Ivan Babić (officer)
| Ivan Babić | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
15 December 1904 Sveti Ivan Žabno, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia |
| Died |
6 June 1982 (aged 77) Torremolinos, Spain |
| Allegiance |
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| Service/ |
Royal Yugoslav Army Croatian Home Guard |
| Years of service | 1924-1945 |
| Rank |
Major (Yugoslavia) |
| Unit |
38th Infantry Division Dravska (Yugoslavia) 369th Reinforced Infantry Regiment (Germany/NDH) |
| Battles/wars | Eastern Front |
| Awards | Iron Cross 1st Class |
Ivan Babić (15 December 1904, Sveti Ivan Žabno – 6 June 1982, Torremolinos, Spain) was a Croatian soldier and lieutenant-colonel in the Croatian Home Guard and later an emigrant dissident writer against Communist Yugoslavia.
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] During the April War Babić served as a major in the 38th Drava Infantry Division.
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 Babić 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 the visa for Croatian writer, and later assassination victim, Bruno Bušić to come to Spain.[4]
Babić wrote the paper U.S. Policy Towards Yugoslavia, which was translated into English by Mate Meštrović.[5]
Notes
- 1 2 Rober Bajruši (28 October 2003). "Boris Maruna - disident u ambasadorskoj fotelji" [Boris Maruna - dissident in an ambassador's chair] (in Croatian). Nacional (weekly). Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ↑ Myth: "The Croatians executed dozens of American airmen"
- ↑
- ↑ Fokus
- ↑ Mirnim i demokratskim putem ostvariti neotuðivo pravo hrvatskoga naroda na narodni i dravni suverenitet, Vjesnik
References
- 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.