PREHISTORY

The island of Vis is a result of volcanic action some 30,000 years ago. The Island measures about 92 square kilometres, and is located 36 miles off the mainland of Croatia. The peak of the island, Mount Hum, has an elevation of 2,000 feet.

The near mainland was formed during the Mesozoic era and Tertiary and Quaternary Periods. The geological history of the island includes Jurassic, and Cretaceous materials. Most of the island is built of dolomite and limestone of the Cretaceous period. At one time the island was attached to the mainland, as evidenced by finds of deer skeletons dating to the Diluvial Period, and that the island was covered with deciduous vegetation.

The island was first settled during the Neolithic period about 3000 B.C.. These early settlers gave the island the name of “Issa”. The other name “Lissa” is its Latin (Venetians) name and was its official name until the twentieth century at the end of WWI. However, the island’s name also known in its Croat from as “Vis”, and was first mentioned by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porfirogenet in 950 A.D.

The Illyrian tribes settled the island in 2000 B.C. In the 1st millennium B.C. the Illyrian, Liburnians who formed a small state between the 6th and 5th Century B.C, held the island. In 600 B.C. Scattered throughout the island are Tumulus grave mounds that were the result of land clearing efforts to make way for agriculture. Whether they were used as burial mounds, remains speculative because no graves have ever been excavated from these.

THE HELLENIC ROOTS

In 397 B.C. Dionysus the Older, a tyrant ruler from Syracuse, Sicily founded a Greek settlement on this island - a town of Issa, which represented an important centre, a significant capital of Hellenic culture in the Adriatic world.

Dionysius’ fortified town was built in the area of today’s “Gradina” and on the small peninsula of Prirovo, at the entrance to the harbour of Vis.

Today, there are numerous vestiges of this ancient town, saved in the ruins of the city walls, houses, streets and in the tombstone remains (stellae) of the necropolis at Martvilo.

The Archaeological collection is rich in numerous exhibits that vary from items of an everyday’s usage to decorative and artistic masterpieces: jars, jugs, vessels, pots, anchors, and, here, it is, maybe, one of the most beautiful witnesses of the Hellenic past: the bronze head of the goddess Artemis.

They stay and last – the remains, defying to the Time, expressing in their own way, in the language of mute, the stories of eternal Present…

THE ROMANS

In the third century B.C. started the conflicts between the Issa-polis and the Illyrian tribe of Ardiaei. The Illyrian king Agron besieged Issa in 231 B.C, as did the Illyrian queen Teuta in 230 B.C. Issa applied to Rome for help becoming thus a Roman ally. Rome tried to intervene diplomatically but proud queen-warrior Teuta refused the delegacy. It was the time when the first Illyrian war broke out.

Issa remained under the Roman protectorate - an occupation, which was to last for the next 2,000 years, in one form or another.

                      
By 59 B.C. emperor Caesar was given the responsibility for Illyricum (Dalmatia), for a period of five years, and his legate Rufus was based on Issa, which would suggest that the Roman administration for Illyricum was done from Vis ends by 47 B.C. Vis became a city with municipal privileges, but also remained an important trade center in the Adriatic for the Romans.

Issa was a prosperous town, and its inhabitants lived in lush and abundance. The witnesses are numerous remains, among others: the remains of the theatre (for ca 3000 spectators), the fragments of mosaics of the large public baths (thermae), as well as numerous items for everyday’s use vases, pottery, jewelry…

Vineyards and olive trees were cultivated, making thus an important point in the economy and life, in general: “the wine from Issa, an island in the Adriatic, has no match” (Agathrides, second century B.C.)

This was the town of large public buildings, training grounds (gymnasiums), temples… Statues and monuments from those times make valuable part of a complete cultural heritage, nowadays, treasured in museums of Croatia and Europe.

THE VENETIANS
Compiled by Dr. Jakša Kivela

During the 7th  and 8th century Croat (Slavic) tribes (most probably from what is today’s Herzegovina) settled on Vis, and integrated what was then mainly a Greco-Roman population. In 840 the Pietro Tradonico the then Doge of Venice, had led a naval expedition to the Middle-Dalmatia and around Vis, to free the area of the Slav pirates, which had been raiding the Venetian merchant ships. The Croat pirates were able to extract protection fees from the Venetians for the safe passage of its merchant fleets through the area.But in 976 Doge Pietro Orseolo had put a stop to all this by sending a fleet of Venetian galleys across the Adriatic to wipe out the pirates. He first attacked Vis and laid waste to its towns and settlements and again in 997, Vis was again invaded by the Venetians and again all its towns were destroyed and the population was enslaved. In May 1000, Doge Orseolo had launched a naval force to the troubled area and as the Venetian fleet sailed into the ports along the coast and on the islands, he was greeted with great ceremony and public homage, that is, the local rulers submitted to the Venetian authority and had agreed to forget their protection fees. However, the population on the islands of Korcula and Lastovo resisted the Venetian rule and as a result, the Venetians turned with full force against these islanders, with obvious results. This Venetian victory sealed that faith as to who ruled most of the Dalmatia until the 18th Century. Although some sources say that Venice did not rule Dalmatia, in reality the Venetians did conquer most of Adriatic and imposed strong military presence over the local population, despite the fact that the local populace did not accept total Venetian rule. Importantly, the Byzantium Empire was at play in Dalmatia by now and the Dalmatians exploited playing one side off against the other (namely the Dubrovnik state), to ensure a certain level of independence from each side. To strengthen its position Venetians, they founded the Hvar Diocese in 1150 (ca.) to ensure Venetian control of the diocese, which included the islands, and lands of Brac, Hvar, Vis, Lastovo, and Korcula.. By 1278 religious and political manoeuvring allowed the Chancellor of Hvar in becoming the ruling head of Hvar, Brac, and Vis and the nobility of Hvar were given land grants on Vis and Brac with the local population becoming tenant farmers to the Hvar landlords. In 1298, the Genoese fleet defeated the Venetian fleet off the coast of Korcula and as the unconfirmed story goes Marco Polo, supposedly a citizen of Korcula was captured during this battle and taken as a prisoner to Genoa. By 1358 Venice lost control of Zadar, Hvar, and Vis, and this resulted in the Croatian-Hungarian rule being established over Vis, but by 1409 Ladislav of Naples sold Dalmatia to Venice, thus re-establishing Venetian rule over much of Dalmatia and Vis and were to impose their rule until Napoleon wrested it from them in late 1700s.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE VIS POPULATION AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
Compiled by Dr. Jakša Kivela

The family name “Petric” is probably the oldest (Croat) family name in Komiza dating back to 1367. Some sources suggest that this family has its roots in Hellenic period and that it could have been originally “Patris.”  In 1515 the citizens of the hamlet of Komiza sought permission from the Bishop of Hvar to build (Saint Mary’s) a church. These citizens were the sons of Petar Foretic, Mihovila de Magistris, Simun Klirasic, Mihovil and Benedikt Vitaljic, Luka Juksic, Franjo and Petar Jaksic, Jerolim Foretic, Marjan Kalebic, and Marjan Bozidar. According to the Hvar Diocese document “Ecclesia Siue Capella Sub Invocotion Noncupate Airsurizza” these founders decided to build the church on the seashore at the north end of the settlement. The Hvar Diocese records also show that in 1591, one Franko Mladinovic owned a grocery store, a. name that stems from the Venetian name Mladineo. His house is very well preserved to this day in Komiza with facing family crest carved in stone – a cherub with an olive/vine branch in his hand, year 1603, and his initials “FM”.

In 1623-28 Venice constructed the fortification “Grimanni” at the water’s edge in Komiza. This allowed for a safer community for the inhabitants of the town, but it also allowed a constant Venetian control of the tax collection and commercial activities of the town.  In the second half of the 17th century, the new settlers started coming, mostly from the inland areas of the mainland (Herzegovina) those were fleeing from the Turks. As a result, new families were settling on Vis, and some have gone onto occupying public land and had taken private pieces against the will of the old settlers as tenants-at-will lands. Records as to who they were are sketchy, although Hvar Diocese records show family Dorotic and that of Martinis arrived in Komiza in 1662. It is well recorded that from example Lukrecija Martinis wife Pavle, was the main benefactory for the building of the church Our Lady of the Pirates (Gospa Gusarica) in 1667.

