Zvonimir Vučković

Zvonimir Vučković (Serbian Cyrillic: Звонимир Вучковић; 1916—2004) was a Yugoslav Chetnik military commander holding the rank of Major and vojvoda during World War II and one of the closest associates of Draža Mihailović.[1]

Zvonimir Vučković
Nickname(s)Zvonko
Born(1916-07-06)July 6, 1916
Bijeljina, Austria-Hungary (modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina)
DiedDecember 21, 2004(2004-12-21) (aged 88)
California, United States
Allegiance Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Chetniks
RankMajor
Commands held
  • Takovo Chetnik Detachment
  • 1st Ravna Gora Corp
Battles/wars
Awards
Spouse(s)Anka née Smiljanić

Vučković was born in Bijeljina in Croatian family Prkić in 1916. After his father died when he was four, Vučkovićs mother married Aleksandar Vučković from Vranje. Zvonimir completed military academy in Belgrade and became military officer of the Royal Yugoslav Army, first in Zagreb, then in Belgrade. When he heard that Yugoslav government signed tripartite pact with Nazi Germany on 25 March 1941, Vučković immediately left the country to join Greek Army struggling against Fascist Italia as an act of protest. After his own country was invated by Axis he returned and in June 1941 joined guerilla units of Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland, commonly known as Chetniks.

In September he established the Takovo Chetnik Detachment and became its commander. On 29 September 1941 he commanded his detachment, supported by one unit of communist Partisans, and liberated Gornji Milanovac. He later became a commander of the 1st Ravna Gora Corps. He left Yugoslavia as member of the Chetnik political and military mission at the end of the Operation Halyard, also organized by him, and spent rest of his life in US.

Early life

Zvonimir Vučković was born in Bijeljina on 6 July 1916 in the ethnic Croatian family, of father Petar Prkić who hailed from Vareš and mother Anka from Makarska. After Zvonimir's father died in 1920, his mother married to Aleksandar Vučković from Vranje. In 1930 Zvonimir's stepfather was transferred to Zagreb. In 1931, Zvonimir was accepted into Military Academy in Belgrade, when he was 16. He completed his education in Zagreb, where his parents lived, he served in 30th Artillery Division "Prince Tomislav". In September 1939 Zvonimir's stepfather died when Germany signed the Ribbentrop-Molotov treaty with Soviet Union. Right after funeral of his stepfather, based on his request Zvonimir was transferred to Belgrade to Cavalrly Artillery Division of the Royal Guard. He was a very good friend with Momčilo Smiljanić and Savo Konavlinka.[2]

World War II

As an act of protest when Yugoslav government signed tripartite pact with Nazi Germany on 25 March 1941, Vučković left the country together with two of his associates to join Greek Army struggling against Fascist Italy.[3][4] After Axis invaded Yugoslavia, Vučković returned to German occupied Serbia and went to Ravna Gora on 27 June 1941 and joined Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland guerilla forces known as Chetniks. Based on the order of Mihailović, Vučković established new detachment (Takovo Chetnik Detachment) in the region of Takovo County which was his zone of operation in September 1941.[5] The code name of Vučković was - Felix.[6] On 29 September 1941 Lieutenant Vučković and his Takovo Chetnik Detachment together with one unit of Partisans attacked and captured Gornji Milanovac.[7] In 1942 he was awarded with Order of the Star of Karađorđe.[8]

Vučković was commander of the 1st Ravna Gora Corps.[9] The official journal of the 1st Ravna Gora Corps was Ravnogorac (Serbian: Равногорац) published since October 1943.[10]

Vučković commanded 2,000 Chetniks that secured the Ba Congress held between 25 and 28 January 1944.[11]

Vučković was one of the main organizers of Operation Halyard conducted in period 2 August–27 December 1944.[12] After the last Allied pilots were evacuated Mihailović sent Vučković with the political-military Chetnik mission to Allied HQ in Bari.[13] The other members were Adam Pribićević, Vladimir Belajčić and Ivan Kovač.[14]

Post WWII

After war Vučković went to France and then to United States, where he worked as an engineer. From 1952 to 1956, he was a member of an editorial team of Democratic Тhought (Serbian: Демократска мисао) headed by Adam Pribićević. He published his texts in Voice of Canadian Serbs and Our Word of Desimir Tošić. Vučković died on 21 December 2004 in California, on the same day when the Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted the law which equalized rights of Partisans and Chetniks. Vučković was elected as member of an association known as Liberation (Serbian: Ослобођење). His book of war memories was published in 1977 and received an award Slobodan Jovanović by Association of Serbian Writers and Artists from London as the best book published in that year.[15]

