14/06/2026
𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖'𝐒 𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓
𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄
The path is dedicated to the escape and freeing of 87 British prisoners of war from the STALAG XVIII D camp in Maribor. The event is unique in the history of World War II because of the crowd of liberated allies. The escape was organized by military prisoner Ralph F. Churches - Crow from Australia and Les Laws from England.
30. In August 1944, 7 prisoners escaped from the workplace on the railway track, 500 m above HC Ožbalt, to Lovrenc na Pohorje.
31. in August, 80 Britons were liberated from the same workplace. The action was successfully carried out by one hundred soldiers of the Scercer Brigade and seven British men. They retreated towards Klopni vrh, where the group was joined by 9 British and 10 French prisoners of war working on Pohorje farms.
Churches' group was led by partisans to Spodnja Slivna and near today's GEOSS 9. handed over to Kamniško-Zasavski detachment units in September. With the help of the farmers, she organized a passage over the road, the Sava river and the railway in the area of the so-called "partisan corridor" in Zgornji Hotič. 13. In September, 103 prisoners arrived in Semič, 18. in September 1944 they flew from Otok to an allied base in Bara.
"Partisan Corridor" in the area of Litija was the only place where it was possible to cross the Sava. Regardless of the many enemy crews, fighters-brokers here with the cooperation of the population brought over 7,000 mobilizers and volunteers across Sava from Štajerska to Dolenjska region. Among them were runaway coalition prisoners of war, airmen and members of allied missions.
From the partisan airport Otok pri Metlika, heroic British pilots flew hundreds of partisan wounded, over 2000 women with children, elderly, escaped Allied prisoners of war and a few hundred rescued Allied pilots.
«Flight of the Crow» is a project that preserves the memory of liberation of Churches' group, a solution to hundreds of Allied prisoners of war and over 800 airmen of different nationalities. The heroism of the Slovenian partisans and partisan couriers as well as the Slovenian, predominantly farmer population, who offered food and shelter to the refugees at the cost of their lives and possessions is unforgettable.
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Literature:
- Ralph. F. Churches: »A Hundred Miles as the Crow Flies«
- Matija Zganjar: Zlomljena krila, 2012
- Partizanski koridor- Geodetski Zavod Slovenije dd, 2005
- Tablo postavila ZB NOB Ruse
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Zveza združenj borcev za vrednote NOB Slovenije
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𝐕𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐕 𝐋𝐄𝐓
𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐍𝐀 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐊𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐓 𝐙𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐙𝐍𝐈𝐒̌𝐓𝐕𝐀
Pot je posvečena pobegu in osvoboditvi 87 britanskih vojnih ujetnikov iz taborišča STALAG XVIII D v Mariboru. Dogodek je edinstven v zgodovini Il. svetovne vojne zaradi množice osvobojenih zaveznikov. Pobeg sta organizirala vojna ujetnika Ralph F. Churches - Vran iz Avstralije in Les Laws iz Anglije.
30. avgusta 1944 je pobegnilo 7 ujetnikov iz delovišča na železniški progi, 500 m nad HC Ožbalt, v Lovrenc na Pohorju.
31. avgusta, je sledila osvoboditev 80 Britancev iz istega delovišča. Akcijo je uspešno izvedla stotnija borcev Šercerjeve brigade in sedmerica omenjenih Britancev. Umaknili so se v smeri proti Klopnemu vrhu, kjer se je skupini pridružilo se 9 britanskih in 10 francoskih vojnih ujetnikov, ki so delali na pohorskih kmetijah.
Churchesovo skupino so partizani vodili do Spodnje Slivne ter jih v bližini današnjega GEOSS-a 9. septembra predali enoti Kamniško-zasavskega odreda. Ta je s pomočjo kmetov organizirala prehod preko ceste, reke Save in železnice na območju tako imenovanega »partizanskega koridora« v Zgornjem Hotiču. 13. septembra so 103 ujetniki prispeli v Semič, 18. septembra 1944 pa so odleteli iz Otoka v zavezniško bazo v Bari.
»Partizanski koridor« na območju Litije je bil edini kraj, kjer je bilo možno prečkati Savo. Ne glede na številne sovražne posadke so tukaj borci-brodarji ob sodelovanju prebivalstva prepeljal preko Save s Štajerske na Dolenjsko nad 7.000 mobilizirancev in prostovoljcev. Med njimi so bili ubežni zavezniški vojni ujetniki, letalci in člani zavezniških misij.
S partizanskega letališča Otok pri Metliki so junaški britanski piloti Z letali prepeljali v Bari na stotine partizanski ranjencev, preko 2000 žensk z otroki, ostarele, pobegle zavezniške vojne ujetnike in nekaj sto rešenih zavezniških letalcev.
»Vranov let« je projekt, ki ohranja spomin na osvoboditev Churchesove skupine, rešitev na stotine zavezniških vojnih ujetnikov in preko 800 letalcev različnih narodnosti. Nepozabno je junaštvo slovenski partizanov in partizanski kurirjev ter slovenskega, pretežno kmečkega prebivalstva, ki je ubežnikom za ceno svojih življenj in imetja nudilo hrano in zatočišče.
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Literatura:
- Ralph. F. Churches: »A Hundred Miles as the Crow Flies«
- Matija Zganjar: Zlomljena krila, 2012
- Partizanski koridor- Geodetski Zavod Slovenije dd, 2005
- Tablo postavila ZB NOB Ruse
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Zveza združenj borcev za vrednote NOB Slovenije
🐦⬛🐦⬛🐦⬛