The records at the Historical Institute in Dubrovnik, the Hektorovic family archives, give a detailed account of the Komiza population in 1673.  At the time, Komiza had over 1700 residents, comprising of 244 families. Among these were the names of; Antun’s and Gojo’s family from Korcula, Jakica from Blato, Matos, Boska, Joza, Simun from Krapanj, and Vicko from Solta. In a similar file (Boglic archive, Hvar) from 1675 a list of surnames from Komiza and Vis is given. These names belonged to the settlers who had been given land en gratis e.g. tenants with no ownership rights. They were: Foretic, Marinkovic, and Vitaljic, Petric, Koruca, Bogdanovic, Andrijic, Marinkovic, Bonhomo, Borcic, Filini, Bozanic, Batnoga, Bartulin, Biasia, Cesarei, Dorotic, Gregetti, Hrastic, Ivcevic, Jelic, Kardineo, Martinis, Pribcic, Tanfortic, Vidovic, Vitaljic, Zorotovic and Zuanic.

THE AUSTRIANS AND THE BRITISH
Compiled by Dr. Jakša Kivela

The island of Vis was formally ceded to Austria in 1797 at the fall of Venetian rule, but the French invaded the island in 1802-3. Not to be outmanoeuvred by the Napoleon, in 1806 the English sent a naval force to the Adriatic where they then seized Vis and Kotor from the French. The new naval port was renamed from Vis town to Port St.George. The Vis town prospered rapidly under the English with goods from England flowing steadily into Vis and then from Vis the goods were smuggled, without much difficulty, into Croatia and Austria and then into France and Germany, thus easily thwarting Napoleon’s economic blockade of England. But why Port St. George?  According to the Admiralty records and of (Sir) William Hoste, Vis’ Governor, Port St. George simply had the best possible harbour one could wish for – deep, large, totally protected and unseen from the open sea, close to the mainland, and easily defended. The English naval presence in the Adriatic was extensive (see Battle of Lissa 1811), that strategy being to totally defeat any French military intentions on the Adriatic, which they have succeeded in doing, - a strategic coup which signalled the end of French military might in Eastern Europe. For Vis this was a time of plenty. Because English trade with Europe was blockaded by the French, the smuggled goods were in great demand and very expensive and citizens of Vis became very prosperous due to this trade (and English navy). Hence, between 1808 and 1810 the population of Vis increased threefold from 4376 in 1808 to 13701 in 1810.
By 1815 Napoleon was defeated and the English have left Vis, however, that did hand the island of Vis, among others, to the Austrians. Interestingly, English were to have a lasting influence on Port St. George (today’s town of Vis), again during WWI and WWII, and now as villa owners.  
The Austrians ruled Croatian lands, and Vis, from 1815 to 1918. At Vis Town the Austrians built fort “Batarija Madonna” in 1832, which served as the strategic defence arsenal, although few shots were ever fired from the fort.

THE BATTLE OF LISSA - 1811
Compiled by Dr. Jakša Kivela

The naval Battle of Lissa was fought on 13 March 1811 just north of the Adriatic island of Lissa (now Vis) between a Franco-Venetian squadron, under the command of French commodore Bernard Dubourdieu, and a small British force under Captain (afterwards Sir) William Hoste. Dubourdieu apparently attempted to imitate the method of attack employed by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, but was defeated in spite of the gallant fighting of the individual ships.
The Franco-Venetian squadron of six frigates and five corvettes or small craft, carrying about 500 troops under Colonel Gifflenga of the Italian army as garrison for the island of Lissa, had left Ancona on 11 March 1811 in response to renewed British attacks in the area. On 13 March it met the British squadron north of Lissa.

