Marko Mesić (1901–1982)

Marko Mesić (September 30, 1901 – February 9, 1982) was a decorated gunnery officer of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Independent State of Croatia and of the Yugoslav Army. He is best known for being the final commander of Croatian legionnaires during World War II serving in the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front and finally in Stalingrad.

Early life

Mesić was born in Bjelovar, Croatia (then Austrian-Hungarian Empire), to Franjo and Katarina Mesić (née Blau). His military education after eight years of school begun in Pécs, Hungary, continued in Karlovac and Maribor until Mesić graduated as artillery/gunnery officer at the Royal Yugoslav Military academy in Belgrade.

He served as an active commissioned officer in Royal Yugoslav Army artillery units until 1941. At the start of the April War, Mesić was artillery Lt. colonel in command of Royal Yugoslav Army artillery regiment serving in Niš, near the Bulgarian border.

Croatian Legion in Russia 1941 to 1943

369th Legion Memorial badge

After Germany defeated the Royal Yugoslav Army during short April 1941 war Mesić joined the NDH Independent State of Croatia Croatian Home Guard in Varaždin, where he was promptly assigned to the 369th Reinforced Croatian Infantry Regiment (the "Croatian Legion") with 100th Light Infantry Division. He held the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the artillery section. Mesić participated in the battle of Stalingrad on the Eastern Front. It is important to note that complete 369th regiment was formally a German Military unit in German uniforms under full German command because NDH Croatia never officially declared war on Soviet Union.

The 369th regiment with Mesic as artillery section commander saw action against Russian forces in October 1941 after 35 days long exhausting 750 km long march to village Budinskaja. The regiment participated in hard victorious battles against Russians during winter 1941 and spring 1942. First regiment commander Col. Ivan Markulj managed to transform 369th regiment consisting of poorly trained volunteers with a large number of undisciplined soldiers into battle hardened decorated and admired unit by summer 1942. German sources report with admiration that Croat legionnaires remained on frontlines during Soviet counterattacks deserted by their battle shocked German comrades. Markulj was transferred back to Croatia due to illness and was temporarily replaced by Mesic on 7 July 1942 and was later replaced by new commander Col. Pavičić. 369th regiment was known to German command as originally undisciplined poorly trained, unruly, wild unit but with time was transformed into highly successful in most difficult battles during spring and summer 1942. 100. Division commander General Sanne commended Mesic's artillery section on 21 and 22 February 1942 and personally on 23 February 1942 awarded Marko Mesic with Iron Cross.

Famous fountain in Stalingrad

Legion with Mesic as artillery commander was to experience its most difficult and successful battles at Harkov and for the legion very costly 2 day battle at kolhoz 'Proljet Kultura'. At 'Proljet Kultura' during attack on 27 July and overwhelming Soviet counter attack on 28 July the regiment suffered 53 dead and 186 wounded soldiers. As a result of extreme bravery in combat and successes paid for in heavy casualties, the Legion was highly esteemed and honoured by the German command under general Paulus as the only non-German unit to enter Stalingrad.^[1]

Croatian Legion in Stalingrad battle

The Legion was decimated by January 1943 mainly holding the famous Red October factory frontline suffering heavy casualties. Mesić and his artillery unit were stationed in and around Stalingrad flight school known as Stalingradskaja runway. Mesic was on leave to Croatia for a short period during October 1942 but returned to Stalingrad on 25 October 1942. They fought bravely until the very end and their surrender to forces of general Vasiljev around 29th or 30th of Jan 1943. The Croatian Legion suffered heavy casualties and Mesić become its last commander on January 14 of 1943 after resignation and disappearance of his predecessor colonel Viktor Pavičić when Legion counted some 890 men. Pavicic recommended Mesic to general Sanne as his successor. After capitulation of German 6th Army by General Paulus on February 2, Mesić with 15 officers and approximately 100 mostly wounded combat soldiers as well as 600 other legionnaires from artillery and support units of the Croatian Legion became prisoners of war. 369th Regiment lost 175 soldiers during these last two weeks or 20%. Apparently only approx. 6% of German soldiers who surrendered at Stalingrad returned to Germany alive after the war. Mesić was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class by Germany and presuming he was dead he was posthumously awarded the Military Order of the Iron Trefoil with rights of "Knight of Croatia" ("Vojnički red željeznog trolista II stupnja s pravom na naslov viteza" (Hrvatski Narod br. 766/27 lipanj 1943 str 3) by Independent State of Croatia and was promoted to full colonel.^[2]

Mesic and the remaining members of the legion were first assembled at Beketovka on river Volga where they were joined by some 80,000 mainly German as well as Italian, Romanian and Hungarian POWs . Later they were sent on a forced march to Moscow where they were to be joined by their comrades from Light Transport Brigade assigned to Italian forces on the Eastern Front. Many died there due to typhoid, dysentery and anemia/scorbut.

Official Report dated 30.6.1943. by Lt. Rudolf Baricevic about Lt. Col. Mesic

Lt. Baricevic was with 369th from the beginning in 1941 without rest or leave from Eastern front until he left Stalingrad (in his own words as 'the last Croat soldier out') on a Luftwaffe plane from the last remaining Stalingradskaja airfield (flight school runway under 369th control) on possibly last ever nighttime flight 22nd to 23rd of Jan 1943. In his frank and often very critical report to German/NDH Command Lt. Baricevic wrote:

"Our artillery section was always with our infantry or close by. From our first combat experiences at Valki and throughout winter 1941/42 battles our artillery was brave and successful. In Stalingrad they were located near cemetery next to Stalingrad flight school. ................ Lastly I must emphasize heroic (knightly?) character of Lt.Col. Marko Mesic who was an exemplary officer with superb technical/academic education, personal bravery and true soldier. He (Mesic) enjoyed respect (was highly regarded by) of all soldiers in our Regiment, he lived for our soldiers and most likely died with them. Destiny was right when she decided that Lt.Col. Mesic and only he was chosen to lead our famous regiment to its last/final battle."

Baricevic carefully chose not to mention Legion commander Col. Pavicic at all but from his report it may appear that he was not happy with his command.

Role in Yugoslav army

In the summer 1943 Mesić and some 100 legionnaires and 6 officers were transferred to Suzdalj. All were moved to Krasnogorsk near Moscow where they later met with most of surviving men. At Krasnogorsk and later Karasovo, Soviets start formation of a new unit in Royal Yugoslav uniforms (Soviets did not recognise Tito's forces as a sovereign state then).^[3] During his imprisonment, Mesić may have been forced to appear in Soviet propaganda wearing a Royal Yugoslav Army uniform nad Tito's flag to save the lives of his remaining men.^[4] Upon news of this, the Ministry of the Armed Forces removed him from the Croatian Armed Forces and rescinded his awards.^[4]

During 1944 Mesić was given command by the Soviets ^[5] of the newly formed First Yugoslav volunteer brigade assembled from prisoners of war of Yugoslavian origin as well as volunteers living in Russia at the time. It is quite likely that most former Croatian soldiers of 369. Regiment chose communist partisan service to avoid almost certain death in Russian prisoner-of-war camps. During the first few months in captivity legionnaire numbers were reduced from some 700 to around 400 odd survivors or 40% loss of life in under twelve months. The new Yugoslav partisan brigade, now wearing old Royal Yugoslav Army uniforms, was commanded by battle hardened former 369th Regiment Croat Legion officers like Lt.Col. Egon Zitnik, (former commander of Light Transport Unit) Major Marijan Prislin, (former Mesic's 369. artillery section second in command) major Marijan Tulicic (former Mesic's 369. artillery unit commander). As late as March 1944. they were joined by 200 more former 369th legionnaires led by former 369th Stalingrad doctor Bogoljub Modrijan, Lt. Vlahov, Lt. Tahtamišimov Lt.Draženović and Lt. Ivan Vadlja.

German soldiers who survived post Stalingrad captivity and returned after the war mostly refuse to comment or discuss their Russian captivity days as ' too hard to discuss, time when all human values were destroyed and men were turned into animals'.

This unit like many other 'national' units was to become a part of Yugoslav Army and transported to Yugoslavia during 1944. Mesić was once again a colonel in the same uniform he had up to spring 1941. Under direct orders from Josip Broz Tito this "former Nazi Ustasha brigade" was to be given taste of what four year long war in Yugoslavia against Hitler's troops was all about. Serbian soldiers and officers in the brigade as well as all higher partisan JA officers resented Croat former ustashe Pavelic's nearly total ex legionnaire officer and NCO 'clique' command of the brigade. During battle for Cacak in late 1944 Mesić and his men were thrown against superior retreating German force (units of 104th Jeger Division and 7th SS "Prinz Eugen" division) which nearly destroyed their unit(s). Partisan units supporting Mesić and his unit fled/withdrew in disarray early leaving Mesic and his unit dangerously exposed and they suffered heavy casualties of 137 dead, 330 wounded and 72 MIA soldiers. Cacak former legionnaire unit level casualties were by partisan reports unprecedented in the whole partisan war history to date.^[5] Tito was reportedly angry as never seen before when he personally interviewed Mesić. Tito verbally attacked Mesic during the meeting personally for his German legionnaire fascist past. However, Tito did not order Mesić punished or jailed or executed. This fate did not escape many of Mesic's former legionnaire comrades in arms who made it to Yugoslavia after Stalingrad. His predecessor commander of 369th Regiment Col. later NDH general Markulj was executed in Belgrade Sept. 1945. Markulj was court martialled and killed soon after his capture by Allies who extradited him to Yugoslav army in summer 1945.

