of Cradle of Filth, Rody Walker of Protest the Hero, and Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater. Griffiths commented how the late Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman "loved Christmas, so hopefully he would approve."


title: Mystery Spot

text: The Mystery Spot is a tourist attraction near Santa Cruz, California, opened in 1939 by George Prather. Visitors experience demonstrations that appear to defy gravity, on the short but steep uphill walk and inside a wooden building on the site. The Mystery Spot is a popular tourist attraction, and gained recognition as a roadside "gravity box" or "tilted house". The site is what is known as a gravity hill and was the first of its kind to be built in California.


title: Mystery Spot

text: The Mystery Spot was opened by George Prather in 1939. Prather was an electrician, mechanic, and inventor before he opened the Mystery Spot. He was born near Fresno and moved to Santa Cruz in 1920. He owned a welding shop and repair garage in the area before he opened the Mystery Spot. One of several roadside attractions that opened after World War II for new automobile owners, the Mystery Spot was featured on Art Baker's television show "You Asked for It".


title: Mystery Spot

text: Prather was inspired to open the site by the popularity of the Oregon Vortex, which opened to the public in 1930. According to a newspaper report, Prather bought three acres on the hill in 1940 after he felt slightly dizzy while walking and was interested in his dizziness. The newspaper also reported that during further exploration of his property he found his compass jittering. He built a "crazy house" and opened the site to the public in June 1941. Tour guides lead visitors through the attraction and perform various demonstrations to showcase the site's unusual effects.


title: Mystery Spot

text: Prather died in January 1946; his son Bruce inherited the land and continued running the Mystery Spot with his father's business partner Vaden McCray. The McCray family was photographed for the "Life" magazine spread on the Mystery Spot for their November 15, 1948, issue. McCray died in 2001; Bruce Prather died in 2015. Christopher Smith now owns the property.


title: Mystery Spot

text: The Mystery Spot was nominated in July 2014 to be designated as a California Historical Landmark and was officially declared as California Historical Landmark #1055 in August 2014.


title: Mystery Spot

text: The site is located in Santa Cruz, California among the Santa Cruz mountains, Oak trees, Eucalyptus trees, near Granite Creek, and within the California Redwood forest. The Mystery Spot is home to a man-made dahlia garden along the hiking trail.


title: Mystery Spot

text: The Mystery Spot is a gravity hill, tilt-induced visual illusion. The illusion experienced by visitors results from the oddly tilted environment as well as standing on a tilted floor. Inside the tilted room of the Mystery Spot, misperceptions of the height and orientation of objects occur. Even when people are standing outside on a level ground, the slant of the building in the background causes misperceptions as humans judge the height of people using the slant of the roof rather than the true horizon.


title: Mystery Spot

text: These visual illusions include balls rolling uphill and people leaning farther than normally possible without falling down. Psychologists at Berkeley state that all of the misperceptions stem from the simple fact that the house is slanted at a 20 degree angle. Professor William Prinzmetal states, "When the perceiver's body also is tilted, the distorting impact on vision is greatly magnified—up to two or three times." Another point he makes is that distorted orientation causes other senses to fall back while one's visual senses become heightened. People standing at impossible angles and water flowing uphill are related to the angle at which the house sits.


title: Mystery Spot

text: Other suggestions have been proposed to explain the reason behind The Mystery Spot's odd gravitational rules and illusions. Tour guides suggest that "a meteor which fell in ancient days and left a magic circle" is the cause behind the mystery, and suggest that an electromagnetic field on the hill deters wildlife. These are theories proposed by guides for entertainment, and not scientific reasoning.


title: Mystery Spot

text: The Mystery Spot was the first "gravity-defying" tourist attraction in California and was the most prominent illusion-based tourist attraction in California in the mid-20th century. The Mystery Spot has been featured on BuzzFeed, and in the "Santa Cruz Sentinel" and other newspapers, comic strips, and travel blogs for decades.


title: 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)

text: The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS "Handschar" (1st Croatian) was a mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, an armed branch of the German Nazi Party that served alongside but was never formally part of the Wehrmacht during World War II. At the post-war Nuremberg trials, the Waffen-SS was declared to be a criminal organisation due to its major involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity. From March to December 1944, the division fought a counter-insurgency campaign against communist-led Yugoslav Partisan resistance forces in the Independent State of Croatia, a fascist puppet state of Germany that encompassed almost all of modern-day Croatia, all of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as parts of Serbia.


text: The division was given the title Handschar () after a local fighting knife or sword carried by Ottoman policemen during the centuries that the region was part of the Ottoman Empire. It was the first non-Germanic Waffen-SS division, and its formation marked the expansion of the Waffen-SS into a multi-ethnic military force. Composed mainly of Bosnian Muslims with some Catholic Croat soldiers, and mostly German and Yugoslav "Volksdeutsche" officers and non-commissioned officers, the members of the division took an oath of allegiance to the German "Führer" Adolf Hitler and the Croatian "Poglavnik" Ante Pavelić.


text: The division fought briefly in the Syrmia region north of the Sava river prior to crossing into northeastern Bosnia. After crossing the Sava, it established a designated "security zone" in northeastern Bosnia between the Sava, Bosna, Drina and Spreča rivers. It also fought outside the security zone on several occasions, and earned a reputation for brutality and savagery, not only during combat operations, but also through atrocities committed against Serb and Jewish civilians. In late 1944, parts of the division were transferred briefly to the Zagreb area, after which the non-German members began to desert in large numbers. Over the winter of 1944–45, it was sent to the Baranja region where it fought against the Red Army and Bulgarians throughout southern Hungary, falling back via a series of defensive lines until they were inside the Reich frontier.


text: Most of the remaining Bosnian Muslims left at this point and attempted to return to Bosnia. The rest retreated further west, hoping to surrender to the Western Allies. Most of the remaining members became prisoners of the British Army. Subsequently, 38 officers were extradited to Yugoslavia to face criminal charges, and 10 were executed. Hundreds of former members of the division fought in the 1947–48 civil war in Mandatory Palestine and the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.


text: After the invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers on 6 April 1941, the extreme Croat nationalist and fascist Ante Pavelić, who had been in exile in Benito Mussolini's Italy, was appointed (leader) of an Ustaše-led Croatian state – the Independent State of Croatia (often called the NDH, from the ). The NDH combined almost all of modern-day Croatia, all of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina and parts of modern-day Serbia into an "Italian-German quasi-protectorate". NDH authorities, led by the Ustaše Militia, subsequently implemented genocidal policies against the Serb, Jewish and Roma population living within the borders of the new state.


text: In an effort to secure the loyalty of the Bosnian Muslims, Pavelić ordered that a property in Zagreb be converted into a mosque that he named the "Poglavnik's Mosque". Despite Pavelić's assurances of equality with the Croats, many Muslims quickly became dissatisfied with Croatian rule. A Muslim leader reported that not one Muslim occupied an influential post in the administration. Although this was an overstatement, Muslims were underrepresented in government positions, comprising only two of 20 ministerial positions, none of the six state secretaries was a Muslim, and there were only 13 Muslim "people representatives" in a total of 206. Fierce fighting broke out between the Ustaše, Serb-chauvinist Chetniks and pan-Yugoslav Partisans in NDH territory. Some Ustaše Militia units became convinced that the Muslims were communist sympathisers, and burned their villages and murdered many civilians. The Chetniks accused the Muslims of taking part in the Ustaše violence against Serbs and perpetrated similar atrocities against the Muslim population. The Muslims received little protection from the Croatian Home Guard, the regular army of the NDH, whom the Germans described as "of minimal combat value". Local militias were raised, but these were also of limited value and only one, the Tuzla-based Home Guard Hadžiefendić Legion, led by Muhamed Hadžiefendić, was of any significance.


text: The Bosnian Muslim elite and notables in various cities and towns issued resolutions or memoranda to the NDH and German authorities that publicly denounced the genocide of the Serbs and the NDH laws targeting them. These were issued in: Prijedor (23 September 1941), Sarajevo (12 October), Mostar (21 October), Banja Luka (12 November), Bijeljina (2 December) and Tuzla (11 December). The resolutions condemned the Ustaše in Bosnia and Herzegovina, both for their mistreatment of Muslims and for their attempts to turn Muslims and Serbs against one another. One memorandum declared that since the beginning of the Ustaše regime, the Muslims had dreaded the lawless activities that the Ustaše, Croatian government authorities and various illegal groups had been perpetrating against the Serbs.


text: The Bosnian Muslims' dissatisfaction with the Ustaše rule of the NDH and their need for protection were combined with nostalgia for the period of Habsburg rule in Bosnia and a generally friendly attitude towards Germany among prominent Bosnian Muslims. These factors led to a push towards autonomy for the Bosnian Muslim community which was strongly opposed by Pavelić as counter to the territorial integrity of the NDH. By November 1942, the autonomists were desperate to protect the Muslim people and wrote to Adolf Hitler asking that he authorise the creation of an autonomous "political-administrative authority" in Bosnia within the structure of the NDH, led by a Hitler appointee.


text: On 6 December 1942, Heinrich Himmler and key Waffen-SS recruiting officer Gottlob Berger approached Hitler with the proposal to raise a Bosnian Muslim SS division. Both the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS were concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the NDH that tied down German military personnel needed elsewhere. A German source noted that by 1943 over 100,000 Bosnian Muslims had been killed and 250,000 had become refugees. In addition, a serious food shortage threatened the region. "The Muslims," remarked Artur Phleps, "bear the special status of being persecuted by all others".


text: The romantic notions that Himmler had about the Bosnian Muslims were probably significant in the division's genesis. Nonetheless, a memorandum dated 1 November 1942 also indicates that leading Muslim autonomists had already suggested the creation of a volunteer Waffen-SS unit under German command. Himmler was personally fascinated by the Islamic faith and believed that Islam created fearless soldiers. He found their ferocity preferable to the gentility of Christians and believed their martial qualities should be further developed and put to use. He thought that Muslim men would make perfect SS soldiers as Islam "promises them Heaven if they fight and are killed in action." As for their ethnic background and SS requirements, it appears that Himmler accepted the theories advanced by both Croatian and German nationalists that the Croatian people, including the Muslims, were not ethnic Slavs but pure Aryans of either Gothic or Iranian descent.


text: Himmler was inspired by the noted successes of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Infantry in World War I. He "endeavored to restore what he called 'an old Austrian' tradition by reviving the Bosnian regiments of the former Austro-Hungarian Army in the form of a Bosnian Muslim SS Division". Once raised, the division was to engage and destroy Josip Broz Tito's Partisan forces operating in north-eastern Bosnia, thus restoring local "order". Himmler's primary concern in the region was not the security of the local Muslim population, but the welfare of ethnic German settlers to the north in Syrmia. "Srem (Syrmia) is the breadbasket of Croatia, and hopefully it and our beloved German settlements will be secured. I hope that the area south of Srem will be liberated by ... the Bosnian division ... so that we can at least restore partial order in this ridiculous (Croatian) state."


text: Hitler formally approved the project in mid-February 1943 and Himmler put Phleps, commander of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division "Prinz Eugen", in charge of raising the first SS division to be recruited from a non-Germanic people.


text: On 18 February 1943, Phleps travelled to Zagreb to begin formal negotiations with the NDH government. He met with German foreign ministry envoy Siegfried Kasche and NDH Foreign Minister Dr. Mladen Lorković who represented Pavelić. Pavelić had already agreed to raise the division, but the Waffen-SS and NDH governments had very different ideas of how it would be recruited and controlled. Lorković suggested that it be named the SS Ustaša Division, a Croatian unit raised with SS assistance, with familiar geographically based regimental names such as "Bosna", "Krajina" and "Una". This reflected the concerns shared by Pavelić and Kasche that an exclusively Muslim division might aid a Muslim bid for independence. As a compromise, the word "Croatian" was included in its official title and Catholic Croatian officers were recruited. Himmler and Phleps largely prevailed and created the division as they saw fit, leaving the NDH very unhappy with the outcome, particularly regarding its ethnic composition.


