{"id":29795,"date":"2023-06-03T01:20:49","date_gmt":"2023-06-03T00:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/clanci\/"},"modified":"2025-03-23T20:42:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-23T20:42:05","slug":"clanci","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/clanci\/","title":{"rendered":"From the old press"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From the old press: The Story of the Mostar Resistance and the Mostar Battalion<\/h1> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Nusret Seferovi\u0107, Article series: The Partisan Mostar Part 1<\/a><\/span><\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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In July 1941, the Regional Committee of the Communist Party\u00a0of Yugoslavia (KPJ) for Herzegovina, together with the local party organization\u00a0in Mostar, attempted to send a larger group of armed communists from the city\u00a0to the Eastern Herzegovina region to organize and develop the uprising.<\/p>\n

Between August 15 and 20, a group of 28 communists, led by Savo\u00a0Medan<\/b>, managed to leave the city and reach their designated location. The\u00a0detachment departed after 9 p.m. from the Bjelu\u0161ine neighborhood, armed with 16\u00a0rifles, each supplied with 150 rounds. Each fighter also carried a revolver and\u00a0at least two “Kragujevka” rifles.<\/p>\n

The detachment included the following comrades: Karlo\u00a0Batko<\/b>, a worker; Danilo Mili\u0107evi\u0107<\/b>, a high school student; the\u00a0Vujovi\u0107\u00a0<\/b>brothers\u2014Slavko<\/b> and Sveto<\/b>, intellectuals; Boro Zurovac<\/b>, Boro\u00a0Radan<\/b>, and Ranko Mihi\u0107<\/b>, a high school student; the Avdalovi\u0107\u00a0<\/b>brothers\u2014Boro<\/b>, Ljubo<\/b>, and Mom\u010dilo (Mladen)<\/b>, intellectuals;\u00a0Luka Kne\u017ei\u0107<\/b>, a worker; Andrija Stai\u0107<\/b>, an aviation officer of the\u00a0former Yugoslav army; \u017divko Vukovi\u0107<\/b>, a high school student; Boro\u00a0Bala\u0107<\/b>, a worker; Salko Pezo<\/b>, a high school student; Pero La\u017eeti\u0107<\/b>,\u00a0a worker; Hasan Bubi\u0107<\/b>, a worker; Ne\u0111o Bitanga<\/b>, a worker; \u017divota\u00a0Neimarovi\u0107<\/b>, a worker; Aziz Koluder<\/b>, a worker; Rade Salati\u0107<\/b>, a\u00a0worker; Petar Krajina<\/b>, a worker; Remzija Duranovi\u0107<\/b>, a worker; Nenad
Vasi\u0107<\/b>, a student; Obrad Slijep\u010devi\u0107<\/b> and Vasko Gnjati\u0107<\/b>,
workers. When the detachment set out, they were seen off by Avdo Humo\u00a0<\/b>and Muhamed Grebo<\/b>.<\/p>\n

During the night, the detachment carefully passed by the
villages below Vele\u017e and took shelter the next day under the highest peak of\u00a0the mountain. The following night, without a guide, they navigated the rugged\u00a0terrain using a map and compass. They descended near the Muslim village of\u00a0Sopilja, a Usta\u0161e stronghold in Nevesinje Field, and passed between Usta\u0161e\u00a0guards under the cover of night. At dawn, they reached the Mostar\u2013Nevesinje\u00a0road near the church in Kifino Selo, from where they moved on to the village of\u00a0Brata\u010d. The villagers welcomed them warmly, providing food and shelter before\u00a0they continued through the villages of Donji Dre\u017eanj\u2014where they encountered Obren\u00a0Ivkovi\u0107<\/b> and Brana Kova\u010devi\u0107<\/b>\u2014and Gornji Lukavac, where they stayed\u00a0for two to three days while Savo Medan and Nenad Vasi\u0107 set out to meet Miro\u00a0Popara<\/b>. Once contact was established, the detachment proceeded to Fatnica,\u00a0where fighting had already begun.<\/p>\n

On August 27, the insurgents had eliminated the enemy
garrison at Divin, and the battle had moved toward Plana. The detachment\u00a0immediately joined the fight. Alongside other communists and sympathizers, this\u00a0group fought against both the Usta\u0161e and looting and pogrom-driven factions\u00a0that were also involved in the siege of Plana. That same day, Plana was\u00a0captured, and the fighting shifted toward Bile\u0107a.<\/p>\n

