Georg Dragičević (born ''Đuro Dragičević''; 7 November 1890 in

Kalesija Kalesija is a town and municipality located in the Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, east of Tuzla. As of 2013, the town has a popu ...

– 28 July 1980 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

) was a Croatian soldier who was a member of the army of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

Royal Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

, and 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, ...

. He attended the

Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy The Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy (German: ''k.u.k. Technische Militärakademie'') was a military training facility founded in 1717 for certain officer groups of the Habsburg monarchy. The location of the academy changed several ...

at Mödling near Vienna and graduated from there as a

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

on 18 August 1911 with an assignment to Festungsartillerieregiment Kaiser Nr.1 (Fortress Artillery), then based in Vienna. At an early age, he joined the Imperial Army, and later served the empire in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. During the war, on mobilisation in August 1914, he was promoted to

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

and given command of a battery in the 106th Field Artillery Brigade equipped with obsolete 9-centimetre field guns. For his service in the war, he was rewarded the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (; ; ; ; ; ) was the highest military honour of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. History Founded on 18 June 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolín, by the Empress Mari ...

. After the war, the empire collapsed and Dragičević travelled to the newly formed

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

in his homeland and joined 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 ...

. Within the Yugoslavian army, he became second-in-command of the anti-aircraft unit. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Dragičević first served as the head of the Army Artillery service of the

Croatian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia () are the national military forces of Croatia. The Croatian military consists of three service branches: the Croatian Army, the Croatian Navy and the Croatian Air Force. The OSRH is headed by the ...

of the

. He was later assigned to the Croatian embassy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

where he was in charge of weapons procurement for the nation. He survived the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

, but was later captured by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. Dragičević was held in prison camps for nine years, until 1954, when he moved to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. He was awarded the

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown () was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombard ...

Third Class with War Decoration and Swords, the Military Merit Cross Third Class with War Decoration and Swords, both the Silver (with Swords) and Bronze Military Merit Medals (Signum Laudis) and the

Karl Troop Cross The Karl Troop Cross () was instituted on 13 December 1916 by Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary. The cross was awarded for service up to the end of the First World War to soldiers and sailors of all arms of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces, regar ...

External links

Georg Dragičević
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragicevic, Georg 1890 births 1980 deaths People from Kalesija Croatian Austro-Hungarians 20th-century Croatian military personnel Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Croatian prisoners and detainees Austro-Hungarian Army officers Croatian Home Guard personnel Croatian people of World War I Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa World War II prisoners of war held by the Soviet Union

See also

External links