Matija Čanić (1901 – 3 May 1964) was Croatian military officer who became a general during the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

and was awarded the title of knight (''vitez''). He was a supporter of Lorković-Vokić coup, but suffered no serious consequences.

Biography

Čanić was born in

Gospić Gospić () is a town in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika, Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located near the Lika River in the middle of a karst field ( Ličko Polje). Gospić is the ...

in 1901. He served in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

for a short time, took part in the

1918 occupation of Međimurje The 1918 occupation of Međimurje was takeover of the region of Međimurje by the forces deployed by the National Council of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in November and December 1918 in immediate aftermath of the World War I. The te ...

, and then joined the

Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the land warfare military service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (originally Kingdom of Serbs, ...

where he served from December 1918 until April 1941. After that he joined the Croatian Domobranstvo with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, where he served in the cavalry. At the beginning of his career in the Croatian Army, he was commander of the Military Command in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

,Košutić, Ivan. Hrvatsko domobranstvo u drugom svjetskom ratu, p. 105. Naklad. Zavod Matice hrvatske, Školska knjiga, Ministarstvo obrane Republike Hrvatske, 1992 and after he became commander of 2nd Infantry Division. He was division commander from September 1942 until December 1942. After that, he commanded the Devil Division from December 1942 until January 1943. He became commander of 1st Infantry Division in January 1943 and held that position until the February. After that he took command of the Mountain Corps and served as its commander from February until November 1943. In August 1943 he was promoted to

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

. From November 1943 until February 1944 he was commander of II Military District with its HQ in Brod. In February 1944 he was commander of Land Forces of

Croatian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Oružane snage Republike Hrvatske – OSRH) is the military service of Croatia. The President is the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, and exercises administrative powers in times of war by giv ...

, and shortly after the arrest of

Ante Vokić Ante Vokić (23 August 1909 – 8 May 1945) was a Croatian politician, general and putschist. Member of the Ustaše, he was the Minister of Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia from 29 January to 30 August 1944, succeeding Mirosl ...

in August, he was resolved from all duties and he was then in the service of the Ministry of Armed Forces ( hr, Ministarstvo oružanih snaga, MINORS). In April 1944 he visited the German High Command of

Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office as chief of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, duri ...

together with

. After the capitulation of the

he retreated to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, then to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. For a short time he remained in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

where he ran a public kitchen that fed thousands of Croatian refugees. After that he was arrested by Allied Forces, but he escaped extradition to

Communist Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

and went to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in Argentina, where he died on 3 May 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canic, Matija 1901 births 1964 deaths People from Gospić Croatian Austro-Hungarians Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Croatian people of World War I Croatian Home Guard personnel Croatian military personnel of World War II Croatian collaborators with Fascist Italy Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany