Sergej Mašera
Encyclopedia
Sergej Mašera was a naval Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 of the Yugoslav Royal Navy
Yugoslav Royal Navy
The Royal Yugoslav Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.This navy existed since the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, which was changed in 1929 to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia...

, which on the April War
Invasion of Yugoslavia
The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...

, along with his fellow Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 Milan Spasić
Milan Spasić (naval lieutenant)
Milan Spasić was a naval Lieutenant of the Yugoslav Royal Navy, which on the April War, along with his fellow Lieutenant Sergej Mašera blown up Destroyer Zagreb at Bay of Kotor besides Tivat to not fall into the hands of Italian Royal Navy and together with Mašera died.- Before World War...

 blown up Destroyer Zagreb
Beograd class destroyer
The Beograd-class destroyers were built for the Yugoslav Royal Navy in the late 1930s. The ships all took part in World War II. Two of the three were captured by the Italian Navy after the invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, and one of those was subsequently captured by the Germans.-Design:Following...

 at Bay of Kotor
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...

 besides Tivat
Tivat
Tivat is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor...

 to not fall into the hands of Italian Royal Navy
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...

 (Regia Marina Italiana) and together with Spasic died.

Before World War II

Sergej Mašera was born in 1912, in a Slovene family in Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...

, then part of the Austro-Hungarian County of Gorizia and Gradisca
Gorizia and Gradisca
The County of Gorizia and Gradisca was a Habsburg county in Central Europe, in what is now a multilingual border area of Italy and Slovenia. It was named for its two major urban centers, Gorizia and Gradisca d'Isonzo.-Province of the Habsburg Empire:...

 (now in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

). After the end of 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...

, his family fled from the Italian-administered Julian March
Julian March
The Julian March is a former political region of southeastern Europe on what are now the borders between Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy...

 to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia), in order to escape the violent policies of Fascist Italianization. They first settled in Slovenian Carinthia in and then in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...

. In Ljubljana he attended primary and secondary education, before enrolling to the Naval Military Academy (VII class) in Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...

, which lasted three years. Upon completion of the Academy in 1932, he gained the rank of Corvette Lieutenant
Corvette Lieutenant
Corvette lieutenant is a rank in some navies, especially those of Spain and Latin America, roughly equivalent to a Royal Navy acting sub-lieutenant or a US Navy ensign....

.

April War and Death

In the time of outbreak of the short April War
Invasion of Yugoslavia
The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...

 in 1941, Sergej Mašera was a lieutenant on Destroyer Zagreb
Beograd class destroyer
The Beograd-class destroyers were built for the Yugoslav Royal Navy in the late 1930s. The ships all took part in World War II. Two of the three were captured by the Italian Navy after the invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, and one of those was subsequently captured by the Germans.-Design:Following...

 stationed in Dobrota
Dobrota
Dobrota is a town in the Kotor Municipality in coastal Montenegro. Although administratively a separate town, it is de facto part of Kotor, and encompasses most of Kotor's residential area, while town of Kotor administratively encompasses town's historical core...

 (Bay of Kotor
Bay of Kotor
The Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...

 ), the first officer in charge of the ship's artillery.

Destroyer Zagreb together with destroyers Belgrade and Dubrovnik was then the most recent Yugoslav Navy ship, and therefore the target of an air attack of five Regia Aeronautica
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...

 bombers
on 6 April, but the attack was carried out from a great height - and not suffered any damage. Italian aircraft bombed the Bay once again on 13 April, but even then did not made any damage to "Zagreb". But on 15 April demoralized and smashed Yugoslav Royal Army asked for a truce, and the crews of ships stationed in the Bay of Kotor were instructed to do not open fire on the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...

 forces and to surrender peacefully. Indeed they were ordered to not destroy anything. Most of the sailors landed on the mainland, and on 17 April in the Bay of Kotor began to enter Italian
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...

 forces. Then for the remaining crew members of Destroyer Zagreb (an approximately 14 h) were ordered to abandon ship.

