Milan Tepic - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Milan Tepić was a major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

of former Yugoslav People's Army

Yugoslav People's Army

The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...

, ethnic Serb

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

from village Komlenac

Komlenac

Komlenac is a village in the municipality of Bosanska Dubica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.-References:...

near Kozarska Dubica (then Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina , known until 1963 under the name of People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

, SFR Yugoslavia, now Republika Srpska

Republika Srpska

Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

) under Kozara

Kozara

Kozara is a mountain in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. It is bounded by the rivers Sava - north, Vrbas - east, Sana - south and Una - west...

mountain. He is the last person that was given Order of the National Hero of Yugoslavia.

Bjelovar events

In July 1991, Major Tepić was given command of central YPA ammunition depot in village Bedenik near Bjelovar

Bjelovar

Bjelovar is a city in central Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Bjelovar-Bilogora County. During the 2001 census, there were 41,869 inhabitants, 90.51% which are Croats....

. Like in other parts of the country, the YPA refused to withdraw from Bjelovar and instead sent tanks out to support armed action in other areas of the country. Many of the conscripted soldiers in the YPA objects (which included many Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

Albanians

Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...

) deserted from the barracks to the Croatian side, refusing to fight for the Yugoslav cause.

In September, the YPA barracks in Bjelovar, including the central ammunition depot, were attacked by Croatian forces. The attack was ordered by colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

Josip Tomšić, ethnic Croat

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

who defected from YPA to Croatian army.

The barracks, which weren't supplied with electricity and water for weeks, were captured after heavy fighting. YPA conscripts

Military service

Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...

were given direct order from Major Tepić to retreat to a safe distance from the base. Soldier Stojadin Mirković refused this direct order, and from his APC

Armoured personnel carrier

An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...

he fired at the enemy until he was hit by anti tank projectile

Anti-tank guided missile

An anti-tank missile , anti-tank guided missile , anti-tank guided weapon or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily-armored military vehicles....

. Major Tepić and seven officers under his command, retreated to the ammunition depot and destroyed the facility when first of the Croatian soldiers entered the depot. He did not want to surrender weapons and ammunition to the enemy.

According to Croatian sources, 11 Croatian soldiers and 20 Serbian reservists (members of the YPA, including Tepić himself) were killed in the explosion. The explosion devastated the surrounding 200 meters of wood area and the shock wave caused material damage in nearby houses. The explosion was heard as far as Bjelovar were some windows were broken.

Serbian sources claim that more than 200 Croatian soldiers died in explosion, but were declared MIA

Missing in action

Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...

by the Croatian Army

Croatian ground army

The Croatian Army is a branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia.The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national interests of the Republic of Croatia and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.Basic tasks of the Croatian Army...

Aftermath

Major Milan Tepić was declared for National Hero of Yugoslavia. He is the last person that received this order.

Streets in Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, Banja Luka

Banja Luka

-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...

, Vršac

Vršac

Vršac is a town and municipality located in Serbia. In 2002 the town's total population was 36,623, while Vršac municipality had 54,369 inhabitants. Vršac is located in the Banat region, in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. It is part of the South Banat District.-Name:The name Vršac is of Serbian...

, Zrenjanin

Zrenjanin

Zrenjanin is a city and municipality located in the eastern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina. It is the administrative centre of the Central Banat District of Serbia...

, Sremska Mitrovica

Sremska Mitrovica

Sremska Mitrovica is a city and municipality located in the Vojvodina province of Serbia, on the left bank of the Sava river. As of 2002 the town had a total population of 39,041, while Sremska Mitrovica municipality had a population of 85,605...

are named after him. There is also a monument of Milan Tepić in his street in Belgrade. One street in Novi Sad

Novi Sad

Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....

was also named after him until being changed in 2004. Army of Republika Srpska

Army of Republika Srpska

The Army of Republika Srpska ; Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske ) also referred to as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of today's Republika Srpska which was then the "Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina", a self-proclaimed state within the internationally recognized...

introduced Order of Milan Tepić for bravery in Bosnian war

Bosnian War

The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...

http://www.aukcije.hr/item.php?id=344720.

Some Serbs link Tepić's act to Stevan Sinđelić, who did a similar act almost 200 years before during the First Serbian Uprising

First Serbian Uprising

The First Serbian Uprising was the first stage of the Serbian Revolution , the successful wars of independence that lasted for 9 years and approximately 9 months , during which Serbia perceived itself as an independent state for the first time after more than three centuries of Ottoman rule and...

. Others in Serbia see Tepić's entire fame as being an experiment of Slobodan Milošević

Slobodan Milošević

Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...

's failed propaganda

Propaganda

Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....

attempt to mythologize the "new Serbian hero".
A parallel is drawn to Vladimir Trifunović, the commander of the Varaždin

Varaždin

Varaždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. The total population is 47,055, with 38,746 on of the city settlement itself . The centre of Varaždin county is located near the Drava river, at...

barracks who refused to have his men killed in a needless fight and surrendered to Croatian Army, leaving large quantities of arms and many fully functional T-55

T-55

The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...

tanks. He was trialed and sentenced by Serb military courts to 11 years for treason.

Despite Tepić's sacrifice, Croatian forces captured over 100 T-55

T-55

tanks, many Armoured personnel carrier

Armoured personnel carrier

s and other weapons and ammunition from YPA's Bjelovar objects, which is the largest number of captured tanks during the war, except those captured in Varaždin.

Bjelovar events

Aftermath

See also