Milan Spasić (November 8, 1909 – April 17, 1941) was a

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

Lieutenant of the

Royal Yugoslav Navy The Royal Navy ( sh-Latn, Kraljevska mornarica; sh-Cyrl, Краљевска морнарица; КМ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Navy, was the naval warfare service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (originally called the Kingdom of Serbs ...

. During the April War, Spasić, along with his fellow Lieutenant

Sergej Mašera Sergej Mašera (May 11, 1912 – April 17, 1941) was a naval Lieutenant of the Yugoslav Royal Navy. At the end of the April War, Mašera, along with his fellow Lieutenant Milan Spasić, scuttled the destroyer in the Bay of Kotor near Tivat to ...

, scuttled the destroyer in the Bay of Kotor near Tivat to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Italian Royal Navy. Both Spasić and Mašera died in the scuttling.

Biography

Before World War II

Milan Spasić was born in 1909 in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

. He completed both elementary and high school education in his hometown, graduating in 1929 with many honors. He later enrolled in the Naval Military Academy (VII class) in Dubrovnik alongside Sergej Mašera, who would later turn out to be a future comrade. After graduating from the academy in 1932, he continued in his academic studies.

April War and death

At the time of outbreak of the April War in 1941, Spasić was a lieutenant on the destroyer stationed in

Dobrota Dobrota ( Montenegrin and Serbian: Доброта) is a town in the municipality of Kotor, Montenegro. Although administratively a separate settlement, it is ''de facto'' a part of Kotor as it encompasses most of Kotor's residential area, whi ...

( Bay of Kotor). He was the officer in charge of the ship's torpedoes and mines. ''Zagreb'' and the destroyers and were the most recent Royal Yugoslav Navy ships at that time. On the 6th of April, they were the target of an air attack by five ''

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...

'' bombers. The bay was under attack by Italian aircraft once again on April 13, but the bombing did not damage ''Zagreb''. Later, on the 15th of April, the Yugoslav Royal Army asked for a truce. The crews of the ships stationed in the Bay of Kotor were instructed not to open fire on the Axis forces and to surrender peacefully. They were also ordered to not destroy anything. Most of the sailors landed on the mainland. On the 17th of April, Italian forces began to advance toward the Bay of Kotor. The remaining crew members of the destroyer ''Zagreb'' were ordered to abandon ship. Milan Spasić and Mašera decided that the ship should not be delivered to the Italians, and they refused the order of their commander,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Nikola Krizomalija, to abandon the ship. They blew up the ship, and died in the process. After the two explosions, ''Zagreb'' was badly damaged and sank to the shallow bottom. The following day, fishermen found the corpse of Milan Spasić in the sea. He was buried along with Sergej Mašera on 19 April 1941, in the naval cemetery at village Savini near Herceg Novi. Many people came to their funeral, including members of the Italian army. Those in attendance were impressed by the heroism of Spasić and Mašera. They were buried with military honors.Spasić i Mašera – put ka besmrtnosti, na portalu Brodovi.net
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Legacy of Spasić and Mašera

Soon after their feat, their sacrifice was reported by the British newspapers. In 1942, the British Army had already erected within their barracks in Malta a

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

dedicated to Spasić and Mašera. British journalist David Divine, in his book "Navies in Exile" (London: John Murray, 1944.) stressed the actions of Spasić and Mašera. In the

FPR 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 ...

at the end of the first postwar years, the subject of the two was rarely discussed. There was little discussion of Spasić and Mašera until the 1960s, following the democratization of the Yugoslavia (Economic reform 1964 /1965) The

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

produced a film ''Flammes sur l'Adriatique'' (Flames on Adriatic, also known as ''

Adriatic Sea of Fire ''Adriatic Sea of Fire'' () is a 1968 French-Yugoslav war drama film directed by Alexandre Astruc. It tells the story of the Yugoslav destroyer ''Zagreb'' which fights against Italy in 1941, and how some of the crew members try to organise a muti ...

'') in 1968, dedicated to this event and directed by Alexandre Astruc and Stjepan Čikeš. Spasić and Mašera were posthumously awarded the

Order of the People's Hero of Yugoslavia The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; sl, Red narodnega heroja, mk, Oрден на народен херој, Orden na ...

by decree of President

Tito Tito may refer to: People Mononyms * Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman * Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...

on 10 September 1973, the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the

Yugoslav Navy The Yugoslav Navy ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска ратна морнарица, Jugoslavenska ratna mornarica, Yugoslav War Navy), was the navy of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1992. It was essentially a coastal defense force with the miss ...

. A monument stands to honor Spasić and Mašera in Tivat. A youth hostel near the town of Kotor bears the name "Spasić – Mašera”.Youth Hostel „Spasić – Mašera” on site kongresniturizam.com

References

Bibliography

* ''Narodni heroji Jugoslavije'', Mladost Beograd, 1975. godina * Tomislav Grgurević: ''Podvig Spasića i Mašere'', 1983. Centar za kulturu, informisanje i dokumentaciju, Tivat

External links

Biografija Mašere na portalu Narodni heroji Jugoslavije

Spasić i Mašera – put ka besmrtnosti, na portalu Brodovi.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spasic, Milan 1909 births 1941 deaths Yugoslav military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero Military personnel from Belgrade Royal Yugoslav Navy personnel of World War II Burials in Montenegro