The following text is taken from Naval wars in the Levant 1559-1853.
The British ships are given in their order in the line. The enemy, according to James, attacked in two lines, as given, but there is no confirmation of this in French accounts, and it is certain that their fleet actually came into action in some confusion.
The wind was WNW and Hoste formed line on the starboard tack heading towards Lissa. The enemy on the same tack bore up to close and at about nine a.m. the engagement began. The Favorite, having outdistanced her consorts attacked the Amphion and Active and made an attempt to board the former. Dubourdieu was killed almost at once. She then stood on past the Amphion as if intending to round the head of the British line and engage to leeward. No other ship of her line was yet in action, but the Danaé and Corona had been engaged with the Volage and Cerberus for some little time before Hoste ordered his ships to wear together to the port tack, to avoid the shoal water near the shore.
The enemy wore also, but the Favorite, disabled and with her two senior surviving officers also killed, was unable to do so and went hard aground. The Cerberus, which should now have led the British line, had her rudder temporarily disabled and had to let the Volage take her place. That ship was then engaged by the Danaé, while the Cerberus fought a duel with the Corona; the Active for the moment had no opponent within reach.
Each of the 2 leading British ships was faced by an adversary of much greater strength than herself and suffered severely until relieved by the Active, whereupon the Danaé, Corona and Carolina retreated in the direction in which they were already heading for the shelter of the batteries of Lessina. The Danaé and Carolina reached safety, but the Corona was overhauled by the Active and taken after a brisk action.
Meanwhile, the Flore had passed under the Amphion's stern and engaged her on the starboard quarter, while the Bellona took up a similar position to windward. To escape from this disadvantageous position Hoste bore up across the bows of the Flore and came to the wind again on her lee side. The Bellona also bore up and passed astern of the Amphion, raking her as she did so, but in spite of this the Amphion was able to inflict so much damage on the Flore that she ceased firing and, according to the British story, surrendered. The Amphion, unable for the moment to take possession, turned her attention to the Bellona and soon forced her to strike, while the Flore took advantage of the respite to make her escape to Lessina.
The Favorite was burnt by her crew. Her wounded were taken off by two of the small craft, while the rest landed in the island, where a large body of them seem to have surrendered to two midshipmen from the Active and a few men from Prizes and privateers; others seized a small vessel in the harbour and escaped in her to Lessina. British and French accounts are completely at variance. Hoste mentions the surrender with no suggestion that any of the Favorite's crew escaped. French accounts speak of seizing vessels and sailing to Lessina, but say nothing about leaving any prisoners behind.
The action had resulted in the capture of 2 frigates and the destruction of a third. The loss on the British side was 45 killed and 145 wounded. On the other side the Favorite had 130 casualties, the Flore 140 and the Danaé 75; the Corona is said to have lost about 200, and the Bellona 70.
While refitting at Lissa, Hoste wrote to demand the delivery of the Flore as his prize. The demand was naturally refused and in fact it was denied that she had ever surrendered. The Flore, Danaé and Carolina reached Ragusa from Lessina on March 23rd. Soon after their departure the Magnificent 74 arrived at Lissa, and a little later Hoste left for Malta, going on to England from there in the Amphion with the Volage and the 2 prizes. The Corona became the British Daedalus 38. The Bellona was used as a troopship under the name Dover.

Ships involved:

Britain(Hoste)	Franco-Venetian (Bernard Dubourdieu)
Amphion 38 (flag) Active 38 (James A. Gordon) Volage 22 (Phipps Hornby) - Damaged Cerberus 32 (Henry Whitby) - Damaged	First line - Favorite 40 (French, flag) - Aground and burnt by crew - Flore 40 (French, Captain Jean-Alexandre Péridier) - Bellona 32 (Venetian) - Captured by Amphion - Principessa Augusta 20 (Venetian) Second line - Danaé 40 (French) - Corona 40 (Venetian) - Captured by Active - Carolina32 (Venetian) Small craft - Mercure 16 - 10 trabaccolos - 6 xebecs - 2 gunboats, carrying 400-500 troops

THE BATTLE OF LISSA - 1866
Compiled by Dr. Jakša Kivela

In July 1866, a major Austrian naval battle was fought near Lissa against the Italians. The battle was between the Italian fleet from Ancona and the Austrian fleet from Pula. Pula was the major naval port for the Austro-Hungary navy. The sea battle lasted 55 minutes when then the Italian fleet withdrew. In the dusk on July 16, 1866, the Italian fleet sailed from Ancona, Italy for Vis. With the intent of destroying the Austrian presence and control of the island, and the gateway to the rest of the Adriatic. 

