{"id":11908,"date":"2023-05-16T18:47:29","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T17:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/partizan\/nedo-r-bitanga\/"},"modified":"2024-08-28T17:10:34","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T16:10:34","slug":"nedo-r-bitanga","status":"publish","type":"partizan","link":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/partizan\/nedo-r-bitanga\/","title":{"rendered":"Ne\u0111o R. BITANGA\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

NEDJELJKO NE\u0110O BITANGA, son of RADOSLAV, born on April 14, 1918, in Mostar, auto mechanic, trade unionist, member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) since 1936. Son of the veteran communist Rade Bitanga<\/a>, one of the founders of the KPJ in Mostar and a collaborator of Gojko Vukovi\u0107, and Darinka Bitanga<\/a> who were hanged in Mostar in November 1943. Member of the Local Committee of the KPJ for Mostar and the Military Commission (military commission composed of: Jusuf \u010cevro<\/a>, Ne\u0111o Bitanga<\/a>, and Vasko Gnjati\u0107) with the task of organizing communication with the field, creating channels for the departure of fighters and transportation of materials to the field; maintaining courier connections with the field and cities in Herzegovina, as well as connections with the Provincial Committee in Sarajevo and the Regional Committee in the field. First fighter, in the Battalion since mid-August 1941. He was part of a group of fighters that, between August 15 and 20, 1941, formed a detachment led by Savo Medan. They set off after 9 p.m. from the Bjelu\u0161ine neighborhood, armed with 16 rifles, 150 rounds per rifle. Each fighter had a revolver and at least two “Kragujevac” rifles. Company commissar. In late 1942, he was sent to Mostar, according to witnesses, due to a lack of physical condition. In Mostar, he was preparing an armed attack on the Ustasha commander Barbari\u0107. When he was returning to the detachment on April 26, 1943 (from the Lower Mahala towards Ba\u0107evi\u0107i and across the Neretva), the enemy surprised Ne\u0111o’s group in the area of Petka near the village of Buna. Ne\u0111o was surrounded, he defended himself with a pistol (according to some sources, he was wounded), and when he ran out of ammunition, to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy, he threw a grenade under himself and died. He was described as a “beloved fighter.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excerpts from the literature:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the return to Mostar:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I remember that some comrades, considering that they had lived illegally for a long time, had very poor physical condition, and they had difficulty moving, thus slowing down the march of the detachment. For example, Ne\u0111o Bitanga was constantly falling behind, and since he couldn’t continue, it was decided that he would return to Mostar from Podvele\u017eje. Someone had to accompany him because he had difficulty moving. Hasan Bubi\u0107 went with him, and later I learned from him how they returned to Mostar. They had to move during the day. For camouflage, Hasan Bubi\u0107, armed with a rifle as an ‘Ustasha,’ escorted Ne\u0111o tied up towards Mostar. When they were close to the city, he untied him, they waited for dusk, and then entered Mostar.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Ne\u0111o’s death:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The first group set off from Mostar, from Donja Mahala, from the house of Zineta Sehovi\u0107 and Memnuna Had\u017eiosmanovi\u0107, during the night of April 25\/26, 1943, towards Dubrave. The group consisted of: PETAR KRAJINA, the group leader, NE\u0110O BITANGA, MUHAMED BOSTAND\u017dI\u0106, \u0160ERIF BURI\u0106<\/a>, ZAJKO \u0106USTOVI\u0106, MUHAMED GREBO, SALKO HAD\u017dAJLI\u0106, SLAVKO IVANI\u0160EVI\u0106, ABID VOLODER, GOJKO RADE VUKOVI\u0106, SLOBODAN ZUROVAC, and \u0160EFKIJA ZULJEVI\u0106. The group was armed with 4 pistols and hand grenades. Upon arriving in Ba\u010devi\u0107i, they were transported across the Neretva River by boats and headed towards Ak\u0161am’s Grove on the Petak elevation near the Buna River for rendezvous. However, the guides did not arrive, so the group waited until dawn and then took shelter deeper into the forest. When the owner of the forest, Du\u0161an Ak\u0161am, passed by, the group detained him, but due to the negligence of some comrades, he managed to escape. Uncertain if he would report them, it was decided that the group would proceed to Dubrave. Soon after, they were attacked by Chetniks, Muslim Ustasha militia, and Italians. The command was given to flee in all directions to at least save someone. Bostand\u017ei\u0107, Buri\u0107, and \u0106ustovi\u0107 returned to Mostar via Bi\u0161\u0107e and avoided capture, while Voloder returned alone. All others were captured. Grebo and Had\u017eajli\u0107 were wounded and taken to an Italian hospital for treatment. Ne\u0111o Bitanga, surrounded, defended himself with a pistol, and when he ran out of ammunition, he activated a hand grenade and placed it beside him to avoid capture, shouting ‘Long live Stalin!’ and ‘Long live the Communist Party of Yugoslavia!'”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEDJELJKO NE\u0110O BITANGA, son of RADOSLAV, born on April 14, 1918, in Mostar, auto mechanic, trade unionist, member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) since 1936. Son of the veteran communist Rade Bitanga, one of the founders of the KPJ in Mostar and a collaborator of Gojko Vukovi\u0107, and Darinka Bitanga who were hanged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":28742,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[314,315,316],"tags":[361,317,330],"prezime":[343],"class_list":["post-11908","partizan","type-partizan","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-18-25-g-en","category-poginuli-1943-en","category-poginuli-u-bih-en","tag-bitanga-en","tag-bataljon-en","tag-foto-en","prezime-b-en","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"ptb_metabox":{"ptb_partizan_izvori":"

\u0106emalovi\u0107, Enver (1986): Mostarski bataljon<\/a>, Mostar; Deseta Hercegova\u010dka brigada<\/a> (spisak boraca) ; grupa autora (1961): Hercegovina u NOB 1. dio<\/a>, Beograd, Vojno delo; Konjhod\u017ei\u0107, Mahmud (1981): \u201cMostarke\u201d<\/a>: fragmenti o revolucionarnoj djelatnosti i patriotskoj opredjeljenosti \u017eena Mostara, o njihovoj borbi za slobodu i socijalizam, Op\u0161tinski odbor SUBNOR-a Mostar; Seferovi\u0107, Mensur (1958): \u201cBataljon u okupiranom gradu<\/a>\u201d, Sarajevo; grupa autora (1961): Hercegovina u NOB 1. dio<\/a>, Beograd, Vojno delo; grupa autora: Spomenica Mostara 1941-1945.<\/p>\r\n

Photo of the memorial plaque:<\/em> S. Demirovi\u0107; photo of the fighter: \u201cPartizanski spomenik u Mostaru\u201d (unconfirmed).<\/p>","ptb_partizan_datum_rodzenja":"(1918. Mostar \u2013 1943. Malo Polje)","ptb_partizan_godina":"24","ptb_partizan_galerija_1":{"url":["http:\/\/partizansko.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/p-bitanga-n.jpg","http:\/\/partizansko.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/P-Nedo-Bitanga-partiza42-tacnonet-2.jpg","http:\/\/partizansko.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/porodica-Bitanga.jpg","http:\/\/partizansko.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/borci-Bitanga.jpg"],"link":["","","",""],"title":["","","The Bitanga family. Source: Darko Juka, article \"Hrvat ubijen u Lepoglavi zaveden kao Srbin i jasenova\u010dka \u017ertva\", Ve\u010dernji list, 2024.","three fallen members of the Bitanga family"],"description":["","","",""]},"ptb_partizan_poruka_":"Do you have more information about this fighter? Share<\/a> your stories and photographs. Let's keep the memory alive!","ptb_partizan_ploca":{"1":"http:\/\/partizansko.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Bitanga-Nedo-IMG_3350-rotated.jpg","2":"http:\/\/partizansko.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Bitanga-Nedo-IMG_3350-rotated.jpg"},"ptb_partizan_spisak_info":["partizan_spisak_info_1","partizan_spisak_info_2","partizan_spisak_info_3"]},"ptb_taxonomy":{"category":[{"term_id":314,"name":"18-25 y\/o","slug":"18-25-g-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":314,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":415,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":315,"name":"died in 1943","slug":"poginuli-1943-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":315,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":183,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":316,"name":"died in BiH","slug":"poginuli-u-bih-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":316,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":518,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":361,"name":"Bitanga","slug":"bitanga-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":361,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":317,"name":"Fallen fighters of the Mostar Battalion.","slug":"bataljon-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":317,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"[gallery link=\"file\" size=\"medium\" ids=\"7114,7116,7122\"]\r\n\r\nMostar Battalion was formed as the \"Konji\u010dki\" in September 1941. Until the formation of the 13th Herzegovina Brigade in May 1944, 827 fighters passed through the Battalion, and 445 of them perished, including 211 from Mostar. Of the 86 women, 43 were killed. Mostar residents also fought in many other units of the NOVJ (People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia) and among the ranks of the activists of the National Liberation War in Mostar and other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina... According to the records of the organization SUBNOR Mostar, every third citizen was an activist of the National Liberation War, 670 fighters were killed, 1517 were victims of fascist terror, and 206 were civilian war victims. D\u017eemil \u0160arac, article \"Sa Mostarcima\" (\"With the People from Mostar\"), Hercegovina No. 9, p. 221.\r\n\r\n\"And we were all young. Those of us who were 17, 18 years old, some seemed old even though they were not older than 25. The ones over 30 were rare. There were girls and boys with different characteristics and temperaments, robust and calm, talkative and silent, recklessly brave and rational, ordinary and above-average, semi-literate and university-educated, workers and highly skilled craftsmen, high school students and university students, skilled singers and those who couldn't carry a tune, jokers and serious-minded individuals. From all our nations and religions: Muslims, Croats, Serbs, Jews, Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, atheists, and semi-atheists. Some were from straight from Mostar and others from the surrounding locations, from Konjic and outside Konjic.\" (Hercegovina Magazine No. 7, p. 238)\r\n\r\nGroups of new fighters arrived from Mostar every 10-15 days, and the Unit quickly grew into a solid military force. The guides for the groups from Mostar were Mehmed Arap, Vasa Maslo, Serif Buri\u0107, Husa Orman, Vojo Ivani\u0161evi\u0107, and Pero Krajina, who were among the bravest and most resourceful fighters. The groups regularly brought not only weapons but also medical supplies, sugar for the hospital, writing materials, large quantities of paper, books taken from the National Library (which formed the library at Borci), and other supplies for the needs of the Unit. (Source: https:\/\/www.cidom.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Hercegovina-u-NOB-1.pdf<\/u><\/a>)\r\n\r\nAfter the war, a street in Mostar was named after the Mostar Battalion.","parent":0,"count":240,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":330,"name":"foto","slug":"foto-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":330,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":288,"filter":"raw"}],"prezime":[{"term_id":343,"name":"B","slug":"b-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":343,"taxonomy":"prezime","description":"","parent":0,"count":80,"filter":"raw"}]},"ptb_featured_image":{"url":"http:\/\/partizansko.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Nedjo-Bitanga-1.jpg","title":"Ne\u0111o Bitanga","caption":""},"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/partizan\/11908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/partizan"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/partizan"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/partizan\/11908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15311,"href":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/partizan\/11908\/revisions\/15311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11908"},{"taxonomy":"prezime","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partizansko.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/prezime?post=11908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}