“The units under our influence, or rather our comrades
within those units,” reported Uglje\u0161a Danilovi\u0107<\/b> in his September 17\u00a0report to Svetozar Vukmanovi\u0107-Tempo<\/b> on the military-political situation\u00a0in Eastern Herzegovina, “tried to steer the battle in a different\u00a0direction. Thanks to these efforts, a massacre of the Muslim population in\u00a0Bile\u0107a was prevented. Our units protected the Muslim neighborhoods, but they\u00a0could not stop the looting of shops (many Serbian-owned stores were also\u00a0looted) by marauding gangs…”<\/p>\n

To Various Parts of Herzegovina<\/b><\/p>\n

After these battles, according to the pre-established plan
made before their departure from Mostar\u2014with only minor personal\u00a0adjustments\u2014the comrades from the detachment split into smaller groups and were\u00a0sent to different regions of Herzegovina.<\/p>\n

For example, Ranko Mihi\u0107 and the Avdalovi\u0107 brothers were
sent to the Gacko region, Karlo Batko and Danilo Mili\u0107evi\u0107 to the Stolac area,\u00a0Rade Salati\u0107 to Trebinje, and Savo Medan and \u017divota Neimarovi\u0107 to Nevesinje.\u00a0With the help of comrades they found there, they formed one of the first
Partisan battalions in Herzegovina, Nevesinjska pu\u0161ka<\/i> (“The
Nevesinje Rifle”). The battalion commander was Dukica Grahovac, a local\u00a0peasant, with Obren Ivkovi\u0107 as his deputy, while the political commissar was\u00a0Savo Medan, and his deputy was \u017divota Neimarovi\u0107.<\/p>\n

Later, 13 more men moved north, though there were no reports\u00a0about them at the time. However, in a report dated September 8, the Regional\u00a0Headquarters for Herzegovina and Lepa Perovi\u0107 informed the Headquarters of the\u00a0People’s Liberation Movement for Bosnia and Herzegovina, stating, “We\u00a0hope to receive their reports soon.”<\/i><\/p>\n

Based on reports received from the field and accounts from
comrades who had returned to the city, Avdo Humo, outlining the\u00a0military-political situation in Eastern Herzegovina, informed Svetozar\u00a0Vukmanovi\u0107-Tempo that armed units had been organized in villages across the
following districts: Trebinje, Bile\u0107a, Nevesinje, Gacko, and Stolac, and that\u00a0district headquarters had been established.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In Northern Herzegovina<\/b><\/p>\n

While traveling through Herzegovina, Uglje\u0161a Danilovi\u0107 stayed in the northern part of the region, near Konjic, for three to four days. “Two days after my arrival,”<\/i> he wrote in his already mentioned report to Svetozar Vukmanovi\u0107, “a detachment of nine men arrived there, and before me, three comrades had already reached the area.”<\/i><\/p>\n

These comrades had been sent from Mostar to the Konjic district to prepare for the arrival of more fighters and to organize the uprising in the region. “Immediately after the detachment arrived,”<\/i> the report continues, “we called a general assembly attended by 30 to 40 people. I explained the purpose of our arrival, the situation, and the battles in other areas. Everyone present supported taking action, but the available equipment was very limited. However, with what we had, it was possible to begin operations. Our first objective was to clear the area of enemy forces, which consisted of several small garrisons. According to the intelligence we had, these actions could be carried out with minimal casualties. At the same time, we started disarming enemy-sympathetic civilians.”<\/i><\/p>\n

Relations between the Muslim and Serbian populations in that area were significantly better than in other parts of Herzegovina. “People themselves recognize the necessity of cooperation, as only through unity can we achieve complete success in our actions,”<\/i> Danilovi\u0107 noted. During the general assembly, the detachment was divided into units, and preparations were made to form three companies. Before departing, he emphasized to his comrades the importance of swift action.<\/p>\n

How and Where the Detachments Left the City<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Determining the exact number of detachments that left Mostar over the four years of the People’s Liberation War is difficult, as no one systematically recorded this information. However, it is known that almost every month, at least one detachment would leave the city, and in certain periods, detachments departed every two or three days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Couriers or comrades who were already part of the Partisan units, and who knew the escape routes well, would lead these detachments out of Mostar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among those who most frequently led detachments out of Mostar were: Vasilije Maslo-Vaso, Alija Kreso, \u0160erif Bubi\u0107, Vojo Ivani\u0161evi\u0107, Meho Trbonja, Petar Krajina, Hidajet \u0160ari\u0107, Pavle Neimarovi\u0107, as well as Enes Orman, Mustafa Alikalfi\u0107 \u2013 Brko, Huso Vuk, Safet Dizdar, Tofik Demirovi\u0107, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Detachments typically departed from various neighborhoods, including Carina, Mazoljice, Brankovac, Bjelu\u0161ine, Luka, and Donja Mahala. Until mid-1942, when Partisan units temporarily withdrew from Herzegovina, Mostar detachments were sent partially to southern Herzegovina but predominantly to the north. In that region, near Borci\u2014between Mostar and Konjic\u2014the Partisan battalion known as the Mostar Batalion <\/i>was formed..<\/span><\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/span><\/p>\n

1) In Mostar, any group of people heading towards liberated territory to join Partisan military units was referred to as a detachment, regardless of its size. Participants would secretly gather at two or three locations across the city, following prior instructions from the underground organization regarding time and place. Once outside the city, these groups would formally organize into detachments.<\/p>\n

They most frequently assembled in private homes, such as those of \u017divota Neimarovi\u0107, Lazo Radi\u0161i\u0107, Anica Mili\u0107, Milica Samard\u017ei\u0107, Elezovi\u0107, Patak, Avdo Arap, Vasko Gnjati\u0107, Osman \u0160anti\u0107, Meho Zalihi\u0107, Fikret Vila, Ahmet Jehovi\u0107, Avdo Pavlovi\u0107, Memnuna Had\u017eiosmanovi\u0107, Im\u0161ir Gigi\u0107, and Deronja. Other gathering points included the Orthodox cemetery, an abandoned house once belonging to Mi\u0107a Bejat, the Alikalfi\u0107 house in Brankovac, and a deserted home in \u0160eva\u2019s Vineyard.<\/p>\n

2) \u017divota Neimarovi\u0107: A worker and a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) since 1940. He was captured by Chetniks during the withdrawal of Partisan forces from Herzegovina and handed over to the Italians. He was executed in the summer of 1942.<\/p>\n

3) meaning the Konjic Area: In early September, a detachment left Mostar for the Konjic region. The group included Nijaz \u0160ari\u0107, Osman Grebo-Osa, \u0160a\u0107ir Palata, Hasan Bubi\u0107, Memal Dragni\u0107, and Aziz Koluder. Upon arrival in Konjic, they were joined by Nono Bel\u0161a and Muhamed Pirki\u0107.<\/p>\n

A few days earlier, on September 5, Salko Feji\u0107, Alija Deli\u0107, and one other comrade, whose name remains unknown, also left Mostar..<\/p>\n

(To be continued)<\/p>\n

Source<\/a>: Borba<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Nusret Seferovi\u0107:\u00a0The Partisan Mostar Part 2<\/a><\/span><\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The detachments usually exited between the hills of Stolac\nand Veliki Kuk or between Stolac and Pudari, moving very cautiously past enemy\nguards. From there, they continued their route between the villages of Dobr\u010da\nand Po\u0161ipovci to Maslopolje, then across Brasina to Pri\u0161ek. From there, the\npath continued either through Mlini\u0107i\u2014when there were no Chetniks\u2014or via\nPlo\u010denj, then to Klanac and Prijevorac, across the Zijemlje Field to Zeravac,\nand from there over Golo Brdo to the village of Ku\u0161i\u0107i. The detachments would\nstop there at the house of Marko Kurte\u0161 and Danilo Gatalo. After a short rest,\nthe journey continued through the “Black Forest,” past the village of\n\u010cesi, below Rat-Kamen, to \u010cemerno, then from \u010cemerno to Planica, and down the\nOkuke road to the Glavati\u010devo region, continuing to Bora\u010dko Lake, where the\nbattalion headquarters was located.<\/o:p><\/p>