text: Šuljak and von Krempler soon fell out over the aims and purposes of the proposed division. Šuljak, an entirely political appointee, criticised von Krempler's Serbian dialect and his use of traditional Islamic colours and emblems (green flags and crescent moons) during the recruitment drive rather than the Ustaše symbols. When he reached Tuzla in central Bosnia, von Krempler met with the militia leader Hadžiefendić. On 28 March, Hadžiefendić escorted von Krempler to Sarajevo, where he introduced him to the leader of Bosnia's Islamic clergy, Hafiz Muhamed Pandža, the "reis-ul-ulema", as well as other leading Muslim politicians not involved with the Ustaše. The NDH government and Kasche were furious, demanding von Krempler's immediate removal. The SS ignored the demand and von Krempler continued recruiting, including deserters from the NDH armed forces.


text: In March–April 1943, both Himmler and a group of Muslim leaders within the NDH requested that the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, then resident in Berlin, assist in organising and recruiting Muslims into the Waffen-SS and other units. He was escorted by von Krempler, who spoke Turkish. From 30 March to 10 April, the Mufti visited Zagreb, Sarajevo and Banja Luka to meet senior Muslim leaders and agitate in support of the new division. The Mufti also visited in order to bless and inspect the division, during which he used the Nazi salute. The Mufti insisted, "The most important task of this division must be to protect the homeland and families [of the Bosnian volunteers]; the division must not be permitted to leave Bosnia", but the Germans paid no attention.


text: Despite the support of al-Husseini, recruitment of Muslims for the division fell well short of the numbers needed. Himmler then allowed a 10 percent Christian component, but the recruitment of sufficient Muslims continued to prove difficult, resulting in the induction of 2,800 Catholic Croats into the division. To Himmler's dismay, this was greater than the ratio of Catholics to Muslims that he had wanted.


text: Hussein Biščević (Husejin Biščević or Biščević-beg; born 28 July 1884) was the highest ranking (and perhaps the oldest) Bosnian military officer to volunteer. Bišcević had served in the Austro–Hungarian army and in August 1943 was appointed as an to command the divisional anti-aircraft battalion. He was eventually judged unsuitable, and was replaced with a German just before the division went into combat.


text: Sources differ regarding the division's initial composition. Pavlowitch states that sixty percent of its recruits were Muslims and the rest were Yugoslav "Volksdeutsche" who made up the majority of its officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Tomasevich states that it was formed with 23,200 Muslims and 2,800 Croats, with mostly German officers. He further states it was the largest of the Muslim SS divisions with 26,000 men. Lepre indicates that the division's prescribed strength was reduced from 26,000 to 21,000, and Cohen states that the division achieved a maximum strength of 17,000 in April 1944. The division had a Muslim imam for each battalion other than the all-German signal battalion. For about six months the division included about 1,000 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo and the Sandžak region who made up the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment, which later became the 1st Battalion of the 28th Regiment (I/28).


text: By the time the division had completed its training, it was still about one third below its designated strength in both officers and NCOs, and its officer corps remained almost entirely German. Most of the officers and NCOs were drawn from replacement units of other Waffen-SS divisions.


text: The division was initially sent to southern France for formation and training, where it was accommodated mainly in towns and villages in the Aveyron and Lozère départements. For a long period after its official formation, the division was unnamed and was referred to as the "Kroatische SS-Freiwilligen-Division" (Croatian SS-Volunteer Division) or the "Muselmanen-Division" (Muslim Division). The decision by the Waffen-SS to form and train the division outside Bosnia was contrary to advice given by the NDH's German plenipotentiary general, Edmund Glaise von Horstenau. This advice soon proved prophetic.


text: On 9 August 1943, Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig took command of the division from von Oberwurzer. Sauberzweig transferred to the Waffen-SS and was appointed to the rank of . He was a Prussian who had been decorated as an eighteen-year-old company commander during World War I, and had served as a regimental commander during the early stages of Operation Barbarossa before being wounded. A "proven leader of men", he spoke no Serbo-Croatian but quickly gained the lasting respect and affection of the men of the division.


text: On the night of 16/17 September 1943, while the 13th SS Division was training in Villefranche-de-Rouergue in France, a group of pro-Partisan soldiers led by Muslim and Catholic junior officers staged a mutiny within the Pioneer battalion. Led by Ferid Džanić, Božo Jelinek (aka Eduard Matutinović), Nikola Vukelić and Lutfija Dizdarević, they captured most of the German personnel and executed five German officers, including battalion commander Oskar Kirchbaum. Apparently, the mutineers believed that many of the enlisted men would join them and they could reach the Western Allies.


text: The revolt was put down with the assistance of the unit imam, Halim Malkoč, and unit physician Dr. Willfried Schweiger. Malkoč told the Bosnian enlisted men of 1st Company that they were being deceived, released the German NCOs and rallied the company to hunt down the ringleaders. Schweiger did the same with 2nd Company. Dizdarević and Džanić were shot and killed during the fighting, and Vukelić was captured, while Jelinek escaped.


text: Sources vary on the number of mutineers killed after the revolt was suppressed. Tomasevich states that 78 of the worst offenders were executed, but Lepre lists only 14 executions while four more deserters were located and shot in late September. Cohen states that about 150 mutineers were killed immediately, while Noel Malcolm writes that 15 of the mutineers died and a further 141 were killed in a subsequent "clean-up operation." The Germans attributed the infiltration to Tito's suggestion that his Partisan followers enlist for police duty to receive superior weapons, uniforms and training. Enlistees who were deemed "unsuitable for service" or "politically unreliable" were subsequently purged. Eventually, 825 Bosnians were removed from the division and sent to Germany for labour service with . Of these, 265 refused and were sent to the Neuengamme concentration camp where dozens of them died.


