Osman R. BEGOVIĆ 

OSMAN BEGOVIĆ, son of DURAN*, born in 1924* in Kokorina near Mostar. Farmer. Joined the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments on February 18, 1945, in the 3rd Battalion of the 13th Hercegovina Brigade. Fighter, died one month later in the final battles against the Germans for Ivan-sedlo, on March 19, 1945.

EXCERPT FROM LITERATURE about the battles in which Osman died:

“The enemy launched stronger attacks on the front line of defense at Ivan-sedlo on March 13, 19, and 26. The first attack, carried out on the 10th Brigade’s axis on the morning of March 13, was related to the action of the 7th SS Division ‘Zajtenšprung’ against the 10th Assault Division but was not energetically conducted. With the support of the 2nd Division of the Artillery Brigade (157 shells expended), it was repelled quite easily. The second attack, launched on March 19 at 4:45 a.m., on the 13th Brigade’s axis, was overcome only with the use of the brigade reserve after twelve hours of fighting. Namely, on that day, in order to prevent the Division from intervening towards Trnovo with stronger reserves, the reinforced 3rd Battalion of the 370th Grenadier Regiment, with artillery support, captured Hill 1011 on Mali Ivan. Six counter-attacks by the 3rd Battalion were unsuccessful, so in the afternoon, the 4th Battalion was also engaged from the reserve. With a joint assault, the enemy was pushed back to their starting positions; however, during this action, along with ten fighters and lower-ranking officers, the political commissar of the 3rd Battalion, Rajko Milosević from Bijeljana near Bileća, was killed. According to their own data, only the German battalion had 14 dead and 24 wounded. The Brigade’s data speaks of a total of 45 dead found on the battlefield. The simultaneous attack of the Ustaše 1st Assault Detachment from Rudno brdo (Hill) k. 1284 was not successful. The following fighters died: Fehim Ahmetović from Ostrošac near Konjic, Osman Begović from Kokorina near Mostar, Ibrahim Buzaljko from Stolac, Omer Delalić from Ostrošac near Konjic, Omer Džemić from Kruševljan near Nevesinje, Spasoje Đonlaga from Opličić near Stolac, Sava Lasohan from Ljuti Dol near Stolac, Milinko Miškulin from Melenac near Zrenjanin (SAP Vojvodina), Slavko Raštegorac from Trebinje, and Hasan Tatar from Bačina near Ostrošac.”

*according to the data from the book “Spomenica Mostara 1941-1945.”