For some time, until mid-1942, while strong partisan detachments and liberated territories still existed in eastern Herzegovina, a shorter route was also used: from Zijemlje via Hansko Polje, Bahtijevi\u0107i, across Lipet and Kula, to Bora\u010dko Lake. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For Southern Herzegovina\u2026<\/o:p><\/b><\/p>\n\n

For southern Herzegovina, the journey followed one of two\nroutes: the first went through Kri\u010dani, below Svinjarina, Banjdoli, and\nKokorina to Prijeki Gromovi, then across the Mostar\u2013Nevesinje road, between\n\u017dulje and Rabina, reaching Udre\u017enje, where partisan units were stationed. The\nsecond route passed through Zijemlje, Lakta, Um\u010dani, and Od\u017eak to Lukavac,\nwhere the headquarters of the Nevesinje Rifle<\/i> battalion was located.\nWhen, in mid-1942, partisan units were forced to temporarily withdraw from\nHerzegovina to western Bosnia, Mostar remained far behind them. Nevertheless,\nrecruitment of fighters from the city for the partisan army did not stop.<\/o:p><\/p>\n\n

Among others, this was reported by Vaso Miskin, a member of\nthe Provincial Committee. In a report from the newly formed Regional Party\nCommittee for Herzegovina, Hamo Grebo wrote on September 20, 1942:<\/o:p><\/p>\n\n

“Comrades from the Municipal Committee have\nestablished contact with the organization in Jablanica and the 1st Mostar\nBattalion. They will strive to transfer all illegal fighters and compromised\ncomrades to the partisans as soon as possible. Transfers were successfully\ncarried out individually, and through the railway workers’ organization, people\nwere being moved almost daily from Mostar to Jablanica or Ostro\u017eac, and from\nthere to the first units of the 10th Herzegovina Brigade and other partisan detachments.”<\/i><\/o:p><\/p>\n\n

However, there were situations where these efforts were not\nenough. One such problem arose precisely when the enemy controlled Herzegovina,\nand the authorities of the so-called Independent State of Croatia (NDH) took\nadvantage of this situation by enforcing conscription into their army. In his\nreport, Grebo further stated:<\/o:p><\/p>\n\n

“In the city, conscription is being carried out for\nyoung men born in 1921, 1922, 1923, and 1924. Even a single day’s delay results\nin a military court sentence. We informed the Mostar Battalion to find a\nsuitable location and make a plan to stop the train transporting the 1923\nconscripts to Vara\u017edin. We will notify them at least two days in advance.”<\/i><\/o:p><\/p>\n\n

Some of these recruits never even boarded the train, as the\nyouth organization helped them hide and later sent them to the partisan\ndetachments through “normal” routes.<\/o:p><\/p>\n\n

Due to the high number of people wanting to join the\npartisan units and the party organization’s efforts to send as many fighters as\npossible from the city to the army, all the existing escape routes proved\ninsufficient. Seeking new exits, at the end of July 1942, one detachment left\nthe city in broad daylight via a new route: through Ra\u0161ka Gora, below Goranci,\nthen across \u010cvrsnica and Pla\u0161a, finally reaching Doljani.<\/o:p><\/p>\n\n

This detachment was composed of fighters who had been\nforced, after the retreat of partisan forces from Herzegovina, when their units\nwere broken up or scattered, to come to Mostar in order to reconnect with the\npartisan army (as mentioned in Grebo\u2019s report). A squad from the Mostar\nBattalion of the 10th Herzegovina Brigade entered the city to guide them out. <\/div>

Although the detachment had been spotted, it successfully reached our units despite passing through unknown, mountainous, and rugged terrain for the first time.<\/o:p><\/p>

In a report from the Sjen\u010dina gendarmerie station dated July 27, 1942, sent to the district authorities in Mostar, it was stated:<\/o:p><\/p>


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“On July 26, 1942, Karlo Raji\u0107, the elder of the village of Gornja Pre\u017enica, reported to this station that a group of 20 rebels had moved from Mostar and was heading toward Duvno. This group of rebels is well-armed with rifles, machine guns, and bombs. The rebels remained on July 26 in the \u010cvrsnica mountains, at a place called \u2018Te\u017eovnica,\u2019 until nightfall.”<\/i><\/p>\n

