Blow) to clear the area, using the 846th Infantry Regiment and parts of the 847th Infantry Regiment, supported by the divisional artillery and flak battalion. Over the next two weeks, the division pushed the Partisan 13th Division north to the area of Mrkopalj and Delnice, and captured sufficient material to equip two divisions, including 30 tons of small arms ammunition and 15 tons of artillery ammunition. The Partisan 35th Division attacked from the Plitvice Lakes area on 5 May and captured the village of Ramljane. Partisans also interdicted the Otočac-Gospić road. In response, Mickl planned Operation Morgenstern (Morning Star) to clear Partisan forces from the Krbavsko Polje region around Udbina. From 7 to 16 May 1944, along with elements of the 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division, the 92nd Motorised Regiment, a battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Brandenburg Division, and Ustaše units, were involved in Operation Morgenstern. For its efforts in this operation, the division received its first mention in the Wehrmachtbericht (armed forces daily radio broadcast). Also in May, the division received 500 German reinforcements, and formed a field replacement battalion. The division saw action against the Partisans until the end of the war, often fighting alongside a grouping of Ustaše units that numbered up to 12,000 troops. Death and commemoration During the last few months of the war, the division was engaged in the defence of the northern Adriatic coast and Lika. On 8 April 1945, the city of Senj fell to the Partisans. The following day, during the fighting to control the Vratnik pass through the mountains from Senj to Brinje, Mickl personally took part in the fighting and was shot in the head around noon. He was transported to hospital in Fiume, and died the following day. Mickl's wife, Helene, died in July 1946 of cancer. In 1967, the Austrian Armed Forces barracks (Mickl-Kaserne) in Bad Radkersburg were named after him, and they were used continuously by the Austrian Armed Forces for 44 years until 30 September 2008. Promotions Leutnant – 1 August 1914 Oberleutnant – 1 May 1915 Hauptmann – 1921 Major – 1928 Oberstleutnant – 16 January 1936 Oberst – 1 June 1940 Generalmajor – 1 March 1943 Generalleutnant – 1 April 1944 Awards and decorations Austria-Hungary Military Merit Cross 3rd Class (16 October 1915) Order of the Iron Crown 3rd Class (22 March 1916) Military Merit Medal for Bravery in Bronze (26 August