Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-06-13
|Mihai|ovich Declares
He Told Germans 10
Surrender Arms
BY the Associoted Press

BELGRADE. June 13.-Gen. Draja
Mihailovich told the Yugoslav mil
itary court today that he and Col.
Robert H. Mcdowell. chief of an
American mission to Chetnik head
quarters in 1914, in conference
with Germans that year proposed
that they turn over their arms to
the Chetnik chieftain lin view of
their coming defeat
Marshal Tito's government in its
indictment of Gen. Mihailovich
charged that the Chetnik leader
and Col. Mcdowell held parleys
with the Germans in 1914.
Gen. Mihailovich. testifying with
apparent reluctance today, said he
and Col Mcdowell refused to dis
cuss the danger of Communism"
with a German officer named Ster-
ker, deputy OF the chief of the
administrative staff of the German
command in Yugoslavia in Septem-
Der, 1914
You need not worry about It,"
Gen. Mihailovich quoted Col NC
Dowell as saying when Sterker at
tempted to bring up the question
of the danger of Communism in
Europe"
Col. Mcdowell told him Ger
many was defeated and would ca
pitulate and told him The arms
YOU have must be turned over to
Gen. Mihailovioh,' the defendant
testified.
Met Germans Twice.
Those were the main points Of
the meeting" Gen. Mihailovich
went on. 1T might have lasted
three quarters of an hour
would not have received him
'Sterker) unless Col. Mcdowell
was with me
Then pointing to the indictment,
he added, This is not correct in the
charge, or somebody is trying to give
the wrong impression
He said he and Col Mcdowell met
the Germans twice, because 1T was
arranged wrong the first time"
A document read by the court
said Col. Mcdowell was accompanied
by an American captain named La
lie.
A reliable source said defense at
torneys were planning to ask court
permission to call Col. Mcdowell as
we'll as Col William Bailey and
Col Hudson. British liaison officers
at Gen Mihailovich's headquarters,
as witnesses for the defendant.
Gen. Mihailovich testified yeaer-
day that Col. Bailey advised him to
destroy Titos Partisan forces SO
the way would be clear for an Allied
landing in Dalmatia He has testi-
fed also that Col. Hudson brought
instructions from British Middle
East headquarters at Cairo.
Col Mcdowell, in a statement
issued Tuesday in New York
through the Committee for
Fair Trial for DraIa Mihailoyich.
said the Germans contacted him
in 1914 for the purpose of dis
cussing the surrender of German
forces" He said Gen Mihailo-
vlch was bitter anti-NaZi.')
Tells of Talk With Medic.
|
the late Milan Medic, wartime pup
pet Premier OF German occupied
YugoSlavla. was "a man completely
washed out mentally but conceded
that he held a conference with him
in August. 1914.
He denied the prosecutions con-
tentlon that the meeting resulted in
promise of arms for his troops in
exchange for an agreement not to
use those arms against the Germans
When the days session was less
than two hours old it recessed to
give Gen. Mihailovich a rest.
Asked About Jan. 1914 Order.
When court was resumed he was
asked If he issued an order in
January. 1914 for his units in the
Visegrad-Priboj sector of Bosnia and
Croatia to JOIN with Germans and
Lejeticites tQuisljng Militia in an
attack on the Second Proletarian
Division Proletarian divisions
were specially hOnored units of
Marshal Tito's Partisans
Gen Mihailovich said he did not
remember issuing such an order.
but admitted his units did take part
in the fight because lit was some
thing l was forced to do. In this
case l was attacked by the Part-
sans in an area that belonged to me
and l had to defend myself