- Vladimir Šipčić
Infobox Military Person
name= Vladimir Šipčić
lived=1924–1957
placeofbirth=Selo Mala ,Crna Gora ,Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
placeofdeath=nearPriljepolje , Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia|
caption=
nickname= Владo or "Vlado "
allegiance=Allies of World War II
serviceyears=1941-1957
rank=Commandant
branch=Army
commands=Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland
unit=
battles=Drina offensive - Pljevlja Foca VisegradDurmitor
awards=
relations=
death=Executed in 1957.Vladimir "Vlado" Šipčić (Serbian
Cyrillic : Владимиp "Владo" Шипчић ; also known as Шилe ) (May 12 ,1924 -July 29 ,1957 ) was a Serbian commandant now primarily remembered as the last remaining YugoslavChetnik from World War II. After the war, he was captured by the Communist security forces and shot.Early life
Born in
Selo Mala ,Crna Gora ,Kingdom of Yugoslavia , Sipčić went into the Serbian Army at the beginning of 1941. He was at this time a young soldier, only 17 years old. In 1943, he was the youngest officer of the Chetnik unit operating in Montenegro and Bosnia.World War II
Following the Yugoslav defeat by
Germany in April 1941, a small group of officers and soldiers led by Mihailović refused to surrender, and retreated in hope of finding Yugoslav army units still fighting in the mountains. He joigned in 1941 the Unit of the commandant Obrd Cicmil, who get orders from the General Mihailović who was based atRavna Gora ,Serbia onMay 8 , at this time, the Chetnik movement was highly decentralized, and in that way was more like a collective of many small regional guerrillas.Vladimir Sipčić was a really strong man, 195 cm high, with an athletic look. The soldiers respected this giant of a man who in turn followed General Mihailović.
Kosta Milovanović Pećanac , a First World War uprising leader and former Chetnik himself, who opted for cooperation with the Germans against Tito's Communists.In 1943, "Vlado" was 19 years old, and was in several battles in the Bosnian Region. He fought against the partisans and he engaged in heavy combat with the
Independent State of Croatia forces.By the middle of 1943, the partisan movement had survived an intense period of Axis pressure and Britain has switch support for them. At the
Tehran Conference in November 1943, a decision was made by the all Allies to cease their support of the Chetniks which are not fighting Germans and in 1944 Yugoslav royal government has called all Croats, Slovenes, and Serbs to join the Partisans. Soon afteward Serbian QuislingMilan Nedić , transferred all fascist Serbian troops to MihajlovićTowards the end of the war, Šipčić went into hiding in East Bosnia and
Montenegro with his men, between them were his two best friends,Božo Bjelica andSrpko Medenica .After the war, they went into hiding in Bosnian mountains, but they had to spend winters in woods, the communist secret police (Udba) was non stop searching them.
Death
Sipčić was executed when he tried to escape from Yugoslavia to Greece on
July 29 ,1957 by agents ofUDBA (Secret service). Šipčić's friend Bjelica was captured and executed in 1951, and Medenica in 1952. He was considered as a public enemy number one by the communists, sentenced to death in 1955 and executed two years later near the town of Bijelo Polje. He was executed together with his girlfriend and then buried in an unmarked grave .Controversies over "death"
After his death, some people said that they saw or spoke with the Commandant Šipčić, and nobody, even the Police, can affirm that it was really Šipčić who was executed near Prijepolje.
Almost sixty years later, Šipčić became an icon for the Serbian people in the region of Durmitor, Piva and Drina, and was always considered a hero by many Serbian families, especially in Bosnia and Montenegro.
Bibliography
*Šipčić, Radoje. ""Poslednji Kraljev vojnik u Otadzbini Vladimir Vlado Šipčić ." Beograd: Integra, 2004.
*Mitra Lopusina. "The kings soldiers against a wall, 1952-1953." London H&R editions, 1983.
*Laurence, Graig. "Bosnian war : The story of a young Chetnik : Šipčić Vlado." New York: Bender-Hills, 1952.External links
* [http://www.rodoslovlje.com/phorum/read.php?24,1062,1159]
* [http://www.serbianunity.net/culture/library/Lopusina2/teror/teror6.html]
* [http://www.srpska-rec.co.yu/arhiva/331/dajstranu.php?a=23]
* [http://www.pogledi.co.yu/]
* [http://forum.krstarica.com/showthread.php?t=165809]Photos
* [http://img139.imageshack.us/my.php?
]
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