1 and 4 March. He also ordered all the forces to concentrate attacks against Gornji Vakuf, with only necessary rearguards left on the Neretva. Counterattack at Gornji Vakuf The counterattack began not a minute too soon. The 717th Division and the battlegroup Vogel were attacking along the Gornji Vakuf – Prozor road with the main column, while trying to circumvent the partisan defense with flanking columns over Pidriš and Vilića gumno, intending to capture the important pass at Makljen. On 2 March at dawn, the 4th Proletarian Brigade, led by its 2nd Battalion, bypassing the columns of the wounded from the Central Hospital, reached Vilića gumno, and assumed positions in the deep snow, 30 to 50 meters from German lines, to be attacked almost immediately by the German 749th Regiment. After several hours of defense, the Brigade charged the enemy positions and pushed the Germans back down the slopes of the Raduša mountain. The fighting was intense and dramatic, under difficult circumstances, and the losses were serious. The report for that day counted 51 killed, 83 wounded, 21 missing and 31 cases of frostbite. On the other side, 3rd Company of the 2nd Battalion fell down to only 8 men. For this success, the 2nd Battalion and its commander Niko Strugar were officially commended by Tito. During 2 and 3 March, brigades were arriving in Prozor and assuming their positions along the line of fire. On 4 March, a full-scale Partisan counterattack was launched with all nine brigades. Five brigades were attacking German positions frontally, and the remaining four were trying to circumvent the flanks. The Germans were pushed back all the way to near Bugojno, and they remained there waiting and preparing for defense until 8 March. In the fight on 4 March the 2nd Proletarian Brigade captured Major Strecker, Commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 738th Regiment, and in the following days used him to propose a prisoner exchange and talks on some other subjects to the Germans. This led to the famous March negotiations. Forcing the way over Neretva The German Command was confused and worried by the successful Partisan attack at Gornji Vakuf. On the assumption that the Partisans would continue their advance towards Bugojno, General Lüters ordered the 369th Division to the area on 6 March, noting in the War diary that "the key error (was) G.Vakuf". However, Tito was not pleased with the