Bibliography

After the war Vučković published his war memoirs which are generally accepted as reliable.[16]

Vučkovićs bibliography includes:

  • Vučković, Zvonimir (1980). Sećanja iz rata. 1. Naše delo.
  • Vučković, Zvonimir (1984). Od otpora - do građanskog rata: 2-a knjiga Sećanja iz rata. 2. Veritas Foundation Press.
  • Vučković, Zvonimir (2004). A Balkan Tragedy--Yugoslavia, 1941-1946: Memoirs of a Guerilla Fighter. East European Monographs. ISBN 978-0-88033-537-9.
  • Vučković, Zvonimir; Krstić, Uglješa (2001). Ravnogorska istorijska čitanka: povest nacionalnog pokreta otpora u II svetskom ratu kroz dela učesnika i svedoka : jubilarno izdanje povodom šezdesetgodišnjice, 1941-2001. Bajat.
  • Timotijević, Miloš (2015). Zvonko Vučković : Ratna biografija (1941-1944) - rasprava o problemima prošlosti i sadašnjosti. Službeni glasnik. ISBN 978-86-519-1915-5.

References
  1. (Dimitriǰević & Nikolić 2004, p. 223)
  2. Radisavljević, Zoran (15 February 2016). "Hrvat u štabu Draže Mihailovića". Politika. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  3. Naša reč: organ Saveza Oslobodjenje. Savez. 1982. p. 12. Slobodoljubiv vojnik, koji je došao do uverenja da će Na mesnička vlada kapitulirati pred Hitlerom ulaskom u Trojni pakt, 25. marta 1941, Zvonimir Vučković odlučuje sa dvojicom Svojih drugova da ...
  4. Kosić, Nikola A. (1984). Dnevnik: 17 mart-28 mart 1941. Neven Publishing. p. 8. ...били су напустили земљу још 25. марта, у знак револта, и отишли у Грчку, поручници: Звонимир Вучковић, Момчило Смиљанић и Сава Конвалинка, 25. март, уторак пре подне.
  5. Radisavljević, Zoran (15 February 2016). "Hrvat u štabu Draže Mihailovića". Politika. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  6. (Vučković & Krstić 2001, p. 148)
  7. (Karchmar 1973, p. 217):"Their fears were justified when they were attacked by the Takovo Četniks under Lt. Zvonko Vučković, in cooperation with a Partisan unit from..."
  8. "Sećanja iz rata". Večernje Novosti. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  9. Лесковац, Младен; Форишковић, Александар; Попов, Чедомир (2004). Српски биографски речник. Будућност. p. 536. Звонимир Вучковић, командант Првог равногорског корпуса ЈВО
  10. (Matić & Vesović 1995, p. 107):"Орган 1. равногорског корпуса био је „Равногорац", чији је први број објављен октобра 1943. Лист је умножаван на шапирографу, вероватно ...
  11. (Vesović & Nikolić 1996, p. 61):"Око 2000 војника качерског и таковског среза било је у његовом обезбеђењу, чији је шеф био капетан Звонимир Вучковић."
  12. (Pešić 2002, p. 26):" Captain Zvonko Vuckovic, who organized evacuation of American Airmen from the airfield Pranjani, on Ravna Gora."
  13. (Chalou 1995, p. 198):"They were accompanied by the Chetnik major, Zvonimir Vučković, one of the principal Chetnik commanders. Such a political-military mission had not been authorized by Allied authorities. a Reaction of Marshal Tito American intelligence ..."
  14. (Chalou 1995, p. 198)
  15. Radisavljević, Zoran (15 February 2016). "Hrvat u štabu Draže Mihailovića". Politika. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  16. (Beloff 1985, p. 68):"One Chetnik commander, Zvonimir Vuckovic, whose war memoirs are generally accepted as reliable, recalled the capture of Communist files in Gornji Milanovac in the winter of 1942, which ..."

Sources

Further reading
  • Timotijević, Miloš (2015). Zvonko Vučković : Ratna biografija (1941-1944) - rasprava o problemima prošlosti i sadašnjosti. Službeni glasnik. ISBN 978-86-519-1915-5.
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