Independent State of Croatia soon discovered from its former Stalingrad 369. legionnaires now partisan deserters that their highly decorated presumed dead Stalingrad siege hero Colonel Mesić was now enemy Yugoslav partisan. Pavelic promptly revoked his rank and all decorations. Defeat at Cacak was excuse JA partisan command needed and soon Mesić and most of his former 369th legionnaire officers as well as many (hundreds?) of 'suspect' soldiers were removed from the brigade in Belgrade late 1944. Some like Lt. Nikola Sabski (at the time acting intelligence officer of the brigade) were shot as suspected GESTAPO collaborators and all legionnaires were suspected as Soviet infiltrators. Under new partisan leadership the brigade with some remaining former legionnaire soldiers now without Mesic and his legionnaire officers suffered heavy casualties battling retreating German forces during 1945 on the Syrmian Front and near Slavonski Brod. For example the complete brigade artillery unit with many Stalingrad siege legionnaire survivors was to be destroyed by Germans but for these defeats there were no partisan JA officers blamed or replaced.

Post-war

P.PUKOVNIK MARKO MESIC 1901. - 1982.

After the war, during 1945, Marko Mesić retired as colonel of Yugoslav Army and lived quietly in Zagreb Croatia^[5] His Stalingrad and German army service was forgotten or forgiven and he lived freely until 1948 (Informbiro period) when he was suspected as well as thousands of other civilians, soldiers and officers with any Russian background of collaboration espionage for Russian secret service(s).

Mesic lost both of his legs under a running train sometime during 1950 in suspicious circumstances possibly during his transfer by UDBA for interrogation to Belgrade at Zagreb railway station. The official story held that he fell under (another sources claim he was pushed under) a running train during his transfer from Zagreb to Belgrade for interrogation. However, his brother claimed that he lost his legs attempting to escape from Yugoslav captivity.^[4] Mesic was later freed and left alone to live quietly in a wheelchair with his brother in Zagreb until his death 1982 at old age. He is buried at Mirogoj cemetery in Zagreb Croatia.

References

1. ^ Croatian Volunteers in the German Wehrmacht in WWII
2. ^ Axis Allies and Foreign Legions
3. ^ Pojić, Milan. Hrvatska pukovnija 369. na Istočnom bojištu 1941. - 1943.. Croatian State Archives. Zagreb, 2007. (pgs. 82-92)
4. ^ ^{a b c} Košutić, Ivan. Hrvatsko domobranstvo u drugom svjetskom ratu : II. dio. Privredni Marketing. Zagreb, 1994. (pg.305)
5. ^ ^{a b c} Milan Pojić Hrvatska pukovnija 369. na Istočnom bojištu 1941. - 1943.

Literature

• Krunoslav Mikulan, Siniša Pogačić: Hrvatske oružane snage 1941.-1945., Zagreb 1999.
• Ivan Košutić: Hrvatsko domobranstvo u Drugom svjetskom ratu, Zagreb 1992.
• Milan Pojić Hrvatska pukovnija 369. na Istočnom bojištu 1941. - 1943.
• Welz H. Verratene Grenadiere. — Berlin, Deutscher Militärverlag, 1965

External links

• Mesić and officers of 369. infantry brigade
• Original hand drawn plan of 369 regiment 24 i 25.11.42.
• Some photos and incomplete/erroneus text about 369th.
• One of many original 369th legionnaire sketches from Russia
• search for " kroatische ostfront " returns rarely seen original German military photos of 369th Legion
• Hrvatski legionari u Staljingradu za Pavelića, a u Srbiji za Tita (Croatian)

Persondata
Name	Mesic, Marko
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 30, 1901
Place of birth
Date of death	February 9, 1982
Place of death