The 80th anniversary of the Battle of Pljeval was marked today by laying wreaths at the Memorial Complex in Stražica.
Wreaths were laid by the delegation of the Municipality of Pljevlja, political parties and veterans' organizations.
On December 1941, XNUMX, the fighters of the Montenegrin partisan detachment attacked Pljevlja, with the aim of liberating the city and connecting with the partisan units of Serbia for further joint struggle.
Addressing the gathered citizens and descendants of the fighters who participated in the Battle of Pljevlja, the President of the Municipality of Pljevlja Igor Golubović said that the Battle of December XNUMXst is a great historical event whose significance goes beyond our borders.
"The first attack of Montenegrin partisans on Pljevlja was the largest patriotic liberation action in occupied Yugoslavia in 1941, and as such, less than five months after the nationwide Thirteenth of July Uprising, it demonstrated the libertarian strength of determination and perseverance of Montenegrin anti-fascism and the National Liberation Movement in our country. Veliki was the success of the national liberation detachments of Montenegro and Sandzak, that in enslaved Europe, when the German army was a step away from Moscow and Leningrad, they gathered four thousand volunteers and with them launched an attack on such a strong Italian occupying garrison equipped and trained for war," he said is Golubović.
He said that the Montenegrin fighters were people of a special breed, who showed great combativeness and courage, and because of that they will forever be true and real heroes.
"It is painful to remember the 238 dead and 27 active fighters of the Montenegrin National Liberation Partisan Detachment. Even more painful is the suffering of 159 innocent civilians who were shot in the days after the battle. But we are not here to mourn, we are here to celebrate freedom. This battle is a testimony to the readiness of the Montenegrin people to fights and dies for the honor and freedom of his country and will remain in its history as a bright example. The heroes of the Battle of Pljeval gave their lives for an idea, for faith in a better tomorrow and the progress of our country, embedding their lives in the foundations of modern Montenegro. I am convinced that "liberal Pljevlja will always be anti-fascist and preserve the memory of its fallen anti-fascists for their sacrifice and contribution to freedom..." said Golubović.
Vice-president of SUBNOR and anti-fascist of Montenegro, academician Zuvdija Hodžić, said that the Battle of Pljeval was the biggest battle during 1941 in Yugoslavia.
He said that the insurgents did not win the battle, but they did not suffer a defeat either, although they suffered heavy losses.
"With the attack on Pljevlja, 20 days after the Battle of Pljevlja, the formation of the first proletarian brigade in Rudo included two battalions of Montenegrin fighters who experienced baptism of fire in the attack on Pljevlja," said Hodžić.
The president of the Association of NOR 1941-1945 Fighters in Pljevlja, Milenko Jović, addressed the crowd, who said that after the battle, the fighters who died were buried in several mass graves in the city.
"Since 1961, their remains have rested in the crypt of the monument on Stražica together with the remains of 118 partisan brigade fighters who died on the territory of the Pljevlja municipality and 80 patriots who were shot in Sjenjak. During the street fighting in the Battle of December 23, 196 residents of Pljevlja were killed. Fascist revenge "The number of criminals was terrible. During the battle and after the battle, XNUMX inhabitants of Pljevlja and the surrounding villages were killed," said Jović.
He recalled that for several years, two columns arrived at Stražica on December 1.
"It saddened all those who came to this holy place unencumbered by ideological and party prejudices. This has not been the case these few years. I hope it will stay that way," Jović said.
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