text: Speaking of the Bosnian Muslim troops who had served in the Austro–Hungarian army, Himmler later said, "I knew there was a chance that a few traitors might be smuggled into the division, but I haven't the slightest doubt concerning the loyalty of the Bosnians. These troops were loyal to their supreme commander twenty years ago, so why shouldn't they be so today." Himmler awarded both Malkoč and Schweiger the Iron Cross Second Class for thwarting the mutiny. Five soldiers were also decorated.


text: When Villefranche-de-Rouergue was liberated in 1944, the local population decided to pay tribute to the mutineers by naming one of its streets (Bosnian Muslims were seen by the local population as Croats of Islamic faith) and commemorating "the revolt of the Croats" every 17 September. Cohen states that after the war, the Yugoslav government requested it be changed to "the revolt of the Yugoslavs" in order to obscure the mutineers' ethnicity; this request was refused by the French. The Villefranche-de-Rouergue uprising was originally commemorated in the city with a monument designed by Croatian sculptor Vanja Radauš.


text: As a result of the mutiny, the division was moved to the Neuhammer training grounds in the Silesian region of Germany (present-day Poland) to complete its training. During the training phase, the German officers, pleased with its progress, coined the term "Mujo" for the Bosnian Muslims. The members of the division swore an oath of allegiance to both Hitler and Pavelić.


text: On 9 October 1943, SS headquarters officially named the division the , but a short time later a change was made to differentiate it from those that were composed of Germans and it became the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS (1st Croatian) (, ). The division was named , after a local fighting knife or sword carried by Turkish policemen during the centuries that the region was part of the Ottoman Empire. On 15 February 1944, the division completed its training and returned to the NDH by rail.


text: The division was formed for the primary role of securing around of territory (the designated security zone) in north-eastern Bosnia within the NDH. The security zone encompassed the Posavina, Semberija and Majevica regions between the Sava, Bosna, Drina and Spreča rivers. It roughly corresponded with the area of operations of the Partisan 3rd Corps. Himmler saw this task as critical to the safeguarding of important agricultural areas and settlements in the Syrmia region to the north.


text: The division participated in what may have been the largest anti-Partisan sweep of World War II: Operation Maibaum. The 13th SS Division also participated in other divisional and corps-sized anti-Partisan operations between March and May 1944.


text: The division first saw action during Operation Wegweiser (Signpost) from 9 to 12 March 1944. The aim of Operation Wegweiser was to clear a part of the Syrmia region which was occupied by Partisans who threatened the Zagreb-Belgrade railway. The Partisans were operating from forests around Bosut and villages along the Sava. As the division entered the area, the Partisans withdrew to the south-east, avoiding decisive engagement. Sauberzweig claimed the Partisans suffered 573 killed and 82 captured. Hoare writes that the division massacred hundreds of Serb civilians during the operation. According to Vladimir Dedijer and Antun Miletić, 223 civilians were killed in Bosut, 352 in Sremska Rača, and 70 in Jamena, mostly old men, women and children. The operation was a success in clearing the Bosut forests, but the Partisans returned to the area soon after it concluded.


text: On 15 March 1944, Operation Save was launched with the objective of clearing Partisans from the Semberija region. Sauberzweig wrote an open letter to the division: "We have now reached the Bosnian frontier and will (soon) begin the march into the homeland. ... The Führer has provided you with his best weapons. Not only do you (have these) in your hands, but above all you have an idea in your hearts – to liberate the homeland. ... Before long, each of you shall be standing in the place that you call home, as a soldier and a gentleman; standing firm as a defender of the idea of saving the culture of Europe – the idea of Adolf Hitler."


text: Sauberzweig also ordered that each commander read a prepared message as his unit crossed the Sava River, which emphasised that the "liberation of Bosnia" and ultimately the liberation of "Muslim Albania" was their goal. This was a direct appeal to the Albanian troops as well as the Bosnians. The 27th Regiment crossed the Sava at dawn at Bosanska Rača near the confluence with the Drina. The rest crossed at Brčko covered by an intense artillery bombardment. Contact was immediately made with Partisan forces, who quickly withdrew into the forests. The service support units remained north of the Sava in Vinkovci, which became their permanent garrison area. The 27th Regiment advanced easily across the Pannonian Plain through Velino Selo to Brodac and then on to Bijeljina which was taken against light Partisan resistance late on 16 March.


text: The 27th Regiment then consolidated its position in Bijeljina while the 28th Regiment and the divisional reconnaissance battalion () bore the brunt of the fighting as they advanced through Pukis, Čelić and Koraj at the foot of the Majevica mountains. Sauberzweig later recorded that the 2nd battalion of the 28th Regiment (II/28) "at Čelić stormed the Partisan defenses with (new) battalion commander Hans Hanke at the point" and that enemy forces withdrew after a hard battle with heavy losses, low on ammunition.


text: Once the area was secured, defensive positions were established along the Čelić–Lopare road and company strength units were sent out to conduct reconnaissance. On the night of 17–18 March, elements of the Partisan 16th Vojvodina Division and 36th Vojvodina Division mounted unsuccessful attacks against the 28th Regiment's positions at Koraj and Zabrđe, losing over 200.


text: After Operation Save, the division remained relatively static for more than three weeks, mopping up and repelling local Partisan attacks. The Muslims were impatient to push further into Bosnia, but the reconnaissance battalion was heavily engaged on the divisional western flank, attacking positions held by the Partisan 3rd Vojvodina Brigade of the 36th Vojvodina Division at Gornji Rahić on 26 March, killing 124 Partisans and capturing 14. The battalion captured several more Partisan positions in the following week. In early April, 200 Partisans of the 16th Muslim Brigade surrendered to the division. They were mostly former members of various Muslim militias who had been conscripted into the ranks of the Partisans.


