Janko Vuković, sometimes spelt Janko Vukovich or von Vukovich, also known as Janko Vuković de Podkapelski or Janko Vuković-Podkapelski (27 September 1871 – 1 November 1918) was a Croatian naval officer who served in the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...

and - amidst its collapse - for a brief period as commander of the fleet of the fledgling

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( / ; ) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Prečani (Serbs), Prečani) residing in what were the southernmost parts of th ...

. Vuković saw action in World War I and was appointed commander of the fleet in October 1918 as Austria-Hungary disintegrated and the entire navy was handed over to the fledgling

. He died on board the , sunk by Italian commandos.

Biography

He attended the Naval Academy in Fiume (modern

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

), and in his naval career he commanded the pre-Dreadnought , the fast light cruiser , and rose to command of the fleet's flagship, the

dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...

by the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

''Viribus Unitis'' sinking

On October 29, 1918 the

National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs () claimed to represent South Slavs living in Austria-Hungary and, after its dissolution, in the short-lived State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. The council's membership was largely drawn f ...

broke off all relations with

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, establishing the new

. Subsequently,

Emperor Charles I Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian Empire from 800, holding these titles until his death in 814. He united mo ...

gave the entire

, merchant fleet, and all its installations to the new state. When representatives of the National Council arrived at the naval base at

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

on October 31, the commander in chief, Admiral

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...

, asked to whom he should hand over command of the fleet. The representatives had not considered the matter, and after some discussion accepted Horthy's suggestion of Vuković, who was promoted to rear-admiral and made commander in chief of the new country's navy when Horthy's flag was lowered at 5 pm. Overnight, an Italian sabotage team from a nearby patrol boat, who had not heard of the new State's creation and non-belligerence, penetrated the harbour and laid two 200 kg mines under the ready to explode at 6:30 sharp. The two-man team was captured and taken aboard ''Viribus Unitis'', where they informed Vuković of what they had done. Vuković arranged for the prisoners (Raffaele Paolucci and Raffaele Rossetti) to be taken safely to the sister ship , and ordered the evacuation of the ship. But the explosion did not happen at 6:30 and Vukovic returned to the ship with many sailors. He therefore remained on his ship and went down with her and 300-400 of her crew when the mines exploded shortly afterwards at 6:44. Vuković had been commander-in-chief of his country's fleet for barely twelve hours.

Legacy

Vuković's widow Helena honored him with a plaque on a navy chapel at naval graveyard in

in 1919. A

memorial plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...

commemorating his birthplace was attached to his birthhouse in

Jezerane Jezerane is a village in central Croatia, in the municipality of Brinje, in the northwestern part of Lika-Senj County Lika-Senj County (, ) is a county in Croatia that includes most of the Lika region and some northern coastline of the Adriatic ...

in 1994. His name is also preserved on a plaque honouring all admirals that graduated from the former in

, unveiled by

Croatian President 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 ...

Ivo Josipović Ivo Josipović (; born 28 August 1957) is a Croatia, Croatian Academic staff, academic, jurist, composer, and politician who served as the president of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communist ...

on Navy Day in 2011. Central square in

Brinje Brinje is a settlement and a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. It is located about east of Senj and north of Gospić. Geography The town is formed around a castle called ''Sokolac'', which contains one of the most well preserved G ...

and a street in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

are named after Vuković. Vuković's tragic fate and his sense of honor and duty have inspired an eponymous song by

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

-rock band from Pula "Gori Ussi Winnetou""GORI USSI WINNETOU - Janko Vuković de Podkapelski"
YouTube. as well as two novels: ''Admiral'' by Stjepan Vukušić and ''Admiralski stijeg'' by Ivan Katušić.

Bibliography

* Vukušić, Stjepan. ''Admiral. Roman o Janku Vukoviću pl. Podkapelskom, prvom hrvatskom admiralu''. Zagreb, Naklada Pavičić, 2004; *Katušić, Ivan. ''Admiralski stijeg''. Zagreb, Znanje, 1987

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vukovic, Janko 1871 births 1918 deaths Croatian Austro-Hungarians Austro-Hungarian Navy officers Croatian admirals Austro-Hungarian military personnel killed in World War I People from Lika 19th-century Croatian people 20th-century Croatian people Captains who went down with the ship 19th-century Croatian military personnel 20th-century Croatian military personnel