Tomislav Sertić

Tomislav Sertić (21 December 1902 – September 1945) was a Croatian military officer who served as the commander of all Ustaše Military Units, chief of staff of the Ustaše Militia and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. He was captured at the end of World War II and put to death as a war criminal.

Sertić was born in Udbina, he graduated from Military Academy in Belgrade. He served in the Royal Yugoslav Army, where he reached the rank of major. During this time, he secretly made contact with the Ustaše. He fled to Italy to join them in 1940.

When the Independent State of Croatia was established in April 1941, Sertić traveled back to Croatia together with other Ustaše members. He was first appointed as the commander of all Ustaše military units and as the commander of the 1st Ustaše Regiment, but was dismissed from this position following quarrels with high-ranking Ustaše officials. He later served as the chief of staff of the Ustaše Militia and after that as a supervisor of all military schools of the Independent State of Croatia. While in this position he was heavily wounded during the Partisan siege of Gospić. In 1944, Sertić was promoted to the rank of general in the Croatian Home Guard and later that year he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

Sertić was captured by the British forces in Austria after retreating from Zagreb. He was tried for war crimes in Belgrade and was found guilty on 22 September 1945. Sertić was sentenced to death, the date when he was executed is unknown.