Marko Orešković (3 April 1895 – 20 October 1941) 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 ...

n and Yugoslav

Partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

commander. He was also known by his nickname ''Krntija''. He was born in Široka Kula,

Gospić Gospić () is a town in Lika, Croatia. It is the seat of the Lika-Senj County. Geography Gospić is located in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika. It is the administrative center of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located n ...

municipality, which was part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

at the time. At the age of 15 he left his impoverished home to earn living as a coal miner in Germany. During

World War I 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 ...

he was drafted into

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 ...

. In 1918 he was imprisoned for his role in the sailor's mutiny on the battleship . In 1925 he became a member of

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...

, and a year later he went to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. In 1929 he was arrested and tortured by Royal Yugoslav police and later sentenced to five years of prison. After serving his sentence he went to Spain to fight in

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

on Republican side. He served as political commisar of ''Đuro Đaković'' battalion of

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

. After the end of war in 1939 he returned to Yugoslavia where he was appointed in the Central Committee of the Croatian Communist Party. A year later he took part in 5th National Conference of CPY. Soon afterwards he was arrested by authorities and interned in Lepoglava prison. He managed to escape. Following the

Axis invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in "Fü ...

and establishment of

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

(NDH), CPY sent Orešković to organise an armed uprising in his native

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...

region. The uprising was successful because the local Serb population suffered persecution by new Ustasha regime and Orešković with his war experience soon became one of the most popular commanders. However, the insurgents were soon split on the issue whether to engage in combat only with NDH or all

Axis forces The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

, including the Italians who offered protection from Ustasha atrocities. This faction, who later became known as

Chetniks The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

, was opposed by Orešković, an ethnic Croat, who wanted insurgence to cross ethnic lines. In October 1941 Orešković was named as the first political commissar of the Lika Partisan Detachments, and later he became a member of Supreme HQ of Croatia. But, as he then went to

Drvar Drvar (, ) is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Drvar in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the road between Bosansko Grahovo an ...

to conference with other insurgent commanders. On his return he was ambushed and shot by members of a local ethnic Serb village guard squad. After the arrival of Partizans, these thugs that were terrorizing the local village, were caught and since different bits of clothing of Marko Orešković were seen being worn by them, they finally confessed their crime and were shot dead for it. In 1945 he received the title of

People's Hero of Yugoslavia The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; , ), was a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav gallantry medal, the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oreskovic, Marko 1895 births 1941 deaths People from Gospić Croatian people of the Spanish Civil War Yugoslav Partisans members Yugoslav communists Yugoslav military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero International Brigades personnel Candidates of the Central Committee of the 4th Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia