Jakob "Jaka" Avšič (''nom de guerre'' Branko Hrast) (24 April 1896 – 2 January 1978) was the first commander of
Chetnik
The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
units (''
Plava garda'') in
Slovenia during the Second World War. At the end of October 1941, Colonel Avšič and Major
Karl Novak
Karl Novak (October 19, 1905 – 1975) was a Yugoslav Slovene military officer best known as commander of the Slovene Chetniks in the Italian-annexed Province of Ljubljana (part of modern-day Slovenia) during World War II.
Early life
Novak was ...
went to
Ravna Gora and met with
Draža Mihailović
Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...
, who appointed Avšič as his representative in Slovenia. Avšič soon deserted the
Yugoslav Royal Army in the Fatherland and joined the communists. He was then instructed by the communist executive board to try to convince other Yugoslav army officers to desert and join the communists. During the war he used the pseudonym Branko Hrast.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Avsic, Jaka
1896 births
1978 deaths
Military personnel from Ljubljana
Chetnik personnel of World War II
Slovenian Chetnik personnel of World War II
Yugoslav Partisans members