Rafael Boban | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Rafael Boban |
| Nickname | Ranko |
| Born | (1907-12-22)22 December 1907 |
| Disappeared | ‹See TfM›May 1945 (aged 37) Bleiburg,Allied-occupied Austria |
| Allegiance |  Yugoslavia (–1932) Ustaše (1932–1945) Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945) |
| Branch | Ustaše Militia Croatian Armed Forces |
| Rank | General (Croatian Armed Forces) Colonel (Ustaše Militia) |
| Commands | Black Legion |
| Battles / wars | |
Rafael "Ranko" Boban (22 December 1907 – disappearance in 1945) was aCroatian military commander who served in theUstaše Militia andCroatian Armed Forces duringWorld War II. Having participated in theVelebit uprising in 1932, he joined theRoyal Italian Army and returned to Croatia following theAxis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. He fought with the Ustaše until the end of the war, when he is reported to have evaded theYugoslav Partisans and reached the Austrian town ofBleiburg. Nothing is known of what happened to him afterwards, and it was rumoured that he was either killed inPodravina in 1945, died fighting with theCrusaders inHerzegovina in 1947, or, less likely, emigrated to theUnited States viaArgentina, joined theUnited States Army and foughtCommunist forces in theKorean War. In 1951, he was named the Croatian Minister of Defence in-exile by Ustaše leaderAnte Pavelić.
Rafael Boban was born on 22 December 1907 in the village ofSovići, near the town ofGrude,Austria-Hungary.[1] He was aRoman CatholicHerzegovinian Croat.[2][3] He served as an officer in theRoyal Yugoslav Army prior to joiningUstaše units based inFascist Italy in the summer of 1932. In September 1932, he returned toYugoslavia and participated in the Ustaše-ledVelebit uprising against Yugoslav rule. Afterwards, he traveled to Italian-controlledZadar to request Italian citizenship and protection. In May 1934, Ustaše leaderAnte Pavelić promoted Boban to the rank of sergeant in the Ustaše and he became a member of Pavelić's inner circle. The following year, Boban became a deputy commander of aRoyal Italian Army company based inLipari before being transferred toCalabria. At the beginning of December 1937, Italian authorities arrested him and other members of the Ustaše on suspicion that they were planning to assassinateYugoslav Prime MinisterMilan Stojadinović. They were all quickly released.[1]
With the creation of theIndependent State of Croatia (Croatian:Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH) in April 1941, Boban returned to Croatia and joined theUstaše Militia. He went toKupres with 250 Ustaše under his command[4] and organized mass murder of local Serbs.[5]
During theJune 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina Boban was member of group of Ustaše officers led byMijo Babić which reinforced Ustaše troops attacking the Serb rebels.[6] Their aim was to suppress the uprising and completely destroy Serb population.[7] On 3 July 1941 Boban commanded one of three main groups of Ustaše forces that attacked the rebels along the line: Vranjkuk - Rupari - Trusina - Šušnjatica.[8] On 24 July 1941 Boban commanded a group of Ustaše from Međugorje and Čitluk that imprisoned 20 Serb villagers from village Baćevići and killed them in Međugorje, disposing their bodies in a nearby pit.[9]
He was promoted to the rank of captain in November[1] and later became commander of theBlack Legion alongsideJure Francetić. Boban assumed full command of the legion following Francetić's death in December 1942.[10] Ustaše propaganda declared him Francetić's natural successor.[11] The legion operated in various parts of the NDH under his command.[10]
Boban was promoted to the rank of general in December 1944 and became the head of thePodravina-based Fifth Ustaše Active Brigade of theCroatian Armed Forces that month.[12] That autumn, he was responsible for guarding the imprisoned politiciansMladen Lorković andAnte Vokić in the town ofKoprivnica. He held the rank of colonel within the Ustaše Militia by April 1945. In May, he withdrew with the Ustaše towardsAustria and is reported to have successfully reached the town ofBleiburg,[1] alongside Pavelić andVjekoslav Luburić.[13]
Many theories exist about what happened to him. One theory states that he was killed in Podravina in 1945, while another states that he either died fighting with theCrusaders inHerzegovina in 1947 or that he emigrated to theUnited States viaArgentina, joined theUnited States Army and foughtCommunist forces in theKorean War.[1]
In 1951, Boban was named theCroatian Minister of Defence in-exile by Pavelić.[1] During theBosnian War, a brigade of theCroatian Defence Council (HVO) was named after him.[14] The Roman Catholic church in the Herzegovinian village of Bobani is decorated with his pictures.[15] In July 2022, twenty-five of the Mostar city council's thirty-five members voted to remove street names named after figures linked to the World War II fascist andgenocidal Ustaše movement, among them Boban,Mile Budak,Mladen Lorković,Ante Vokić,Đuro Spužević,Jure Francetić andIvo Zelenek. This decision was welcomed by theUnited States Embassy in Sarajevo andChristian Schmidt, thenHigh Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.[16]