[2] First action undertaken by the 5th Division as a whole was an attack on Sanski Most, strategically important town in Bosnanska Krajina.

In order to carry out this attack, Staff of the 5th Division brought all of its brigades to the village Donja Kozica [sh] near Sanski Most on 5 December 1942.

This delay was caused by the choice of the unit to move in one column in order to covertly approach village of Kijevo, southeast of Sanski Most.

[6] After failing to capture Sanski Most, Staff of the 1st Bosnian Corps decided to blockade enemy garrison in the town.

Two days later, units at Sanski Most–Prijedor railway conducted an ambush on a train carrying enemy soldiers whom they forced to retreat after heavy fighting.

[7] On 18 December, German and Home Guard force of 400–500 men unsuccessfully attacked units of the 5th Division positioned on the railway, after repulsing the attack the units conducted a counteroffensive in which they captured villages of Rakelići, Gaćani and Miljakovci (7 km south of Prijedor).

On 25 December, two battalions of the 4th Brigade, entered Bronzani Majdan without fighting as Home Guard soldiers garrisoned in the village fled north to avoid a battle.

Germans brought more forces to various garrisons in North Bosnia which preluded a large–scale anti–Partisan operation named Case White.

[8] On 19 January 1943, a day before the Case White began, units of the 5th Division were stationed in the villages between German–held Sanski Most and Partisan–held Ključ.

On January 17, 1945, during an offensive strike by the German 34th Army Corps, the division suffered heavy losses, and some of its units were defeated.