text: Operation Osterei (Easter Egg) began on 12 April 1944 with the goal of clearing the Majevica mountain, which was held by elements of the 3rd Corps led by General Kosta Nađ. The 27th Regiment quickly captured Janja and drove through Donja Trnova to reach the Ugljevik coal mines, an important economic objective for the German war machine. Following fighting which continued into the evening of 13 April, the 27th Regiment reported Partisan casualties of 106 dead, 45 captured and two deserters along with large amounts of weapons and ammunition. The regiment also seized a huge amount of medical supplies from aid stations in the area of Donja Trnova.


text: The 28th Regiment drove south through Mačkovac and during fighting around Priboj, its 1st Battalion (I/28), made up of Albanians, incurred heavy casualties. The Partisan 3rd Corps then withdrew the 16th and 36th Vojvodina Divisions south across the Tuzla–Zvornik road. The reconnaissance battalion continued the advance, driving into the western Majevicas and capturing Srebrnik and Gradačac then linking up with the Croatian Home Guard 1st Mountain Brigade. The Germans considered Operation Osterei a major success, achieving all objectives with minimal losses.


text: During the final phase of Operation Osterei, I/28 was withdrawn from the fighting and transferred to Pristina in Kosovo to form part of the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS "Skanderbeg" (1st Albanian) being raised by Himmler's order. A new I/28 was raised from other divisional units and new recruits.


text: In the latter part of Operation Osterei, , lightly armed and mobile "hunter teams" of company or battalion strength, were used to break up and harass Partisans still operating on the flanks. These teams killed over 380 Partisans and captured over 200 between 21 and 23 April. By mid-April, half of the security zone had been cleared of Partisans.


text: The ambitious goal of Operation Maibaum (Maypole) was to destroy the Partisan 3rd Corps. Army Group F ordered V SS Mountain Corps to form a blockade along the Drina to prevent the Partisan force from crossing into Serbia. Operation Maibaum was one of the largest counter-insurgency operations of World War II and included 7th SS Division and NDH forces. The 13th SS Division was under the command of V SS Corps, and the primary tasks of the division were to capture Tuzla and Zvornik, then drive south parallel with the Drina to meet other Corps elements. The original plan included the parachute insertion of 500th SS Parachute Battalion into the Vlasenica area, but this was cancelled due to unsuitable weather. Flank security was to be provided by the reconnaissance battalion in the Srebrnik area. The deployment south of the Spreča, and therefore outside the security zone, during Operation Maibaum was ordered by the corps commander, Phleps, despite opposition from Sauberzweig. This caused friction between the two that eventually required Himmler's intervention.


text: On 23 April, the 28th Regiment pushed south along mountain roads through Tuzla. The following day it continued on as far as Stupari. On 25 April, the 27th Regiment advanced south to capture Zvornik. At the same time, the 28th Regiment sent I/28 east towards Vlasenica and II/28 continuing south towards Kladanj, capturing the town on 27 April. Due to the level of the Drinjača at Kladanj, instead of fording the river and pushing east towards Vlasenica, II/28 continued south-east towards Han Pijesak, where they met elements of 7th SS Division advancing north.


text: I/28 captured Vlasenica on 28 April, but was almost immediately attacked from the east by two Partisan divisions. A third Partisan division surrounded the headquarters of 28th Regiment at Šekovići, 30 kilometres north-west of Vlasenica. Both II/28 and the reconnaissance battalion were rushed to Vlasenica, where II/28 relieved the battered I/28 and then surrounded Šekovići. After a 48-hour battle, during which II/28 was decimated, the town was taken.


text: While the battle of Šekovići raged, the 27th Regiment extended the Drina blockade further south, ambushing a Partisan column and reaching Nova Kasaba on 30 April. After the situation at Šekovići improved on 1 May, the 27th Regiment returned to patrolling the Tuzla–Zvornik road. The 28th Regiment moved to the Simin Han-Lopare area on 5 May, while the 7th SS Division pursued the Partisans withdrawing south.


text: Operation Maibaum had not only stopped the Partisan 3rd Corps from crossing the Drina into Serbia, it had scattered the Partisan formation. On 6 May, V SS Mountain Corps ordered the division to return to the security zone north of the Spreča.


text: On 17–18 May 1944, the division, along with the local Majevica-Tuzla Chetnik unit commanded by Radivoj Kerović, commenced Operation Maiglöckchen (May Bell) to destroy several Partisan brigades in the Majevicas. The Partisans were encircled in the Stolice heights. An attempt by the Partisan 16th Vojvodina Division to relieve the surrounded force was defeated by the reconnaissance battalion and elements of the 28th Regiment. The relieving column was driven back across the Spreća. After heavy bombardment by the artillery regiment, the trapped Partisan force escaped south out of the pocket under cover of darkness on 18 May. The Partisans suffered considerable casualties, for example the 17th Majevica Brigade of the 27th East Bosnia Division lost 16 killed and 60 missing. At the conclusion of Operation Maiglöckchen, the 27th Regiment remained near Zvornik and the 28th Regiment deployed near Srebrenik.


text: After Operation Maiglöckchen, the division shifted to a largely defensive posture aimed at denying the Partisans access to the security zone. Since its arrival in the zone the division had been assisted in this task by local forces of varying reliability. These included four groups of Chetniks numbering 13,000, Nešad Topčić's (or Green Cadres, a Muslim nationalist militia) most of which eventually joined the Partisans, and both Ustaše militia and the Croatian Home Guard, neither of which was effective. These same groups, along with the Partisans, had simultaneously been trying to encourage Bosnian and Croat members to defect. Between March and June 1944, these attempts were largely fruitless, producing fewer than 200 deserters.


text: Following Operation Rösselsprung (Knight's Move), the German attempt to kill or capture Tito at Drvar in western Bosnia on 25 May 1944, the Partisan leader ordered a general uprising. The Partisan 3rd Corps planned an offensive that involved three parallel columns of divisional strength thrusting north into the zone to engage and destroy German and local allied forces. The columns comprised:


text: Operation Vollmond (Full Moon) was devised quickly after the reconnaissance battalion observed Partisan forces crossing the Tuzla–Zvornik road on the evening of 6 June 1944. Sauberzweig's aim was to assault from the east and north, pushing the advancing Partisan forces against the Drina. The German plan underestimated the strength of the Partisan "Western Column" and had placed only one battalion (I/28) on high ground in the Partisans' path. This battalion included many raw recruits, and was protecting two batteries of the artillery regiment, one of which (7/AR13) was deployed just east of Lopare.