On the morning of July 18, 1866, the Italian fleet arrived off the port of St George  (Vis town harbour) and commenced bombarding the forts and the town of Vis. The Italian Admiral Persano, also dispatched two vessels to bombard the hamlet of Manego (Milna,) on the Southeast side of Lissa. Two ships, the Terribile and the Varese, and another ironclad were sent to Komiza (Captain Vacca) to bombard and take Komiza too for Italy.  At 10:45 a.m. the Italian fleet opened gunfire at Fort Manjaremi above Komiza. At 530 feet above sea level, the Italian artillery could not reach the fort, although they persisted until 1:00 p.m., whereupon the Italians left for to Manego either to assist others or to have lunch. The two Italian ships that were at Manego had the same problems due to the height of the fort, and they too had to quit, and all five ships then returned to the main fleet off St. George harbour. The Italian fleet that remained at Vis had made a grave tactical and military error – they had failed (some sources say forgotten although this is not correct) to sever the Austrian’s Vis-Pula communication telegraph. When the Pula garrison’s commander Tegettoff received that news from Vis, he instructed Vis to hold out till his fleet can come to them

On the mod-morning of July 19th, the Italians (Terribile and the Varese) bombarded Komiza, while the main fleet was to attack and land troops at port St. George, and attack, which failed terribly with Italians suffering heavy losses from the shore batteries. At about 6:05 a.m. on the morning of July 20, 1866, the Terribile, and the Varese again bombarded Komiza while the main fleet at St. George would attempt to again land their marines and take the shore batteries. Up to this point, the whole strategy was daubed a fiasco at the Admiral Persano’s subsequent court-martial, because Persano did not take into account that there might be Austrian naval presence in the vicinity.  At 8:00 a.m. an Italian lookout ship the Esploratore signalled that the Austrian fleet was sailing towards Vis from the Northeast. Persano did not plan for this potential engagement, and insufficient orders led to confusion among officers, that is, no battle plans were discussed among the officers. Their main warships where in the harbour with little manoeuvring room while in the process of landing marines when they got the word of the arrival of the Austrian fleet. The Italians than quickly abandoned the landing.  Persano made an additional tactical error. As the two fleets came closer for the battle (Northeast of Vis – about 1.9 miles out to sea from Kraljicina spilja), the Italian admiral transferred his Flag from battleship Re d’Italia to the Affondatore without advising his fleet captains, hence, the fleet captains had no idea fleet commands were to come from, resulting in that they did not fight as a unit but only as separate ships. This was a tactical error that sealed that fate of the battle.

Tegetthoff read the situation very well (taking a leaf from Nelson’s strategy at the battle of St. Vincent – to go at them – never mind the manoeuvring). The naval battle commenced at 11:05 a.m. and by twelve noon it was all over; “Re d’Italia” was rammed by Tegetthoff's flagship the “Ferdinand Max”, and sunk in few minutes. The Italian fleet withdrew to Ancona and Persano was court-martialled for his errors and lack of leadership, lost his pension and left public service in disgrace. Admiral Tegetthoff became a naval hero and was to become as famous as the Nelson of Trafalgar.

THE BATTLE OF LISSA – 1866 – TECHNICAL INFORMATION

ITALIAN FLEET:	AUSTRIAN FLEET:
33 Ships 87,000 tons 695 guns 11,425 men 611 KILLED	27 Ships 54,000 tons 523 guns 7,492 men 38 KILLED

The Lissa battle tactics were then noted in all naval tactical books of the time - the strategy being of accurately shelling from a distance and ramming vessels rather than following the naval warfare tactics of broadside attack, a naval warfare tactic (shelling from a distance) which is used in modern naval engagements.

THE END OF AN EMPIRE

Interestingly, in 1873 the Austrian’s ordered Vis garrison to be decommissioned and its fortresses to be dismantled. Continued revolts and unrest have seriously undermined the Hapsburg’s empire. For example, during the period of 1880-1913 some 780,000 people left Croatia – mostly from Dalmatia, and by 1910 phyloxera ravaged the vineyards, which was a major source of the peasants income causing thousands to emigrate, including my distant uncle Petar Bozanic who left for San Pedro in the U.S.A. in early 1919. 

The Declaration of Corfu in late 1917 established a federated constitutional monarchy (the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes – the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) under the Karadjordjevic lineage of Serbian kings, with Alexander, the then Prince of Serbia, accepting the regency by declaring a new government on December 1, 1918. After WWI, the Italians occupied the Islands of Vis and Lastovo, Zadar, as well as Rijeka, which violated the treaty of Corfu. Then in November 1920, The League of Nations in Paris finally negotiated the infamous Treaty of Rapallo which ordered the return of the seized holdings to the new kingdom, however, Italy still retained all of Istra, Lastovo, and Palagruza and other strategic holdings – thus choking off Yugoslavia’s access to most of Adriatic.

