Ivan Tomašević (3 September 1892 – 19 September 1945) was a Croatian general who served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the Austrian-Hungarian Army and as

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

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 ...

. After the establishment of 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, ...

, Tomašević joined the Croatian Home Guard.

Military career

In the Croatian Home Guard, he was at first, from October 1941 until November 1942, a commander of the 2nd Infantry Division. In November 1942 he was named commander of the

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 ...

Littoral Sector. At the end of 1943 he was named ground liaison officer with the German XV Army Corps. At the beginning of 1944 he was promoted to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, and between May and August 1944 he was once again a commander of the Lika Littoral Sector. Tomašević was also a commissionaire of the GRAVSIGUR, the Croatian security police, for districts of

Modruš Modruš is a village, former episcopal see, and current Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. T ...

, Vinodol-Podgorje, Lika-Gacka, Krbava-Psat, Bribir and Sana-Luka. During the Lorković-Vokić plot, Tomašević offered his help to the Allies if they invade the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

n coast in August 1944. The plot failed and its main leaders were arrested. In December 1944, Tomašević was named commander of the Bihać Division. At the end of the war, in May 1945 he retreated to Austria along with rest of the Croatian Armed Forces. However, in the same month he was extradited to the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

back to

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. He was tried in front of the Military Council of the Court Martial in Belgrade and sentenced to death on 19 September 1945. Tomašević is also remembered for his career during

World War I 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 ...

, as he was a commander of a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

in which

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

, the future

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

President of Yugoslavia, served as a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomasevic, Ivan 1892 births 1945 deaths Military personnel from Zagreb Croatian people of World War I Croatian Home Guard personnel Austro-Hungarian Army officers Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Royal Yugoslav Army personnel of World War II Executed Croatian collaborators with Fascist Italy Executed Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany Executed military leaders