The station commander, Sergeant Bla\u017eevi\u0107, reported that “no measures were taken because the station only has ten gendarmes, and it must also be secured every night with the available armed forces.”<\/i><\/p>\n

In early spring 1943, a partisan detachment was formed in Hrasno, between Stolac and Ljubinje. The city was under blockade, and the road to Hrasno was long and full of obstacles. However, two routes were found:<\/p>\n

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  1. The first route led from Bjelu\u0161ine or Luka to Svinjarina, Banjdol, Kru\u017ealj, Kokorina, Prijeki Grom, between \u017dulje and Okoli\u0161ta, above Vranjevi\u0107i to Hodovo, then between Kozice and Trijebanj to Lokve, Prenj, across the Bregava River to Hairli\u0107i and Hrasno.<\/li>\n
  2. The second route started from Donja Mahala, following the railway tracks, passing between \u010cekrk\u2014where an Italian bunker was located\u2014and Hum, then through the pass to the Mostar\u2013Jasenica road, near the airfield towards the Neretva River.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A short break was taken at the abandoned Muji\u0107 house, where the group waited for others, as only small groups could move up to that point. From there, the detachments moved along the right bank of the Neretva towards Ba\u0107evi\u0107i, arriving before dawn. They stayed at the home of Dragutin \u0160koro, where the detachment would rest for the day. Security was ensured both by the detachment’s own guards and by local villagers.<\/p>\n

    The following night, the detachment crossed the Neretva in small boats. On the other side, \u017darko \u0160upljeglav had organized their reception. The detachments then continued through Hodbine, Rotimlja, between Stanojevi\u0107i and Trijebanj to Lokve, then near Aladini\u0107i across the Mostar\u2013Stolac road to Prenj, across the Bregava River to Hairli\u0107i, and finally to Hrasno.<\/p>\n

    At Rotimlja, the detachment was usually met by a member of the District Party Committee for the Stolac region.<\/p>\n

    All the detachments that attempted to reach Hrasno during this period failed to reach their destination.<\/p>\n

    One detachment was crushed in mid-April 1943 before it even reached Hodbine. Many comrades were captured by Italian and Chetnik forces. To avoid falling into enemy hands, Ne\u0111o Bitanga\u2014who had previously returned to the city from the field but was now attempting to escape again\u2014threw a grenade under himself and died.<\/p>\n

    Another detachment, which had just set out to meet the 10th Herzegovina Brigade (which was advancing from northern Herzegovina towards Hrasno), was attacked and destroyed.<\/p>\n

    Enemy documents recorded the tragedy of this large group of young communists.<\/p>\n

    On July 5, 1943, the commander of the Blagaj gendarmerie station, Sergeant Mujo D\u017eonko, reported to the Velika \u017dupa Hum<\/i> in Mostar:<\/p>\n

    *”On July 4, 1943, around 2:30 AM, about 200 German SS troops, along with three officers, arrived in Blagaj from Mostar. They requested that the gendarmes from this station guide them and show them the way to Kalu\u0111er Bunar and towards Stjepan Krst. Gendarme Ra\u0161id Krupalija and auxiliary officer Osman Mutilovi\u0107 were sent with them. When they arrived at Kalu\u0111er Bunar around 10 AM, near Stjepan Krst, the troops advanced and encountered a group of partisans, immediately engaging them in combat.<\/p>\n

    During the clash, 8 partisans were killed, 3 were wounded, and 23 were captured. The captured weapons included 1 mortar, 1 heavy machine gun, and 39 rifles.”*<\/p>\n

    Since part of the group managed to retreat, “the troops continued pursuing the partisans towards Dabrica.”<\/i><\/p>\n

    (To be continued…)<\/i>.<\/p>\n

    Source<\/a>: Borba<\/p>\n<\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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    Nusret Seferovi\u0107:\u00a0The Partisan Mostar Part 3<\/a><\/span><\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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    The Germans took the captured prisoners and later executed them at Mostarsko Blato (aka Ovojci). Among those executed was\u00a0Mladen Balorda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Who Joined the Detachments?<\/b><\/p>\n

    Not all detachments had the same number of members. For example:<\/p>\n