In November 1920, all territorial disputes had been settled and the provisional government held elections. The Croats wanted a federalist constitution, while the Serbs had other ideas. In January of 1921, a constitution providing for a highly centralized form of government was approved. King Peter of Serbia died in August of that year and his son became King as Alexander I.

The Serbians and their king ruled much of the land and Croats like others struggled against this centralist government. In June 1928, the Croat leader, Stjepan Radic was assassinated by A Montenegrin deputy to the parliament. The Croats withdrew their representatives and organized a separatist regime with headquarters in Zagreb. Civil war seemed imminent, but King Alexander suspended the constitution of 1924, and assumed dictatorial control of the government. Alexander further tried to unite the country by abolishing the traditional provinces and changed the name of the country from the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Land of the South Slavs.)

The actions of King Alexander were still considered very harsh and popular discontent became increasingly frequent throughout the Kingdom. On September 3, 1931 the King proclaimed termination of the dictatorship and instituted a new constitution, but things continued on as before. On October 9, 1934, while in France, King Alexander was assassinated by a Macedonian terrorist connected to the Croats. The king's son, still a minor, succeeded to the throne as Peter II. Control of the government was vested in a three person regency headed by Prince Paul, a cousin to the late king. In 1939 the government was finally forced into establishing a federalist system to appease the Croats. 
It is said that even in the 1920's interest and participation in the Communist party and its philosophy became very attractive to the citizens of Komiza. Considering that they had been ruled, taxed, and conscripted by far distant Dukes, Kings, Tyrants, Emperors, Doges, harsh landlords, and others for over 800 years, it is very easy to see their interest in a more benevolent system over which they could have some control.

1796 and before ruled by Venice
1797 Austrians displaced the Venetians
1802 French displaced the Austrian
1806 English displaced the French
1816 Austrians replaced the English
1917 Italians invaded
1920 Serbian Kings ruled

Remembering also, that the 59 citizens of Komiza organized a "Brotherhood," with the Bishop's permission in 1569, so that the organized community mindset was deeply ingrained in the social system for well over 350 years. In the 1940 Komiza municipal election, 18 councilmen were elected to direct the affairs under the leadership of the Communist Party of Croatia. District committees, Regional committees of the Peoples Liberation and many other local Communist organizations were organized at various towns and hamlets on the island.

When World War II broke out in 1939, Yugoslavia declared its neutrality, but in March 1941, succumbing to German pressure, the government agreed to adhere to the Tripartite Pact with Germany, Italy, and Japan. The citizens would not stand for this, and a coup d'etat was successful. With King Peter's backing the insurgents formed a government dedicated to neutrality.

Retribution by the Germans and Italians was swift and merciless. Germany invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, and King Peter and the government fled. The high command of the Army surrendered; but retaining their arms, tens of thousands of Yugoslav troops went into hiding, to begin a long guerrilla war against the invaders. Italy assisted the Germans in the invasion of Yugoslavia and secured most of Dalmatia for its own, including the island of Vis. The balance of the country was divided up between Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria. 

In 1943, Tito escaped a Nazi raid on his mainland base, that was expressly setup to capture him. He escaped by the skin of his teeth. Tito then left the mainland and set up his command centre on the Island of Vis, as the People's Liberation Army. The surrender of the Italian Army to the Allies in the fall of 1943 resulted in the capture, by Tito's forces, of much of the Italian armament, supplies, and even the surrender of Italian troops within his Croatian sphere. Some of these Italian troops joined Tito's Partisan army and eventually helped chase the Germany Army from Yugoslavia.

The Island of Bisevo and then Vis itself became a landing spot for British supplies, troops, arms, and aircraft. These were then reshipped to Tito's forces on the mainland. A small airfield was established by the British in the interior of Vis. This airfield can still be seen today, even though it now is a vineyard. The airport pylons are still in place and a memorial to the brave British Airmen has been erected near what was the center of the airfield. The basement of the church of Saint Sylvester on Bisevo was used as a British command center during this period.

