Ivan Babić (officer)
Ivan Babić (15 December 1904 – 6 June 1982) was a Croatian soldier and lieutenant-colonel in the Croatian Home Guard and later an emigrant dissident writer against Communist Yugoslavia.
Ivan Babić | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 December 1904 Sveti Ivan Žabno, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 6 June 1982 (aged 77) Torremolinos, Spain |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Yugoslavia Independent State of Croatia Nazi Germany |
| Service/ | Royal Yugoslav Army Croatian Home Guard |
| Years of service | 1924–1945 |
| Rank | Major (Yugoslavia) Lieutenant colonel (NDH) |
| Unit | 38th Infantry Division Dravska (Yugoslavia) 369th Reinforced Infantry Regiment (Germany/NDH) |
| Battles/wars | Eastern Front |
| Awards | Iron Cross 1st Class |
He attended gymnasium in Bjelovar. Babić became a military cadet in the Yugoslav Royal Army and was sent to Paris to perform further training at the École Superieure de Guerre.[1]
World War II
During the German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Babić served as a major in the 38th Drava Infantry Division.[citation needed] In 1942, he commanded the 369th Reinforced Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the Croatian Legion, which fought on the Eastern Front. In 1943, he headed the Home Guard Central School. In 1943, he flew a mission to American troops in Italy to suggest that the Allies invade the Dalmatian coast of the Independent State of Croatia to prevent the country from falling into communist hands. He claimed the invasion would meet no resistance and that the Croatian army would establish a beachhead for them.[2] The British subsequently held him as prisoner of war in Bari.
After the war he worked for a period as an engineer in Venezuela.[1] He was a frequent contributor to the Croatian emigrant weekly, Hrvatska revija (Croatian Review).[3] He secured a visa for Croatian writer Bruno Bušić to come to Spain; Busić was later assassinated.[4] He published U.S. Policy Towards Yugoslavia, which was translated into English by Mate Meštrović.[5]
References
- ^ a b Rober Bajruši (28 October 2003). "Boris Maruna - disident u ambasadorskoj fotelji" [Boris Maruna - dissident in an ambassador's chair] (in Croatian). Nacional. from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ^ http://161.53.245.120/WebCGI.exe?Tip=traziJ&srchfield=7&searchdata=700%3A000679%20or%20701%3A000679%20or%20702%3A000679%20or%20600%3A000679&Exact=NotE&SelBase=1&NaslovSF=Babić,%20Ivan
- ^ Profile Archived 2007-08-16 at archive.today, fokus-tjednik.hr; accessed 3 February 2019.
- ^ , Vjesnik; accessed 2 February 2019.(in Croatian)
Sources
- Obhođaš, Amir; Mark, Jason (2012). Hrvatska legija - 369. pojačana (hrvatska) pješačka pukovnija na Istočnom bojištu 1941. - 1943 (in Croatian). Zagreb: Despot Infinitus. ISBN 978-953-7892-00-5.