– Aleksei Chichkin, Military-Industrial Courier –
A decorated recipient of Soviet orders, Arso Jovanović was a major obstacle for Josip Broz Tito.
Arso Jovanović (1907-1948) was a hero of the anti-fascist war in Yugoslavia and was awarded the Orders of Kutuzov and Suvorov. From 1945 onward, he held the rank of Colonel-General. He was eliminated by Tito’s intelligence service as an opponent of anti-Soviet plans.
Jovanović commanded the defence in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina during the German-Italian invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. The invaders were held off for nearly 10 days, allowing for the evacuation of up to 15 per cent of Yugoslavia’s ground forces to Greece and the rapid strengthening of its defensive capabilities. From 1941 to 1948, Jovanović served as Chief of the General Staff of the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOVJ).
In 1942, he signed an agreement with the partisan armies of Albania and Greece on joint operations against the occupiers. He led NOVJ operations in Montenegro and western Serbia from 1942 to 1944. It was Jovanović who organized the successful airborne operation to rescue Tito and most of the NOVJ General Staff from encirclement in Drvar in early June 1944.
“The general fled to the Yugoslav-Romanian border but was tracked down and shot by Tito’s intelligence service.”
Following the liberation of Yugoslavia, he proposed the permanent stationing of Soviet troops in the country to swiftly suppress separatist raids in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to strengthen the defence of the Adriatic coast. But Tito rejected this initiative, which soon led to a harsh confrontation between the prime minister and the Chief of the General Staff.
By decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 5, 1944, and October 15, 1945, Jovanović was awarded the Orders of Kutuzov and Suvorov “for outstanding combat efforts and for the courage and bravery shown in the fight against the common enemy of the USSR and Yugoslavia — nazi Germany.” The awards were presented in Moscow.
Jovanović supported the position of the Soviet leadership regarding Tito’s anti-Soviet policy. This led to an open conflict with Tito and an order for Jovanović’s arrest. On August 11, 1948, the general fled to the Yugoslav-Romanian border (Bucharest supported the Soviet assessment of Tito’s policy). But on August 12, he was tracked down and shot by Tito’s intelligence service.
Jovanović’s family managed to preserve his Soviet and other military awards, despite being under house arrest from 1948 to 1956.
Aleksei Chichkin,
Section Editor, Military-Industrial Courier
Published in issue No. 11 (824), March 24, 2020
(Translated by Sava Press from the Russian original)