The Primošten massacre was the mass murder of Croat civilians by Italian occupation forces on 16 November 1942, in the village of Primošten, in retaliation for an earlier Partisan attack.^[1]

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On 13 November 1942, Partisans ambushed an Italian truck convoy near Primošten, fourteen Italian soldiers were killed, seven were wounded and six were taken prisoner.^[2] Three days later, Italian forces ordered reprisals against the civilian population of Primošten.^[3]

On 16 November 1942, Italian forces surrounded Primošten and indiscriminately shelled and bombed the village with artillery from land and sea and with three planes. The bombardment lasted for four hours,^[1] causing a large number of civilian deaths and injuries and heavily damaged large parts of Primošten.^[4]

After the artillery attack, Italian infantry entered the village, shooting or bayoneting a number of male civilians, who were separated from the women and children.^[4] The remaining homes were torched and looted, others were booby-trapped with grenades, killing a number of civilians (including children) that tried to later return to their homes.^[4]

Around 300 homes were destroyed or damaged during the attack.^[4] Nearby villages were also burned and looted, 200 civilians were arrested^[1] and were deported to the Vodice concentration camp.^[4]

Between 80^[4] and 150^[1] civilians were killed. 150 children were left without one or both of their parents.^[3]

In 2007, a mass grave containing the remains of 50 victims of the Primošten massacre were found in the Digova cave, near the village of Široke.^[5]