Viktor Pavičić (15 October 1898 – 20 January 1943) was a Croatian military commander who led the 369th Reinforced Croatian Infantry Regiment, which fought on the Eastern Front and was involved in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

during World War II.

Biography

Viktor Pavičić was born on 15 October 1898. A colonel, he was the commander of the Croatian Home Guard military academy from July to August 1942. In August, he was named commander of the

369th Croatian Reinforced Infantry Regiment The 369th (Croatian) Reinforced Infantry Regiment (, hr, 369. pojačana pješačka pukovnija) was a regiment of the German Army raised to fight on the Eastern Front during World War II. The regiment was formed in July 1941 by Croatian volunt ...

that was to fight alongside other Axis forces on the Eastern Front. In late September, Croatian leader Ante Pavelić met with Pavičić and decorated him. Immediately afterwards, Pavičić and his regiment left the Independent State of Croatia to participate in the

. The 369th Reinforced Infantry Regiment was devastated in the ensuing battle, and Pavičić elected to leave the surviving Croatian soldiers, and return to Croatia. He was killed on 20 January 1943. There are several conflicting accounts of how he died. One account holds that the airplane in which he was travelling was shot down by the Soviets, while another states that he was executed by the Germans for wishing to leave the battlefield. He was replaced by

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Marko Mesić on 21 January.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavicic, Viktor 1898 births 1943 deaths Croatian military personnel killed in World War II Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany Croatian Home Guard personnel