text: Late on 7 June, the Partisans scattered I/28 and although II/28 was sent from Srebrenik to assist, the 16th Vojvodina Division surged forward against the positions of 7/AR13, which consisted of 80 men with four 150 mm guns and only one machine gun. After four hours fighting, and with half the battery's personnel dead, the artillerymen ran out of small arms ammunition and scattered into the forest. As a result of a counterattack by II/28 on the afternoon of 9 June and throughout 10 June, the 16th Vojvodina Division withdrew that afternoon and the battalion pursued both the "Western Column" and "Centre Column" south. The guns and vehicles of 7/AR13 had been destroyed by the Partisans before they withdrew and there were reports that the German dead at Lopare had been mutilated. The "Eastern Column" was stopped by the 27th Regiment and the last of the Partisan 3rd Corps was pushed back across the Spreča on 12 June.


text: According to German accounts, Operation Vollmond cost the division 205 dead, 528 wounded and 89 missing. I/28 had been decimated, with only 180 men remaining. Sauberzweig claimed 3,000 Partisans were killed in this operation, but Phleps dismissed this as "a large exaggeration". According to one German after-action report, they had killed over 1,500 Partisans and captured large amounts of arms and ammunition. According to Partisan sources, the losses of the Partisan 3rd Corps were:


text: At the conclusion of Operation Vollmond, the commander of the 27th Regiment, Desiderius Hampel, was appointed division commander at his substantive rank of and Sauberzweig was tasked with forming a new corps headquarters, the IX Waffen Mountain Corps of the SS (Croatian). The commander of the 28th Regiment, Helmuth Raithel, was tasked to raise the new 23rd Waffen Mountain Division of the SS "Kama" (2nd Croatian). Both the new corps headquarters and new division were to be formed in southern Hungary. Three NCOs from every company of 13th SS Division, along with other personnel, were transferred to form the core of 23rd SS Division. New commanders were appointed to the two mountain infantry regiments, notably Hanke to the 28th.


text: Soon after Hampel's assumption of command, he became aware that local Chetniks were scavenging the Operation Vollmond battlefields for divisional equipment. He met with the Chetnik leader Kerović and arranged for the return of the equipment in exchange for small arms ammunition and boxes of hand grenades.


text: Throughout the remainder of June 1944 and into the first week of July, the division was engaged in fighting off attempted Partisan incursions into the security zone and reinforcing local NDH and Chetniks who were under attack from the Partisans. During the summer of 1944, elements of the division were tasked with guarding Hungarian Jewish forced labourers building fortifications in Tuzla. While guarding the labourers, they subjected them to cruel treatment, and shot 22 who were unable to continue working.


text: Operation Fliegenfänger (Flypaper) was launched on 14 July 1944. It aimed to destroy a makeshift Partisan runway in the Osmaci area about southeast of Tuzla, south of the Tuzla–Zvornik road and the Partisan forces guarding it. The airstrip was just north of the southern boundary of the security zone and was being used by Allied aircraft to bring in supplies and evacuate wounded Partisans to Italy. It had been built by the 19th Birač Brigade of the 27th East Bosnia Division between 3 and 6 July, and the first flight into the airfield occurred on the night of 6/7 July. The 19th Birač Brigade was also responsible for its defence. Two battalions of the 27th Regiment, along with a battalion of Chetniks from Majevica launched the operation from the line of Caparde–Memići–Prnjavor, and captured the towns of Osmaci and Memići and damaged the airfield despite stiff resistance. That afternoon, the 19th Birač Brigade counter-attacked and pushed the German and Chetniks back across the Tuzla–Zvornik road. At the same time as the counter-attack was underway, the headquarters of the Partisan 3rd Corps ordered the 36th Vojvodina Division to clear the enemy from the area so that the airfield could be used. During the night of 14/15 July, elements of the 36th Vojvodina Division arrived in the Osmaci area and relieved the 19th Birač Brigade, which moved towards Srebrenica. During the night of 16/17 July, Allied aircraft delivered equipment to Osmaci and about 100 wounded Partisans were airlifted to Italy.


text: According to German reports, 42 Partisans were killed, while the division's losses were four dead and seven wounded. The Partisan force withdrew south to the Vlasenica–Rajići area. The cooperation with the Chetnik battalion was described in the IX SS Mountain Corps war diary as "effective".


text: While the division was conducting Operation Fliegenfänger, the Second Panzer Army was developing a plan to block a large Partisan force from moving from central Bosnia into western Serbia to reinforce the Partisans. Due to issues with the availability of various units of V SS Mountain Corps, the planned Operation Rose was cancelled.


text: In the interim, since most of the division was deployed in the southern part of the security zone, Hampel planned a divisional-level operation, named Operation Heiderose (Wild Rose) targeting Partisan positions north-west of Šekovići, south of the Spreča. The 27th Regiment, reinforced by the same Chetnik battalion that cooperated in Operation Fliegenfänger, would attack east towards Šekovići and the 28th Regiment would push south. A detached battalion of 7th SS Division would act as a blocking force driving north. Hampel was apparently unhappy with the performance of the new commander of the 27th Regiment ( Hermann Peter) and put the divisional chief of staff, Erich Braun, in charge of the 27th Regiment.


text: On 17 July, the operation began. Fierce resistance was immediately encountered by the 28th Regiment, while the 27th Regiment climbed the heights to Udrč before dusk without serious opposition. Early on 18 July, the Chetniks attacked from Matkovac towards Šekovići. The 27th Regiment reached Bačkovac and seized the high ground south of Šekovići on 19 July 1944. The 28th Regiment forced the Partisan 36th Vojvodina Division back. The battalion from 7th SS Division encountered serious resistance around Vlasenica but pushed through. On 19 July, the 28th Regiment drove north towards Gornje Petrovice to attack the Partisan 12th Corps at Živinice. The reconnaissance battalion of 7th SS Division pushed in from Vareš as a blocking force to stop the Partisans from withdrawing via Kladanj.


text: The Partisans then committed the 16th Vojvodina Division to assist the 36th Vojvodina Division that had borne the brunt of Operation Heiderose to this point. On 20 July, both divisions attacked the 27th Regiment, which counterattacked the following day after the Partisans were rebuffed with heavy casualties. On 23 July, the Partisans began to withdraw south out of the area. The division began to search for the hidden Partisan bases that German intelligence had indicated were located there. After a day of searching, the division uncovered more than ten Partisan bases, which the cooperating Chetniks began to clear despite having shown little interest in actually fighting the Partisans in previous days.


text: Operation Heiderose was a significant success for the division, inflicting serious losses on the Partisans. More than 900 Partisans were killed and a large amount of equipment was captured: one anti-tank gun, two mortars, 22 machine guns, over 800 rifles and nearly 500,000 rounds of small arms ammunition. The division suffered 24 killed and over 150 wounded. Communist sources hold that the Partisans suffered serious losses, with the 12th Corps alone having 250 dead, wounded and missing. However, Partisan reports estimate that German losses were significantly larger than their own. Erich Braun was recommended for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross but the recommendation was not supported, apparently due to disagreements between the divisional staff and Phleps that had occurred during the division's formation.


text: In the first week of August 1944, the Second Panzer Army was finally ready to move to thwart the Partisan advance from Bosnia into Serbia, originally planned as Operation Rose. Renamed Operation Rübezahl (Mountain Spirit), the revamped plan required the 7th and 13th SS Divisions to form the Bosnian phase of the operation, named Operation Hackfleisch (Minced Meat). aimed to drive out the Partisans occupying the area between the towns of Kladanj, Vlasenica, Sokolac and Olovo, south of the security zone. The overall plan involved columns that were to force the Partisans eastwards into the pincers of the other units, thereby destroying them.


text: The 27th Regiment became locked in fierce fighting with the Partisan 27th East Bosnia Division and 38th Bosnia Division, which had launched an offensive near Vlasenica. The inability of the 27th Regiment to push forward meant that the plan to encircle the Partisan force was not achieved and the Partisans escaped by crossing the Vlasenica–Han Pijesak road to the east. Other Partisan forces withdrew in the direction of Goražde.


text: As far as the Germans were concerned, Operation Hackfleisch was a moderate success, with 227 Partisans killed and over 50 prisoners taken. It delayed, but did not prevent, the Partisans' advance into Serbia. In order to allow the 7th SS Division to pursue Partisan forces withdrawing towards central Bosnia, both I/28 and III/28 were placed under the command of that division for the period of 8–17 August 1944. During the remainder of August 1944, the rump of the division fought hard to keep the Partisans out of the security zone. The Partisan 11th Krajina Division and 38th Bosnia Division quickly infiltrated into the southern part of the security zone and the 27th East Bosnia Division crossed into the area north-west of Srebrenica and drove towards Bratunac. After a series of rapid redeployments and battalion and regimental attacks, the division scattered the 11th Krajina Division and mauled the 27th East Bosnia Division.


text: The division had by now been fighting almost continuously throughout the summer. According to divisional commander Hampel, it had been exhausted even before Operation Hackfleisch began. The cumulative effect of this exhaustion, the deteriorating situation that the Germans faced on all fronts and rumours probably spread among members by the Partisans and Ustaše, was that the division began to disintegrate in early September 1944.


text: In early September 1944, the division returned north to the security zone, basing the infantry battalions in the villages of Kurukaja, Vukovije (south of Foča), Osmaci and Srebrnik. Almost immediately, the Partisan 3rd Corps commenced an offensive, attacking II/28 at Srebrnik. It held on despite being pressed hard during two days of fighting against the 11th Krajina Division. By the end of the first week in September, divisional supply columns were being attacked by Chetniks, sensing German weakness and looking for arms and supplies. Three members of the division were killed in these attacks. Over the same week, the Allies conducted Operation Ratweek throughout the Balkans, which involved Allied air power pounding Axis troop concentrations and key infrastructure in order to impede the German withdrawal from Greece. The local effect was to complicate the division's logistics through destruction of the Sarajevo-Brod railway and mass desertions of NDH troops tasked with securing supply lines.


text: On 8 September, II/27 was assaulted unsuccessfully by the Partisans at Matkovac. After the first week of September, most of the division's fighting power was shifted to the western boundary of the security zone to meet Partisan incursions. The division succeeded in dislodging Partisan units from Slatna and Međeđa and allied Chetniks captured Skurgić. After relief by NDH forces, the division's fighting regiments withdrew to Brčko for rest and refit. As a result of the shift to the western area of the security zone, the zone's southern area was quickly overrun by Partisan forces. Zvornik and Tuzla had fallen by mid-September.


text: On 17 August 1944, Tito offered a general amnesty and many in the division took advantage of this opportunity. During the first three weeks of September, while hard fighting continued, over 2,000 Bosnians deserted, many taking their weapons with them. They went home, joined the Green Cadres militia or went over to the Ustaše. Many defected to the Partisans, with over 700 having joined the Partisan 3rd Corps by early October.


text: Due to high rates of desertion from 13th SS Division, Sauberzweig proposed to disarm the Bosnians in both 13th SS Division and 23rd SS Division, but Himmler instead opted to transport the 2,000 Bosnians of 23rd SS Division from Hungary to Bosnia and re-organise the remaining troops of both divisions there, with key support units from 13th SS Division centralised under IX SS Mountain Corps, which would also move to Bosnia from Hungary.


