Rafael Boban

Rafael Boban in the uniform of a Ustaše officer (1942)

Rafael Boban (born December 22, 1907 in Sovići , today in Grude , Herzegovina , † after May 1945), known as Ranko , was an officer in the Croatian Ustasha militia and a general in the Croatian armed forces in World War II . As the successor to Jure Francetić , Boban was among other things commander of the " Black Legion ".

Life

Boban was born in the settlement of Bobanova Draga in Sovići (now Grude ). In 1932 he left the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and enlisted in a Ustaša training camp in Italy on August 27, as the second of 450 men . In the same year he took part in the failed Velebit uprising when the Ustasha, led by Ante Pavelić, tried to unleash an armed uprising in Croatia.

Boban (right) next to Jure Francetić with an officer of the Black Legion on a bridge over the Drina , the then border river to Serbia ( Zvornik , 1942)

After the death of Jure Francetić in late December 1942, Boban became the commander of the "Black Legion". Under his command, the Legion was deployed in various parts of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in the fight against Tito partisans and Chetniks . In December 1944, the Legion was incorporated into the 5th Division of the Croatian Armed Forces ( Hrvatske oružane snage ) . Boban was promoted to the rank of general on December 22, 1944 and took command of the division, which he led until April 1945. On February 22nd, 1945 he received the Order of the Iron Trefoil 1st Class, which entitled him to use the title of vitez ( knight ). On May 14th he was still leading Croatian troops in the fighting near Bleiburg .

Boban's fate after the end of World War II is unclear. In 1951, Ante Pavelić appointed him in absentia as "Minister of the Armed Forces" in his Croatian government-in-exile in Argentina .

Awards (selection)

1932: Velebit medal of bravery in silver
1942: Order of the Iron Trefoil 4th class
1943: Order of the Iron Trefoil III. Class with oak leaves
1944: Order of the Iron Trefoil, 2nd class
1945: Order of the Iron Trefoil 1st class

Others

Boban (right) next to an armored vehicle at Donji Vakuf (spring 1943)

During the Croatian and Bosnian wars , Croatian military units of the HVO ( 6th brigada “vitez Ranko Boban” Grude ) and the paramilitary HOS ( IX. Bojna “Rafael vitez Boban” Split ) bore his name.
In Grude a street was named after Rafael Boban after the end of Yugoslavia ( Ulica viteza Ranka Bobana ).

literature

Zdravko Dizdar: BOBAN, Rafael . In: Darko Stuparić (ed.): Tko je tko u NDH: Hrvatska 1941. – 1945 [Who is who in the NDH: Croatia 1941–1945] . Minerva, Zagreb 1997, p. 42 (Croatian).

Individual evidence

^ Bogdan Krizman: Ante Pavelić i Ustaše . 3rd edition Globus, Zagreb 1986, p. 555.
^ Jozo Tomasevich: War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration . Stanford University Press, Stanford (CA) 2001, ISBN 0804736154 , pp. 458f.
^ Hrvoje Matković: Povijest Nezavisne Države Hrvatske [The History of the Independent State of Croatia]. Naklada Pavičić, Zagreb 1994, ISBN 9536308002 , p. 209.

personal data
SURNAME	Boban, Rafael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Boban, Rafael Ranko
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Croatian fascist and commander of the Black Legion
DATE OF BIRTH	December 22, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH	Sovići , Herzegovina
DATE OF DEATH	20th century or 21st century

[1] Bogdan Krizman: Ante Pavelić i Ustaše . 3rd edition Globus, Zagreb 1986, p. 555.

[2] Jozo Tomasevich: War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration . Stanford University Press, Stanford (CA) 2001, ISBN 0804736154 , pp. 458f.

[3] Hrvoje Matković: Povijest Nezavisne Države Hrvatske [The History of the Independent State of Croatia]. Naklada Pavičić, Zagreb 1994, ISBN 9536308002 , p. 209.