But Sergej Mašera along with his schoolmate lieutenant Spasić
Milan Spasić (naval lieutenant)
Milan Spasić was a naval Lieutenant of the Yugoslav Royal Navy, which on the April War, along with his fellow Lieutenant Sergej Mašera blown up Destroyer Zagreb at Bay of Kotor besides Tivat to not fall into the hands of Italian Royal Navy and together with Mašera died.- Before World War...

 decided that the ship could not deliver the Italians and refused the order of his commander Captain Nikola Krizomalija to abandon the ship. A little later they blew up the ship in the air with ordinary cords, but with the utmost sacrifice - lost of their lives.

After two explosions - Destroyer Zagreb badly damaged, sank to the shallow bottom. The body of Sergej Mašera was not found (unlike Milan Spasić), but he was buried along with Milan Spasić on 19 April 1941, on the naval cemetery at village Savini near Herceg Novi
Herceg Novi
Herceg Novi is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 inhabitants...

. In their funeral many people came, and one detachment of the Italian army - who were impressed by the heroism of Sergej Mašera and Milan Spasic and accompanied them with the usual military honors. On 24 April, seven days after the explosion - fishermens have found in the sea just a torso of Sergej Mašera.

Legacy of Spasić & Mašera

Soon after their feat and their sacrifice reported the British newspapers (Daily Mirror). The British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 have already in 1942 within their barracks in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 erected a Commemorative plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...

 dedicated to the Masić & Spasić. British journalist David Divine, in his book "Navies in Exile" (London: John Murray, 1944.) particularly stressed feat Spasic and Mašera. In the FPR Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

 on the rank of the first postwar years - nobody say anything or written (and not even know) - about Spasić & Mašera, they probably did not fit the ideological form that only the communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

 have a proper concept and patriotism enough to resist the occupiers.
Spasic and Mašera are probably not fit into that framework, King King Peter II
Peter II of Yugoslavia
Peter II, also known as Peter II Karađorđević , was the third and last King of Yugoslavia...

, exactly in those years, was accused for collaboration with the Axis powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...

  through the Chetniks
Chetniks
Chetniks, or the Chetnik movement , were Serbian nationalist and royalist paramilitary organizations from the first half of the 20th century. The Chetniks were formed as a Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire in 1904, and participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II...

. Indirectly these charges were related to all royal officers, and then it could not be explained how are these two young Lieutenants able to do such heroic act.
About them is started to timid write and speak until 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...

, following the democratization of the Yugoslavia (Economic reform 1964 /1965) The French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 have taken a film Flammes sur l'Adriatique (Flames on Adriatic) on 1968, dedicated to this event by scenario of Meša Selimović
Meša Selimovic
Mehmed "Meša" Selimović was a Yugoslav writer. His novel Death and the Dervish is one of the most important literary works in post-war Yugoslavia. Some of the main themes in his works are relations between individual and authority, life and death, and other existential problems...

 directed by Alexandre Astruc
Alexandre Astruc
Alexandre Astruc is a French film critic and film director born 13 July 1923, in Paris .Before becoming a film director he was a journalist, novelist and film critic...

 and Stjepan Čikeš.

On the wave of these processes they have been declared People's Hero of Yugoslavia
People's Hero of Yugoslavia
The Order of the People's Hero was a Yugoslav gallantry medal, the second highest military award, and third overall Yugoslav decoration. It was awarded to individuals, military units, political and other organisations who distinguished themselves by extraordinary heroic deeds during war and in...

 by decree of President Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...

 on 10 September 1973, on the occasion of 30 anniversary of Yugoslav War Navy.

After that, by their names are called some of the street in Yugoslav cities (like Mašerin approach in the Sopot
Sopot, Zagreb
Sopot is a residential neighbourhood of Zagreb, Croatia. It is part of the Novi Zagreb - istok district and it has a population of 8,741.Sopot was one of the earliest parts of Novi Zagreb to be built...

 settlement in Novi Zagreb - until to the 1990s, - today is renamed)
In the Montenegrin
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

 town Tivat
Tivat
Tivat is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor...

 they have a monument in the city park. Since 1967 Maritime Museum in Piran
Piran
Piran is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give...

 carry the name Sergej Mašera. According to their names Youth Hostel near town Kotor
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....

, carry the name „Spasić - Mašera”. Many towns in Slovenia also have streets named after Mašera and Spasič, including Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...

, Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica ; 21,082 ; 31,000 ) is a town and a municipality in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy...

, and Koper. In Nova Gorica, there is a monument to Sergej Mašera.

External links

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