text: In the early morning of 3 October 1944, the Partisan 28th Slavonia Division assaulted a squadron of the reconnaissance battalion at Janja close to the Drina on the eastern boundary of the security zone. As they broke out of the encirclement to the north, the rest of the reconnaissance battalion drove south from Bijeljina and stopped the Partisan advance at heavy cost. Rushing towards Janja from the east, III/27 came into contact with Partisans around Modran, reaching the Janja garrison at 10 pm that night and received artillery reinforcement by 3/AR 13 during the night. At dawn the following day, an additional four Partisan brigades attacked the garrison in Janja, with fighting continuing throughout the day before the Partisans withdrew to the south. were sent after the fleeing enemy but were not able to inflict significant losses on them as they had already crossed the Drina into the German-occupied territory of Serbia. Following this battle, Army Group F concluded that the division's overall combat value was minimal.


text: A few days later, the 9th Company of the 28th Regiment (9/28) displayed what could still be achieved by the Bosnians under determined leadership when Hans König ambushed the Partisan 17th Majevica Brigade near Vukosavci, killing at least 67 and capturing orders for future operations. König was awarded the German Cross in Gold for his fanatical leadership.


text: While 9/28 was fighting near Vukosavci, a number of units, consisting mainly of artillery, were temporarily detached for duty with other formations of Second Panzer Army fighting Soviet troops within the German-occupied territory of Serbia. The division was not re-united until January 1945.


text: After a request from Army Group F to Himmler, a decision was made to move IX SS Mountain Corps and the division to perform road and railway security duties near Zagreb. This would relieve LXIX Army Corps from those duties so that it could reinforce a defensive line along the Drina facing the advancing Red Army. The 28th Regiment, I/27 and III/AR 13 were to remain behind at the Brčko bridgehead to keep the Sava river bridge open. The heavy desertions from the division were the main reason for the move from north-east Bosnia to northern Croatia, but it made matters worse: the Bosnians were very reluctant to leave Bosnia and the already serious desertion rate became a flood when the move began on 16 October 1944. Many took their weapons with them and hundreds joined the Partisans. In mid-October, 700 members of the division stationed at Orašje joined the Partisans, and were distributed between the 17th Majevica Brigade and 21st East Bosnian Brigade.


text: On 20 October, the Red Army and Partisan forces captured Belgrade and the following day the divisional staff imam, Abdulah Muhasilović, incited a mutiny and led 100 men back to Bosnia. Himmler finally agreed to the disarming of the "unreliable" Bosnians under Operation Herbstlaub (Autumn Leaves) on 25 October. Between 900 and 1,000 Bosnians in the Brčko bridgehead and over 2,300 in Zagreb were allocated to labour battalions and similar non-combatant auxiliary duties, although the disarming operation was not completed in the Zagreb area until mid-November. By the beginning of November the division, which had been ninety five percent non-German in January 1944, became fifty percent German. The plans to re-organise the division were abandoned and Sauberzweig was relieved of command. In addition, Sauberzweig's IX SS Mountain Corps staff was dissolved and the remnants were placed under the command of LXVIII Army Corps, under which they remained for the rest of the war.


text: Meanwhile, the advance of the Red Army through Belgrade and north into the formerly Hungarian-occupied Yugoslav region of Baranja made holding the line of the Danube critical for the Germans. In early November the Soviet troops established a bridgehead over the Danube from Apatin (in modern-day Serbia). From 9 November onward, the division was committed in several stages to the Eastern Front, starting with the reconnaissance battalion which went into action at Dárda west of the Apatin bridgehead on 10 November. They were followed by a grouping of three battalions (I/27, II/28 and II/28), an artillery battalion (III/AR 13) and pioneer support. Known as after their commander Hans Hanke, they moved from the Brčko bridgehead and joined a blocking position at Pélmonostor on 14 November south-west of a second Soviet bridgehead that had been established at Batina (in modern-day Croatia). As a result, the last Muslim SS troops left Bosnia. Within a week they were joined by the reconnaissance battalion, which had acquitted itself well in fighting west of Apatin. By 20 November, the Red Army was across the Danube in force at Batina. The following day was driven out of its positions, when the remaining 200 troops withdrew. By 25 November the rest of the division was on its way from the Zagreb area. The remnants of were placed under command of "Reichsgrenadier Division Hoch und Deutschmeister", withdrawing as far as Siklós in southern Hungary by 29 November.


text: Within days was withdrawn from the front line to rejoin the division and re-fit, and they were moved to Barcs on the Drava river for that purpose. On 2 December the division was reunited, except for the rest of the pioneer battalion, which remained stranded in Bosnia by damaged bridges and railways. As a result of continued desertions and the catastrophic casualties suffered by , the division retained little of its original Bosnian character. Despite the return of disarmed Bosnians from labour units, the attachment of Hungarian infantry and artillery units and arrival of German replacements meant the division looked little different from any other unit in the Second Panzer Army.


text: After a short break, the division was allocated to a sector of the Margarethe Line, a series of fixed defensive works south of Lake Balaton which held up the Soviet advance. After several Red Army assaults were repulsed, static trench warfare developed between December 1944 and January 1945. In early March 1945, a few units took part in Operation Frühlingserwachen (Spring Awakening), which was to be Germany's last major offensive. Meanwhile, from December 1944 to March 1945, the rest of the division remained at Barcs rebuilding. In February, they had been joined by the divisional pioneer battalion, which had finally managed to withdraw from Bosnia. On 16 March, the Soviets launched the Vienna Offensive, bypassing the Barcs area. That night, the division attacked the flanks of the Soviet drive at Heresznye, where it undertook its last offensive operation of the war.


text: On 29 March, the Soviet 57th Army and the Bulgarian First Army assaulted the entire Second Panzer Army front, quickly breaching the line near Nagybajom. The division, holding positions just south of the penetration, began to withdraw to the north-west. It fell back to the Mura and barely managed to cross under constant air and ground attacks, with grievous casualties. Unable to take up effective positions, the division crossed the Reich frontier on 6 April and took up positions at Pettau in the so-called "Reich Defence Line", where it remained until 5 May. Its last fighting was around Kiesmanndorff on 19 April.