Vladimir Laxa

Vladimir Laxa (21 January 1870-1945) was born in Sisak, in what is now Croatia, and was a distinguished soldier and general. He spent his adult life from the age of 20 as a professional soldier who was highly decorated during the First World War. During World War Two he was Army Chief of Staff of the Axis Independent State of Croatia ("Nezavisna Država Hrvatska", NDH) from June 1941 until August 1942, when he resigned his commission in protest at atrocities committed by Ustaše irregular forces.

Laxa was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Army on 18 August 1890 [ [http://www.geocities.com/veldes1/laxa.html Oberst Vladimir Laxa ] ] . During the First World War he was commander of the 18th Mountain Brigade, and was one of only 131 men [ [http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/mmto.htm The Austro-Hungarian Military Maria Theresia Order 1914-1918 ] ] that during the First World War were awarded the Military Order of Maria Theresa, the highest Habsburg decoration; in Laxa's case for the “"heroism, enormous bravery and tenaciously successful defence of positions"” by himself and his men on Škabrijel (Italian: Mount Saint Gabriel) during the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo in 1917 [ [http://www.hervardi.com/skabrijel.php Škabrijel - Zgodovina - Hervardi ] ] . After the war ended, he joined the newly-formed army of (what became known later as) the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia was invaded by the German armed forces ("Wehrmacht") on 6 April 1941, and this led to the proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia, of which he was first the military's second in command (April-June 1941) and then chief-of-staff. During the war he was awarded the state's Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir. In October 1941 he was transferred to the NDH High Command. He took part in a conference in Opatija (2-3 March 1942) [ [http://www.vojska.net/eng/world-war-2/chronology/1942/opatija/ Conference in Opatija ] ] that planned the Third anti-partisan offensive, codenamed ‘Trio’. He remained in the NDH high command until August 1942 when he resigned (although there is a source that claims that Laxa was "removed by order of Marshal Slavko Kvaternik and retired" [ [http://www.vojska.net/eng/world-war-2/independent-state-of-croatia/biography/army/a/ Biographies - Home Defence Army, part 1, A-M ] ] ) due to his failure to obtain support from Ante Pavelić, NDH leader, for his wishes to end the atrocities of Ustaše irregulars, about which he had authored several scathing reports Fact|date=March 2008. Laxa was among the exodus that were forcibly returned to the Partisans at Bleiburg. He was executed on an unknown date in 1945 [ [http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=303958&sid=69156129b99d0c1fe1415cf71fca856d Axis History Forum :: Yugoslav War Crimes Trials of German Officials ] ] . He was subsequently buried in Mirogoj cemetery. [ [http://www.gradskagroblja.hr/Trazilica/MapPreview.aspx?CemeteryID=1&Field=97A&DeptID=1&PersonID=210555 Vladimir Laksa at Mirogoj Cemetery] ]

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