Franc Rozman - Stane
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| Franc Rozman - Stane | |
|---|---|
| March 27, 1911 - November 7, 1944 | |
 A bust of Franc Rozman - Stane in Novo Mesto |
|
| Nickname | Stane |
| Place of birth | Spodnje Pirniče |
| Place of death | Lokve |
| Allegiance | International Brigades Yugoslav National Liberation Army and Slovene partisan detachments |
| Years of service | 1936-1944 |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Commands held | Commander of Yugoslav National Liberation Army and Slovene partisan detachments |
| Awards | National hero |
Franc Rozman, nicknamed Stane (March 27, 1911 - November 7, 1944), was a Yugoslav partisan commandant of Slovene descent in the World War II.
Franc Rozman was born in the village of Spodnje Pirniče, near Ljubljana, Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia) to mother Marjana née Stare and father Franc Rozman. He was the third of four children, having two elder sisters, Marjeta and Terezija, and a younger brother, Martin.
At the age of three, Rozman lost his father, a railway track-worker, in the Russian theater of World War I. Rozman had a poor and hard childhood. His sisters Marjeta and Terezija were sent to an orphanage, while Franc and his brother Martin remained in Pirniče. When he was 15, he worked in a tavern and then trained as an apprentice baker. As a young boy he had great enthusiasm for a career in the armed forces, but was rejected when he applied to military school. In spring 1932 he did his national service in the army. In 1935 when the Italians started to mobilize young Slovene men for the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, Rozman hoped to join the Ethiopian forces but did not succeed in doing so.
As soon as the Spanish Civil War broke out, he decided to travel to Spain. Rozman was among the first Yugoslav volunteers in Spain, where he, on October 1, 1936 joined the International Brigades. In Jarama he completed non commissioned officers' school, became a lieutenant and a commander of a company, then captain and commander of a battalion. His comrades in arms remembered him as an energetic and earnest person.
After the Spanish Civil War Rozman spent some time in French camps. In April 1941 he went to Meissen, Germany and in July the same year he finally returned home through Germany. For a while he lived with an activist of the Liberation Front of the Slovenian People. In early December he visited his youngest brother Martin, after which he joined the Slovene partisans. Soon he became a military instructor with the High Command of the Slovene partisan forces. He was given the task of setting up the Styrian battalion (Štajerski bataljon), which would consist of the partisan troops, the Revirje and the Savinja troops (Revirske in Savinjske čete), which were active in Styria as of the autumn of 1941. He participated in the Attack on Šoštanj and later in the Battle of Čreta. The Germans repeatedly tried to liquidate Rozman, setting many ambushes.
In the spring of 1942 Rozman became the commandant of a Slovene partisan brigade, established in April 5, 1942 on Kremenik in Lower Carniola, and numbering more than 300 fighters. Measured by composition, organization, training, and fighting power, this was the most powerful Slovene partisan unit at that time.
On July 13, 1943 he became a commandant of the High Command of the Slovene partisan's army with the rank of lieutenant general (generallajtnant) which he held up to his death.
Rozman died in White Carniola as a consequence of a bad wound received while testing new mortar weapons, sent to the partisans by their British Allies. There were some rumours he was killed by sabotage, caused by the Chetnik military authorities, but they have never been proven.
"Commandander Stane" as he was nicknamed by the partisan fighters, is considered one of the brightest figures of the NOB (the National Liberation Struggle). The well-known partisan song Komandant Stane (Commander Stane) is dedicated to him. Many Slovene schools bear his name. The Franc Rozman Stane Barracks (Vojašnica Franc Rozman Stane) at Ljubljana-Polje also bears his name.
