Vladimir Metikoš was a Croatian

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...

 general in the then Independent State of Croatia

Independent State of Croatia

The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...

 (NDH).

Metikoš was born in 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...

. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he was posted on the Italian front as a lieutenant of the Austro-Hungarian Army

Austro-Hungarian Army

The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...

. Later he was an officer in the army of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...

.

For the first months after the creation of NDH served as liaison officer with the German Command of Bosnian Divisional Area. Distinguished in the battles in Eastern Bosnia as the commander of 7^th Jaeger Infantry regiment as of May 1942. As of June 3, 1944 commander of Lika Operational Area (4^th Ustasha Active Brigade) and as of October 1944 commander of Banja Luka Brigade. In the beginning of December 1944 appointed commander of 6^th Croatian Division.

In 1945 Metikoš was one of the representatives of the Croatian Armed Forces

Croatian Armed Forces

The Croatian Armed Forces were the armed forces of the Independent State of Croatia which were formed in 1944 with the uniting of the Croatian Home Guard and the Ustaše militia forces....

 with the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 at Bleiburg

Bleiburg

Bleiburg is a small town in the south Austrian state of Carinthia , south-east of Klagenfurt , in the district of Völkermarkt, some four kilometres from the border with Slovenia....

 who attempted to negotiate a surrender

Bleiburg massacre

The Bleiburg massacre, which also encompasses Operation Keelhaul is a term encompassing events that took place during mid-May 1945 near the Carinthian town of Bleiburg, itself some four kilometres from the Austrian-Slovenian border....

. Supreme Court of Democratic Federative Yugoslavia condemned him to the death penalty on September 19, 1945.

Sources

• Tko je tko u NDH, Zagreb, 1997 p.268 ISBN 953-6377-03-9