Kičevo Clashes

1943 Partisan Operations in Kičevo
	Part of World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia and the German occupation of Albania
Date	9 September – November 1943
Location	Kičevo (Kërçovë), Kingdom of Yugoslavia; (under Italian then German occupation)41°30′44″N 20°57′31″E / 41.51222°N 20.95861°E
Result	Temporary partisan success, followed by Axis reoccupation * Italian garrison disarmed (9 Sep) Town briefly under partisan control; German–Balli Kombëtar forces reoccupy by October; Partisan guerrilla actions continue into 1944; ;
Belligerents
Yugoslav Partisans • People's Liberation Army of Macedonia (NOVM)**; • Albanian communist partisans; ;	Wehrmacht; Balli Kombëtar (auxiliary militias);
Commanders and leaders
Fadil Hoxha; Mirče Acev; Hysni Kapo;	Unknown German garrison commander; Xhemë Gostivari (Hasa);
Strength
800–1,200 (partisans, Sep–Nov)	600–900 (German troops + Balli militias)
Casualties and losses
3 killed, 7 wounded (9 Sep); ~60–80 killed or wounded (Nov clashes);	12 killed, 18 wounded (German + Balli, Nov)
	Location of Kičevo in modern North Macedonia

The 1943 Partisan Operations in Kičevo (Operacionet partizane në Kërçovë 1943; Партизански операции во Кичево 1943) were a series of resistance actions in and around Kičevo, western North Macedonia, during the Balkan campaign of World War II. The operations comprised two distinct phases: the bloodless disarmament of the Italian garrison on 9 September 1943, following Italy’s armistice with the Allies, and subsequent guerrilla clashes in November between Yugoslav Partisans and German occupation forces supported by Balli Kombëtar militias.

The 9 September action marked Kičevo as the first town in Macedonia to be liberated by partisans during the war, although control proved short-lived.