Mane Rokvić | |
|---|---|
 Mane Rokvić as a Chetnik commander | |
| Native name | Мане Роквић |
| Born | Date Unknown |
| Died | 1944 |
| Allegiance | |
| Service years | 1941–1944 |
| Rank | Vojvoda |
| Battles | Drvar uprising |
| Awards | |
Mane Rokvić (Serbian Cyrillic:Мане Роквић) was a Serb guerrilla commander andcollaborator with the Axis occupation forces during theSecond World War. Rokvić briefly became commander of theYugoslav Partisan 4th detachment of theSloboda Battalion during the 1941Drvar uprising, a spontaneous resistance by the Serbian population to the genocidal activities of theIndependent State of Croatia in Western Bosnia. Later and most notably, Rokvić left the communist cause to join the royalistDinara Chetnik Division to command theKing Alexander I regiment.[1] He went on to collaborate with the Germans to fight against the Yugoslav Partisans.
Rokvić was born inKolunić nearBosanski Petrovac, in modern-dayBosnia and Herzegovina. Prior to the Second World War, Rokvić was employed as a mechanic in theŠipad lumber and furniture factory in Drvar. He joined theYugoslav Communist Party in 1929.[2][3][page needed]
As commander of theMedeno Polje based 4th detachment ofSloboda Battalion, Rokvić is credited with successfully attacking Croatian fascistustaše forces in Pasjak near Drvar on 26 July 1941.[4][5][6] With the momentum of victory, Rokvić's detachment subsequently liberated the towns of Drvar,Bosansko Grahovo and village ofOštrelj with three other Partisan detachments in what is known as the Drvar uprising.
Following the Drvar uprising, Rokvić broke ranks with the communist Partisans and joined the royalist Serbian Chetnik cause after learning that Yugoslav Partisans under instructions of Croatian communists razed Serbian homes in Drvar prior to Italian occupation forces arriving.[7][page needed]
Upon joining the Serbian royalist cause in the fall of 1941, Rokvić stood up theKing Alexander I regiment, one of six regiments that would later form the Dinara Chetnik Division led by Serbian Orthodox priest, turned guerrilla,VojvodaMomčilo Đujić.
As commander of theKing Aleksandar I regiment, which for certain time was garrisoned in Drvar, Rokvić along with the commander of theGavrilo Princip regimentBranko Bogunović, was promoted to the rank of vojvoda by Chetnik veteran organizerIlija Trifunović Birčanin.[8]
Together withMomčilo Đujić, Pavle Popović,Pavle Omčikus, andBranko Bogunović; Rokvić agreed to and co-signed the Elaborat of Dinara Division in March 1942.[9] Earlier that year, Rokvić was decorated by president of theYugoslav government-in-exileSlobodan Jovanović with theKarađorđe's Star.[10]
In September 1943, Rokvić concluded a collaboration agreement with the German-led373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division at a time when Rokvić had a 260-strong group, and was in control of an area which included parts of both westernBosnia andLika. The division utilised the Chetniks to protect railway lines and key industries in their area, as well as for scouting against the Partisans and attacks on the rear of Partisan formations.[11][12]
After the Italian capitulation at the end of 1943, 600 Chetnik fighters under the command of Rokvić operated in the southwestern part of theBosnian Krajina along the Bosansko Grahovo-Drvar-Bosanski Petrovac-Bihać corridor.
It is believed that at the end of 1944, Rokvić withdrew his forces towards Slovenia where it is believed that he was captured and subsequently murdered by the Croatianustaše.[13]
Mane Rokvić, former commander of the 4th detachment of our "Sloboda" battalion, in Medeno Polje