The town's people of Komiza sent hundreds of their own off to join Tito's partisans to help rid the country of the Germans. 108 known citizens of Komiza joined the Partisan Army and died fighting the Germans on the islands as well on the mainland of Yugoslavia. Of the hundred and eight, their ages ranged from 16 years to 39 years. Seven of these heroes were woman, ranging in age from 16 to 20 years of age.

With the oversight of the Soviet, British, and the two Yugoslav governments, a deal was struck in Moscow to join the Royal Government and the Council for National Liberation. In March of 1945, various political concessions were made by each side, with Marshal Tito as premier and with Communists in other key positions. Much to the surprise of King Peter the monarchy was dissolved in August 1945, and the King remained in exile.

Due to its geostrategic position, the island of Vis has been a very sensitive military base since the end of World War II.

To exist, as an isolated Military Island of Yugoslav Army, was the destiny of this island until 1990. The burden of 50 years has gone with the winds of the last war, setting Croatia free and independent country….

Those decades were significant for this island, both in negative and in positive way: inspite of being paralysed in, among others, touristic development, Vis also remained preserved in its authenticity, keeping its precious insular essence alive: the island of fishermen and vinegrowers, with untouched innocence of small inland villages, pure nature and clear seas…so cosy and charming, with tranquil life beats all the year long.

Sources and Bibliography:

1. Kako i kada je propala antička Issa, Radovi folizofskog fakulteta Historijska grupa 1, Zagreb, 1959.
2. Admiralty Archives, Naval Museum, Greenwich. U.K. Naval wars in the Levant 1559-1853; Sir William Hoste
   (HMS Amphion) Log Battle of Lissa 1811.
3. Petar Kuncic, (1907). Viski Boj, Zagreb.
4. Nazionale, il., (1866), No: 39, 40, and 60; Zara (Zadar). 
5. The Imperial War Museum, Vienna, Naval Archives Vol. IV – Battle of Lissa 1866.
6. Anton Koudelka, (1899). Unsere Kriegmarine, Wine: Holder. 
7. Kivela family archives – Jakov Kivela d.
8. Bozanic (Milicevi) family archives – Petar Bozanic d.
9. Zorotovic (Lovini) family archives
10. Niko Marinkovic d.
11. Arhiv Općine Hvara – zapisi vijeća
12. Archive Boglic, Hvar – list of families on Hvar and Visa  - 1500 - 1797
13. Diocese Records, Hvar.
14. Komiza City Records – Births and Deaths (Ivan Marinkovic)
15. Vis City Records – Births and Deaths
16. Župni Ured Komiza - Don. Mirko Kačić d. 
17. David Felando – Komiza Land of my Forefathers
18. Ante Zvercetov, d., San Pedro U.S.A.
19. Ivon Knez, d., San Pedro U.S.A.
20. Petar Bozanic, d., San Pedro U.S.A.
21. Mici Mardesic, d., San Pedro U.S.A.
22. Andre Jovanovic, d., San Pedro U.S.A.
23. Andro Roki (Fortunato) d.
24. Grga Novak, (1961), Vis 1 – VI stoljeća god. 1941, Zagreb.
25. Grga Novak, (2004.), Jadransko More: U sukobima i borbama kroz stoljeća, Dio 1. i 2. Split: Marijan Tisak.
26. Grga Novak, (ca. 1948.), Otok Vis u srednjem vijeku – Starohrv. Prosv. III / 3, Zagreb.
27. Grga Novak, (1953.), Prilike na otoku Visu od XVI do XVIII stoljeća. Anali Historijskog Instituta JAZU II, Dubrovnik.
28. Grga Novak, (1943.), Predgrčka Issa, Časopis za hrvatsku povijest Br. 3, Zagreb.
29. Annuario Marittimo, Trieste, 1853-1914, Italy
30. Lujo Vojnovic, (1817.), La Dalmatie, l’Italie et l’unite Yugoslave. Geneve: Bale-Lyon.
31. Dorn Aleksander, (1885.), Kriegsmarine und Volkswirtschaft in Osterreich-Ungarn, Wien:Holder.
32. Flotten-Kalender, (1912.), Offizielles Jahrbuch des österreichischen Flotten-Vereins, Wien: Eberle.