Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 27 June 1991
- A 40t tank smashed the little 0.6t Fiat as if it were a joke. The incident occurred at the intersection of Vukovar and Trpimirova (then Klein) Street in Osijek, and the little Fiat was bravely driven on the tank’s path by Branko Breškić.
On this day one of the best remembered events from the Croatian War of Independence took place in Osijek.
A red Fiat with Osijek license plates was recklessly ran-over by a Yugoslav People’s Army tank T-55 when passing through the city.
A 40t tank smashed the little 0.6t Fiat as if it were a joke. The incident occurred at the intersection of Vukovar and Trpimir (then Klein) Street in Osijek, and the little Fiat was bravely left on the tank’s path by Branko Breškić, a Croatian defender who is no longer among the living.
The whole event was recorded by the cameras of the Croatian Radiotelevision, and the recording was quickly broadcasted throughout the world.
It is interesting that Branko Breškić and the driver of the mentioned tank, Josip Ilić, later had the opportunity to meet, on the initiative of the Croatian Radiotelevision.
Josip Ilić was born near Županja and, in the meantime, he also died.
On the 20th anniversary of the event, the monument that displays a red Fiat crushing a tank was set up in 2011 at the crossroad of Vukovar and Trpimir Street.
