The Dubrovnik area was of exceptional strategic importance to all warring parties during World War II. The anti-fascist movement was much more developed in the surroundings of Dubrovnik than in the city itself. The main reasons for its slower development and weak influence on the population can be found in the pre-war political situation and the subsequent concentration of enemy forces in Dubrovnik. However, there were significant changes following Italy's surrender. The general anti-fascist sentiment among the youth in Dubrovnik led to the seizure of a small quantity of weapons and the establishment of the Dubrovnik Partisan Unit. Over the next year, the Dubrovnik coast became a possible target for Allied landings. While incoming German units established a strong coastal defense, a new wing of the Chetnik movement concentrated its forces in the hinterland with the aim of advancing towards Dubrovnik. At the end of the summer of 1944, J. B. Tito decided to preempt British and Chetnik military plans and occupy the area of southern Dalmatia, including Dubrovnik. This also aimed to prevent the German withdrawal from Greece via the southern Dalmatian coast. Through a series of operations on the southern Dalmatian islands and in southern and eastern Herzegovina from the spring of 1944, the units of the NOVJ (Yugoslav Partisans) brought Dubrovnik into an operational encirclement on October 16. After two days of fighting, the Battle of Dubrovnik was successfully concluded. This was followed by further destruction of retreating German units towards Metković and Mostar, as well as a several-month period of reprisals against captured soldiers and the civilian population in Dubrovnik.