Mustafa A. ĆEMALOVIĆ, national hero

MUSTAFA MUJO ĆEMALOVIĆ ĆIMBA, son of AHMET, born on December 31, 1919, in Mostar, a tailor. He grew up in a poor family. Even as an apprentice, he became involved in the revolutionary workers’ movement. Later, as a young worker, he participated in demonstrations organized by the illegal Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ). He earned the nickname “Ćimba” because of his agility, resourcefulness, and bravery. He became a member of SKOJ in 1941 and KPJ in 1942. He joined the People’s Liberation War in October 1941 as a deputy squad leader in the Mostar (Konjic) battalion. Captured by the Germans in July 1943 near Konjic, he was killed at Ovojci near Mostar on August 20, 1943. He was honored as a national hero.

In the early days of the occupation, he joined the Carina Strike Group as a SKOJ member, participating in raids on military warehouses and smuggling out weapons, ammunition, and other materials. He joined the Battalion in October 1941 and quickly distinguished himself as a brave fighter in the initial actions, such as the capture of gendarmerie stations at Glavatičevo, Bjelimići, and Rujište.

He was part of the Assault Platoon, led by Mehmed Trbonja, in which the best fighters from each squad were selected. He participated in a series of actions, such as the smuggling of ammunition and other equipment from the North Camp in Mostar on April 21, 1942 (the action was carried out by Mehmed Trbonja, Živko Papo Henći, Rifat Frenjo, Martin Raguž, and Alija Muratbegović Šico).

In another well-known rescue operation, together with Meho Trbonja, Safet Alagić, Abdulah Lugić, and Hasan Zahirović Laca, he liberated fighters who were captured after the Chetnik coup from the Konjic prison. After a forced march of twenty kilometers, they arrived in the city, swam across the Neretva River, and managed to cross the prison walls and free their captured comrades.

In January 1943, amidst deep snow and low temperatures, the Mostar Battalion, in cooperation with the battalions of the Tenth Hercegovina Assault Brigade, launched an attack on Žepče. Mujo particularly distinguished himself in this battle, especially during the assault on an armored wagon that needed to be captured using bombs. One Ustaše and Domobran company with all their weapons were captured. The Mostar Battalion was commended by the Supreme Commander of the People’s Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments, Josip Broz Tito, for this feat.

During the attack on Prozor in February 1943, in the course of the Fourth Enemy Offensive, the fighters of the Mostar Battalion were the first to break into the town and launch attacks on the enemy, who had entrenched themselves in strong fortifications. Meanwhile, an Italian column arrived, which had set out from Rama to help Prozor. Members of this battalion allowed the column to approach them and ambushed and destroyed it. Four Italian tanks and fifteen trucks were captured during that operation.

He often carried out independent and self-initiated actions, such as capturing one or two Italian soldiers at a time. He recovered from typhus at the beginning of the Fifth Enemy Offensive on the Sutjeska River. As the deputy commander of the platoon, he was captured in August 1943 along with Muhidin Bašagić, who was serving as a courier for the Supreme Staff, near Konjic. They were surprised by a German patrol and captured. They were subsequently transferred to a prison in Mostar.

On Ovojci near Mostar, on August 26, 1943, he was killed, Ljubo Brešan, Muhidin Bašagić (according to some sources, Muhidin’s sister Hajrija Bašagić as well). After the war, their remains were transferred and buried at the Partisan Cemetery in Mostar. He was proclaimed a National Hero on December 20, 1951. A monument was erected on Ovojci after the war, with the names of the executed fighters engraved on it. The bust of the National Hero Mustafa Ćemalović Ćimba is located in the Donja Mahala neighborhood of Mostar.

He was described as “quiet and reserved. In his early youth, he joined the workers’ movement. (…) As a fighter of the Battalion, he descended to Mostar and participated in various actions. Even in those situations, he found time to visit his beloved mother. In battles, he was a leading bomber and belonged to the group of the bravest fighters in the Battalion. Nothing was difficult for him, he accepted and carried out every task.”

One action of the assault squad:

“The assault squad was directly subordinate to the Battalion Headquarters and had the task of carrying out diversions, setting up ambushes, capturing hidden enemies, and assisting territorial units in combat. One platoon of the 1st company and the Assault squad attacked the Prenj railway station on December 13, demolishing all the equipment, cutting the railway at multiple places, and withdrawing to Dobrigošće. A patrol led by Mustafa Ćemalović Ćimba was sent, which captured an Italian soldier who had a mounted Breda machine gun on his motorcycle. The tires were removed from the motorcycle. When the patrol returned to the village, where the Italian provided training to our fighters on handling the machine gun, he was given two chickens and released to his garrison in Jablanica.”

*The commemorative plaque of Mustafa Ćemalović had the wrong year of birth written on it.