 Tito came to Drvar at the end of January 1943 , during a major Axis offensive against the Partisans ( code @-@ named Fall Weiss in German ) . After consulting with Đuro Pucar , the head of the KPJ regional committee for Bosanska Krajina , Tito decided to form a Partisan brigade around a battalion of experienced fighters from Drvar . Additional manpower would consist of recovered Partisans who had been wounded or ill , older men not previously in combat units and young male and female volunteers . The four @-@ battalion 10th Krajina Brigade , intended to play a primarily @-@ defensive role at this stage , was established on 4 February 1943 ; its 800 members included about 120 women . Bursać , one of the volunteers , was assigned to the 2nd Battalion and was transferred to the 3rd Battalion 's 3rd Company the following month . Until September 1943 , she fought the Ustaše , Germans , Italians , and anti @-@ communist Chetniks around Grahovo , Knin , Vrlika , Livno and Mount Dinara , was commended for her courage and skill in combat , and served as a nurse . In February and March 1943 , during the Axis offensive , the brigade experienced constant enemy attacks , food shortages , cold , deep snow and outbreaks of typhus . Emaciated , Bursać was transferred to the military kitchen at brigade headquarters at the beginning of spring ; after a month , she was returned to her company at her insistence . When she became ill some time later , Bursać was sent home to recover . 
