In the modern political narrative that has been promoted from Zagreb for decades, the year 1918 is persistently portrayed as a moment of alleged “Greater Serbian occupation”, while Croatia is presented as a powerless victim drawn into a common state without its own consent. However, archival material and physical evidence from across the Atlantic testify to a completely different historical truth.
At the very end of 1917, more precisely on December 30, a group of Croatian emigrants in Chicago made a historic move that challenges constructed myths. These people, until recently subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, voluntarily and without any pressure from official Belgrade, formed a volunteer unit under the auspices of the Serbian military mission.
Under a banner with the checkerboard coat of arms for unification and the homeland
The extent to which this decision was conscious and motivated by a desire for common freedom is best shown by the war flag that the Chicago volunteers made themselves. The banner featured the Croatian checkerboard coat of arms and Sokol symbols.
However, the strongest message was the one they wrote with their own hands, clearly defining their political and military goal: “FOR UNIFICATION AND THE HOMELAND – AVENGERS OF THE VOLUNTEER LEGION ‘TOMISLAV’ UNIT”.
Battles on the slopes of Vetrenik and honors in Zagreb
After being formed overseas, these brave men were transferred to the Salonika Front. They were directly integrated into the battalion that carried the name of the Serbian epic hero “Miloš Obilić”.
Under the command of Serbian officers, the fighters of the “Tomislav” Volunteer Legion displayed their unique banner alongside Serbian tricolors. In September 1918, they actively participated in fierce battles on the slopes of Vetrenik, directly carrying out the war aims of the Kingdom of Serbia and clearing the path toward the freedom of the homeland.
It is interesting that after the achievement of unification, these historical facts were widely accepted and celebrated. The Croatian Sokol Association in Zagreb received this Salonika banner from Chicago with the highest honors. It was preserved with pride for decades, as clear evidence of the participation of Croats in the great liberation movement.
The banner of the “Tomislav” Legion remains today an undeniable witness to a truth that cannot be hidden: that Croats in the diaspora themselves, voluntarily and consciously, sought unification and a common homeland under the Serbian crown. That was their own historical choice!
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Source: Serbian Times Foto: Instagram/ @tragovi_srpske_krune