PREPARATION TO SPEND THE WINTER We came on the Day of All Saints; winter announced its visit, and we should have got ready to survive it. We had to prepare and to secure food supplies and other needs, in order to overwhelm the winter and make it though till the springtime. Sergeant Vukic suggested me to look for some good cave where we would be able to wait for the springtime. I rejected and explained to the both of them that all known caves are controlled by partisans during the winter, because it already became public that there are some krizari on Velebit. We also heard that on the Lika's side of Velebit and around Kosinj is colonel Delko Bogdanic and that many partisan actions are expected to happened while there's snow on the ground in Lika and on Velebit. We heard from different sources that lieutenant colonel Venture Baljak with the group of 80 men is in Bukovica area and around Zrmanja River well. Nearby Lukovo Sugarje brothers Martin and Pavao Dosen did some actions, in cooperation with their cousin Ivan Dosen, domobran’s soldier. (*domobran egular Croatian soldier during the WWII). News were correct and we had to organize sanctuary for the winter period. All three of us decides to dig one appropriate sod-house, with enough of space for three of us and food supplies we’ll get from our supporters. All that had to be prepared before Christmas because from that south side Velebit was still without the snow. We visited our contact persons and took some picks, shovels and one axe.  In a short period of time, in some wild part of Velebit, we made a sod-house about two meters wide and two long. We covered it with boards and we put ground, branches and dry leaves all over it. Doors were like entrance to a fox's cave, and at the evenings we closed them with some hawthorne bush. We were able to light a fire because nobody ever was passing by that way, so it was warm in that sod-house. There was nothing to worry about the woods, because on Velebit there is always plenty of dry woods, beech or maple. When we finished a sod-house, we started to bring food. Local people knew us and nobody rejected to help us. They promised to give us as much of smoke meat as we can take with us, around 15th of December. They supported us because we're fighting against Serbo-communist forces, and people really hated them a lot. From the local people we also got parts of old car tires that they brought from Karlobag or Gospic, and we used it to light a fire. With tire parts it was possible to do that even during the heavy wind or any kind of storm. We forgot nothing important, especially salt and matches. We had enough of weapons and ammunition because people gave us what they had in their old supplies that they used during the war and now is hidden in Velebit's wilderness. Winter could not surprise us any more. If we had to visit our contact person in Primorje* (area by the sea), we would wait bura* (chilly northern wind) to start to blow and snow storms, that would immediately hide all our traces. With that kind of weather nobody was able to endure two hours outside waiting for someone to fall in his trap. Partisans tried to do such thing once, when they were waiting by my house, so one of them left to get some brandy while the other one stayed behind the house. Later that day they found him dead, frozen. That’s why we used those storms and we were walking all the time, well dressed, and nothing could happened to us. We knew all about bura and we took it as an alley. Dosen brothers were closer to their homes, due to the easier approach to the food, and that was really dangerous for them, but also for the people they visited more often. We heard that they’re hidden in one cave and we suggested them, through our contacts, to join us. But it was easier to plan it than to realize it. One evening Stipe and I sent a message to them and told them where they can find us. We defined one place not too close to our sod-house, about kilometer and more, so nobody would be able to see and surprise us. One day, after we left a message to Dosen brothers, a heavy bura started to blow, so it almost broke everything. Three of us set in out sod-house and played “kozaljeke” game so time would pass faster. Suddenly we heard some sound through the noise of wind. Stipo and I grabbed our riffles and went toward that place we agreed to meet Dosens. We hided behind some big stone and waited We observed a man in (domobran's) home-defender's uniform (rain coat) with riffle over his shoulder.  We get closer to this loner and jump in front of him, right a way we recognise him as a *dovodnik Pavle Dosan. Pavao Dosan was *dovodnik in my *satnija in Karlobag.  We greet (salute) and kiss each other and take him in our under ground hiding place (burrow).  Once he was trough that fox hole passage, he was surprise of the warmth inside and how well we have settle in.  He told us how they were cold in the cave they were in, even do, they had fire going, "you get warm from front, but freezing on  the back" I told him of our intention to act together, and ask him to stay with us, and when the storm passes, we will go and get Marijan and Ivan. And that was what we did; we went to the cave and added the other two Dosans to our group. Now there were six of us.Our burrow was to small for all of us, so we decided to leave the same day, and make a bigger one in the hidden place two kilometres up the mountain V\elebit.  We had enough tools to start building our new burrow, which was not very pleasant due to the cold, but as our people would say, "necessity changes the law"  We decided to make two simillar burrows, one beside the other, so that we have more space and it would be easier to kip it clean. That was very important, because we did not need unwanted parasites.The snow was the biggest barrier for anyone to walk around the Velebit, and we were not afraid someone could discover us in this isolated place.  Our hiding place was finished very quickly, we were determent to do it as soon as possible.  All the food that the three of us had gathered was transferred to new hiding place.  It had to be rationed very carefully, so that it would last at least till middle of March when the snow starts to melt. Decision was made to guard our burrow at all time. We chose a best position from which we could control all-important passes leading through Velebit, on both sides.  Guarding was changed every hour, this was it was easier to handle freezing temperature. *military rank, I do not know what it is. *group of solders, I do not know how many, 100 maybe In the evening we were all together and discussed the situation, what we will have to do when the Spring of 1946 comes.For our security and safety it was very important that non of us go to far from the burrow or out of the perimeter of the guarding area, so that no one would see our foot prints. If we needed to make contact with someone, the walking on the snow  was necessary, but we used old Indian trick to hide our tracks.  Which was, we cut a thick branch and one of us would sit on it and the others would drag the branch on the snow.  This way we covered our racks, if someone would see the dragging mark on the snow it would look like it was done by the wind.  If there was soft and wet area, where the tracks could not be camouflaged, we would walk backwards, and if someone would to pass this way, they would think we went in the opposite direction. In summer, if we had to pass trough area where someone could see us, the trick was to put down a bush on the path, and if human or animal would go that way they would have to moved it a side.  When we were returning, one of us would go ahead to see if the bush was oved.  Some times animals would move the bush, to be on safe side, we would go back another way.  We never entered the uncontrolled area where was possible to set a trap, that we could walked into. To be continued............................... Translated in English from Velebit Vukovi by Ante Vukic These extracts mention my Grandfather Martin Dosen, his brother and other family members.