Danilo "Dane" Stanisavljević ( sr-Cyrl, Данило Дане Станисављевић; 1917 – 24 October 1942) was a

Croatian Serb The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Хрватски Срби, Hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in ...

revolutionary who was one of the leaders of the uprising of Serbs in

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...

against the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

and later a military officer of the

Chetnik The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

units with the rank of

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

. Commonly known as Dane Cicvara ( sr-Cyrl, Дане Цицвара), he is best known for being commander of Serb rebels from

Gračac Gračac (; ) is a municipality in the southern part of Lika, Croatia. The municipality is administratively part of Zadar County. Gračac is located south of Udbina, northeast of Obrovac, northwest of Knin and southeast of Gospić. Climate Since ...

who were first to attack the

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...

of the

on 12 April 1941. His elder brother Todor was also member of the rebels. After the

Srb uprising The Srb uprising ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Устанак у Србу, Ustanak u Srbu) was a rebellion against the Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) that began on 27 July 1941 in Srb, a village in the region of Lika. The uprising was started by the lo ...

, the rebel-controlled territory was peacefully integrated into the Italian occupation zone which for a while saved lives of the remaining Serbs in the region from the ongoing genocide of Serbs by the Independent State of Croatia. Stanisavljević was appointed as a commander of the Gračac Chetnik battalion "Gavrilo Princip". He was also an acting commander of the Chetnik regiment "Vožd Karađorđe". The Croatian Communist Party and its armed formations of Partisans targeted Stanisavljević because they perceived him and other Chetniks as an obstacle for their revolutionary aims and killed him on 24 October 1942.

Early life

Stanisavljević was born in 1917 in the village Dojići near Gračac, Austria-Hungary (modern-day Croatia). Stanisavljević served in the

Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the principal Army, ground force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It existed from the establishment of ...

as member of the Mountain Regiment in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

. He was selected to attend the funeral of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on 21 November 1938 as a member of the honorary guard unit. He had a brother, Todor "Toćan" Stanisavljević, who was also a member of the resistance movement.

World War II

Stanisavljević was commander of Serb rebels from Gračac who were first to attack

of the

on 12 April 1941. On that day rebels commanded by Stanisavljević defended Gračac from Ustaše units coming from

Gospić Gospić () is a town in Lika, Croatia. It is the seat of the Lika-Senj County. Geography Gospić is located in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika. It is the administrative center of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located n ...

. This action gained Yugoslav Chetnik character because the rebels from Gračac were joined by 50 marines of Yugoslav Royal Navy commanded by Captain Mirko Blajvajz, the commander of the nearby Selce coast command. According to historian Žutić, the first Chetnik units were established near

Doboj Doboj ( sr-Cyrl, Добој, ) is a city in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Bosna (river), Bosna river, in the northern region of Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 inhabita ...

on the same day by soldiers of the

. The Chetnik leaders of Lika and Bosnian Krajina wished to save Serbs from their most bloodthirsty enemy - Ustaše, even if they had temporarily to accept rule of Italians and Germans. In December 1941 the ''Gračac Chetnik Battalion "Gavrilo Princip"'' was established. Stanisavljević was appointed as its commander and as acting commander of the ''Chetnik Regiment "Vožd Karađorđe"''. Stanisavljević closely collaborated with Pajica Omčikus in Srb and

Momčilo Đujić Momčilo Đujić ( sh-Cyrl, Момчилo Ђујић, ; 27 February 1907 – 11 September 1999) was a Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox priest and Chetnik . He led a significant proportion of the Chetniks within the northern Dalm ...

and Niko Novaković Longo. As commander of Chetnik Battalion, in the middle of May 1942 Stanisavljević issued proclamation titled "''Serbs of Dalmatia''". In this proclamation he invited Serbs who joined Partisans under control of the

Communist Party of Croatia League of Communists of Croatia (, SKH) was the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ). It came into power in 1945. Until 1952, it was known as Communist Party of Croatia (, KPH). The party dissolved in 1990. History ...

to leave the Partisans who were accused to be the main enemies of Serbs and being under command of

. This proclamation invited them to join Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland instead. The Croatian communists targeted Stanisavljević and ordered Partisan unit from

to kill him and all members of the headquarters of Chetnik regiment. According to Milan Šijan, the commander of communist 3rd Lika Brigade, Stanisavljević was a little earlier promoted to the rank of voivode of Lika and Kordun. The partisans attacked the officers of the Chetnik Gračac Brigade and killed 70 Chetniks including Stanisavljević and many other members of the Chetnik command. According to Šijan, Stanisavljević was first wounded when Aleksa Jakšić shot him using light machine gun. Šijan emphasized that Stanisavljević committed suicide not to allow communists to capture him alive. Other communist published sources emphasize that Cicvara and other Chetniks were killed by Partisans who used only knives and bombs.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanisavljevic, Danilo 1917 births 1942 deaths People from Gračac Serbs of Croatia Royal Yugoslav Army personnel of World War II Chetnik personnel killed in World War II People killed by Yugoslav Partisans