Alija I. MEHIĆ 

ALIJA MEHIĆ, son of IBRO, born on October 5, 1927, in Prigrađani near Mostar. Farmer. Joined the NOV and POJ on February 14, 1945, in the 14th Hercegovina Brigade. Fighter of the 29th Division. Killed on May 11, 1945, near Tržič in Slovenia, “on the last day of organized enemy resistance.”

“The 14th Brigade, in front of Tržič, encountered resistance on the positions of Zganja Vas-Kovor-Brezje. The Ljubelj Pass was still congested with enemy troops. The 3rd Division of the Artillery Brigade arrived to support the attack and took firing positions near the village of Duplje. Short and intense artillery fire enabled the quick defeat of the enemy and the liberation of Tržič. By rapidly pursuing and launching flank attacks, the enemy column moving towards Ljubelj was cut into multiple parts and halted. The Brigade then broke through to the Ljubelj Pass by 8 p.m. and established contact with the allied forces in Austria. In this final battle that the units of the Division fought in World War II, the enemy had 170 dead, and 314 German soldiers, Chetniks, and Slovenian Domobrani were captured. The entire column, which stretched from Tržič to Ljubelj, was seized. It contained numerous horse-drawn carriages, motor vehicles, and equipment. On this last day, May 11, the 11th Brigade, advancing in the second echelon of the Division, broke through to Kranj and captured 30 German soldiers with 4 trucks. While the Artillery Brigade accompanied and supported the 13th and 14th Brigades, the Division Headquarters, along with the 10th Brigade and reserve units, remained in Ljubljana. On the Division’s sector, organized enemy resistance ceased on May 11. In the following two to three days, efforts were focused on capturing individuals or small groups, some of which offered resistance. On the last day of organized enemy resistance (May 11), in the battles for the liberation of Tržič and Radovljica, five fighters of the 29th Division were killed, and around twenty were wounded (…)”