Klokočevac (Bjelovar)

The Gudovac massacre was the mass killing of around 190 Bjelovar Serbs by the Croatian nationalist Ustaše movement on 28 April 1941, during World War II. The massacre occurred shortly after the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia and the establishment of the Ustaše-led Axis puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). It was the first act of mass murder committed by the Ustaše upon coming to power, and presaged a wider Ustaše-perpetrated campaign of genocide against Serbs in the NDH that lasted until the end of the war. The Ustaše used the mysterious deaths of two of their local followers as a pretext for the killings. The victims were drawn from Gudovac and its surroundings on 28 April. Most were arrested under the guise that they were rebels loyal to the ousted Yugoslav government. They were taken to a nearby field and collectively shot by a firing squad of up to 70 Ustaše guards. Five of the prisoners managed to survive the initial volley and crawled away to safety. The Ustaše forced Gudovac's surviving inhabitants to dig a mass grave for the victims and pour quicklime on the bodies to speed up decomposition. The following day, relatives of one of the victims informed the Germans of what had transpired. The Germans ordered a partial exhumation of the mass grave, and had 40 suspected perpetrators arrested. Mladen Lorković, a senior Ustaše official, used his influence to have the detained men released and promised German ambassador Siegfried Kasche that the Croatian authorities would carry out a thorough investigation. No investigation took place. An ossuary and a mausoleum were erected on the site of the massacre in 1955, as was a monument by the sculptor Vojin Bakić. In 1991, amid inter-ethnic violence during the Croatian War of Independence, the monument and the mausoleum were destroyed by Croatian nationalists, as was another one of Bakić's works, Bjelovarac (The Man From Bjelovar). The ruins of the ossuary were removed by the local authorities in 2002. That same year, residents signed a petition to have the Bjelovarac monument erected once again. The restored monument was unveiled in December 2010.

Gudovac is a rural suburb of the city of Bjelovar, it lies approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city centre and about 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of the Croatian capital of Zagreb.

Prekobrdo is a village in Croatia.

Stare Plavnice is a village in Croatia.

Šiptari is a village in Croatia.

Stančići is a village in Croatia.

Kobasičari is a village in Croatia.

The siege of Bjelovar Barracks, also known by the codename Operation Bilogora (Croatian: Operacija Bilogora), was the blockade and capture of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) barracks and other facilities in and around the city of Bjelovar, a part of the JNA 32nd (Varaždin) Corps, during the Croatian War of Independence. A general blockade of the JNA facilities in Croatia was ordered on 14 September 1991, and it continued until 29 September when the JNA garrison was captured by Croatian forces. Its capture occurred one week after the bulk of the 32nd Corps surrendered. It was part of the Battle of the Barracks—an effort by Croatian armed forces to isolate JNA units based at barracks in Croatia, or capture the barracks to provide arms for Croatia's nascent army. The fighting resulted in the capture of a substantial stock of weapons, including 78 tanks, 77 infantry fighting vehicles and 13 artillery pieces greater than 100-millimetre (3.9 in) caliber. The clash also caused considerable damage to the city of Bjelovar and its surroundings due to artillery fire and the explosion of an ammunition storage depot on the outskirts of the city. The fighting erupted despite a ceasefire that had been arranged days before, and caused JNA General Veljko Kadijević to withdraw from negotiations regarding the ceasefire's implementation. He subsequently issued an ultimatum to Croatian authorities, warning against the capture of further JNA facilities.

Bjelovar (Hungarian: Belovár, German: Bellowar, Czech: Bělovar or Bělovár, Kajkavian: Belovar, Latin: Bellovarium) is a city in central Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Bjelovar-Bilogora County as well as one of the youngest cities in Croatia, officially founded in the year 1756. At the 2021 census, there were 36,433 inhabitants, of whom 93.06% were Croats.

Podgorci is a village in Croatia.

Stari Skucani is a village in Croatia.

Rovišće is a village and a municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia.