Raid on Šolta

The raid on Šolta (Serbo-Croatian: Desantni prepad na Šoltu) was an amphibious raid carried out by the Yugoslav Partisans on 10 May 1944 against the German garrison on the central-Dalmatian island of Šolta. By late 1943/early 1944, the majority of the Dalmatian islands were occupied by German Forces, the exception being Vis which soon became a Partisan and Allied stronghold from which they would launch raids against German island garrisons. Following the highly successful raid on Korčula a month earlier, the Partisans decided to stage their next attack on the strategically important island of Šolta occupied by the Germans since January 1944. The Partisans planned on landing a reinforced brigade on two locations on the island, followed by an assault on German positions with the help of artillery and Allied air support, overrunning them and retreating to Vis.

Despite landing on the island during the night, the element of surprise was lost early on when German Forces observed the Partisan convoys approaching Šolta, leading them to call for additional reinforcements from Split. The outcome of the raid was also marked by the failure of the Partisan intelligence to correctly determine the exact disposition of the German Forces as well as the strength of their foritifications which have been upgraded in response to the earlier raids. As the planned Allied bombing had little effect in softening German defences and after several unsuccessful attacks on the heavily fortified bulk of the German Forces, the Partisans retreated to Vis, having sustained 40 killed and over a hundred wounded.

In response to the raid, the German launched an air raid on Vis while three Kriegsmarine torpedo boats were dispatched to the waters surrounding the island where they encountered a Partisan hospital ship transporting the wounded from Šolta. The boats proceeded to sink it, resulting in a Partisan death toll that exceeded the number of those who were killed in the raid itself. Following the raid, the Partisan Headquarters commended the troops which took part in the raid, but were critical of the circumstances and reactions surrounding the sinking of Marin II. Šolta itself remained occupied until late September 1944 when it was liberated by Partisan and Allied Forces after a brief skirmish with the retreating Germans.