by H.L. deZeng IV

Formed 1941 or early 1942 in Rakitno, which is located in the Posušje – Imotski area in Hercegovina. The Detachment grew rapidly and on 9 January 1943 it was described as “numbering between 500 and 600 armed men with strong pro-Ustasha leanings.” By 1 December 1944 it was estimated to have “2,000 Ustasha militia” and was led by a Roman Catholic priest named Father Berto Dragičević. Some 800+ of these men were mobilized on or about this date and used to form the V Bn./IX Ustasha Brigade. (1)

Footnotes

1. Vrančić, Vjekoslav - Postrojenje i Brojčano Stanje Hrvatskih Oružanih Snaga u Godinama 1941-1945, in: Godišnjak hrvatsko domobrana 1953 (Buenos Aires: 1953); [Vojnoistorijski institute] - Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu jugoslovenskih naroda, Tom IV/9, p.223; IV/31, p.16.

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -