Andrija Andabak (September 6, 1956 – July 7, 1992) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

who distinguished himself in the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

Early life

Andrija Andabak was born in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

on 6 September 1956 from father Stjepan and mother Ruža. He spent his childhood in

Nuštar Nuštar () is a village and municipality in eastern Croatia, located northeast of Vinkovci and west of Vukovar, on the route D55. The population of Nuštar is 3,639, with a total of 5,772 people in the municipality, which also includes the near ...

, where he attended elementary school followed by secondary Technical school Ruđer Bošković in

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...

, as an electrical technician. He married Nada Čović on 27 December 1980. In 1981 he started working in Vupik,

Vukovar Vukovar (; sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, , ) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern Regions of Croatia, regions of Syrmia and Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka (river), Vuka and the Danube. Vukova ...

.Halužan, Siniša; Laušić, Gordan; ''Andrija Andabak - Život za Hrvatsku''; Hrvatski Vojnik; nr. 68; 15 July 1994; ISSN 1330-500X He got his first son Marko in 1981, and his second son Stjepan in 1984. He lived in a family home in Nuštar together with his brother Zvonimir, sister Dragica, father and mother.

Military training

During 1979/1980 he served as a

conscript Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

in JNA in

Bitolj Bitola (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba (North Macedonia), Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-N ...

Socialist Republic of Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia (), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia, Yugoslav Macedonia or simply Macedonia, was one of the six constituent republics of the post-World War II Socialist Federal Republic of Y ...

, where he was trained to work with

9M14 Malyutka The 9M14 Malyutka (; "Little one", NATO reporting name: AT-3 Sagger) is a manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) wire-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system developed in the Soviet Union. It was the first man-portable anti-tank guided mi ...

anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...

s. After that, he attended military exercises at least once a month.Brnardić, Vladimir;

TV kalendar ''TV kalendar'' () is a daily historical documentary television series produced and broadcast by Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) on HRT 1, its first channel. Running continuously since 1976 and spanning more than 13,850 episodes, it is one of the HR ...

; "Andrija Andabak"; 7 July 2014;

Croatian Radiotelevision ''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' ( HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into three ...

; URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOSEqlZHuyc

Beginning and course of the Croatian War of Independence

In June 1991 he volunteered to the 109. Vinkovci brigade, where he started his anti-tank military service with his first shot on 28 September 1991. After he destroyed his 15th tank, commander Josip Zvirotić awarded him with a pistol, a Česká zbrojovka M75. His military success went a long way, so in 1992 Andabak was invited to dine at Banski dvori with the

President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the president of the Republic of Croatia (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the country and abroad. The president ...

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...

, where he was welcomed by

Anton Tus Anton Tus (; 22 November 1931 – 4 September 2023) was a Croatian general who served as head of the Yugoslav Air Force between 1985 and 1991 and was the first Chief of Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces from 1991 to 1992 during the Croatian Wa ...

and

Janko Bobetko Janko Bobetko (10 January 1919 – 29 April 2003) was a Croatian general who had participated in World War II and later in the Croatian War of Independence. He was one of the founding members of 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment, the first anti- ...

as well. He worked as an instructor at the Croatian Military Academy in Zagreb. On 10 April 1992 he destroyed his 31st tank (a

T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944–2 ...

) and, by the time he died, his last

M-84 The M-84 is a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav main battle tank based on the Soviet T-72. It is still in service with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and Kuwait. Development and production Development The ...

tank as well. He is credited with destroying or disabling a total of 32

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive a ...

s, of which 30 tanks (14 M-84 and 16 T-55), 1

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...

and 1

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

, more than any other Croatian soldier. He was killed on 7 July 1992 in

Posavina Posavina ( sr-cyr, Посавина) is a geographical region that stretches along the Sava river, encompassing only the inner areas of the Sava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning fro ...

and was buried in Nuštar.Kevo, Mladen. ''Hrvatsko predziđe: Istočnoslavonska ratna kronika II''. Gradska Tiskara Osijek, Osijek, 1993

Legacy

He was posthumously awarded the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, and later of lieutenant Colonel. On 19 December 1995 the family of the deceased received the

Order of Duke Domagoj The Order of Duke Domagoj () is the 8th most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia and is the nation's highest award for bravery. The order was founded on April 1, 1995. The medal is awarded for valor in combat. It is named after duke ...

for Andrija Andabak's outstanding bravery and heroism in war. The medal itself is the highest military award a member of the

Armed Forces of Croatia The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia () are the national Military, military forces of Croatia. The Croatian military consists of three service branches: the Croatian Army, the Croatian Navy and the Croatian Air Force. The OSRH is headed ...

can receive. Prior to that, he was awarded the

Order of Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan The Order of Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan () is the 11th most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on 1 April 1995. The medal is awarded with two versions of the Croatian interlace: the golden one post ...

and the

Homeland War Memorial Medal The Homeland War Memorial () is a Croatian state medal awarded to both Croatian and foreign citizens who participated in the nation's Croatian War of Independence as a volunteer, part of the Croatian Army and Croatian Council of Defence or in som ...

.Barić, Nikica; Dovranić, Darko; Janković, Tamara; Nazor, Ante; Novosel, Domagoj; Petroci, Emil. ''Domovinski rat - čitanka priručnik za učitelje povijesti u osnovnim školama i nastavnike povijesti u srednjim školama''. Školska knjiga d.d., Zagreb, 2015. The

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...

awards a medal, named after him, to soldiers who destroy three or more AFV's. He was the first person to

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

receive it.Davor Runtić, Junaci Domovinskog rata: ratne priče iz Domovinskog rata, Neobična naklada, Samobor, 2002., In honor of Andrija Andabak, as well as all Nuštar's defenders who died in combat, a memorial tournament carrying his name is held each year. Andrija Andabak was a skilled professional and excellent operator. He destroyed 32 armoured fighting vehicles by himself in only eight months of the War.Nazor, Ante. ''Greater-Serbian Aggression on Croatia in the 90’s''. Croatian Homeland War Memorial and Documentation Centre, Zagreb, 2011. On 7 July 2009 a memorial plaque for Andrija Andabak was unveiled on his family house. In 2015, he was selected as one of 12 people who represent symbols of the Homeland War and introduced as such into Croatian history textbooks.Ovo je 12 heroja o kojima će učiti naša djeca!
Mirela Lilek;

Jutarnji list () is a Croatian daily newspaper based in Zagreb. It was published on 6 April 1998 by EPH (Europapress holding, owned by Ninoslav Pavić), which eventually changed its name in Hanza Media after being bought by Marijan Hanžeković. The newspap ...

;

Hanza Media Hanza Media (until July 1, 2016: Europapress Holding, or EPH) is the leading media company in Croatia and Southeast Europe, with 5 daily newspapers, more than 20 magazines, and 20 digital editions. Hanza Media's consumer magazines are aimed at ...

; 28 April 2015 (in Croatian)

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024347/http://www.centardomovinskograta.hr/1992.html * http://www.hic.hr/ZZ-spomenar06.htm

* http://croatiabusinessreport.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/zagrebs-homeland-war-exhibition/ * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-xkbhtB9x4

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andabak, Andrija Croatian army officers Order of Duke Domagoj recipients 1956 births 1992 deaths Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Military personnel killed in the Croatian War of Independence Croatian military personnel killed in action