Lazar Mamula (22 May 1795 – 12 January 1878) was an Austro-Hungarian general and governor of Dalmatia. Of Serbian ancestry, he is today often associated with the contentious

Prevlaka Prevlaka () is a small peninsula in southern Croatia, near the border with Montenegro, at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor on the eastern Adriatic coast. Because of its strategic location in the southern Adriatic, in the aftermath of the SFR Yu ...

peninsula where he constructed a fort on the slip of land overlooking the

Gulf of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the h ...

and his active association with other Slavic leaders in the Habsburg monarchy at the time.

Biography

Lazar Mamula was a Serb from Gorski Kotar,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, born in 1795 in

Gomirje Gomirje is a settlement in north-western Croatia, situated at the far east of the mountainous region of Gorski kotar in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. It is part of the Vrbovsko municipality. The population is 343 (as of the 2011 census). De ...

, at the time of the Habsburg monarchy. He was actually born in the hamlet next to the monastery of Gomirje, in "Mamula", the hamlet after which his "tribe" is named."Школски лист", Нови Сад 1866. године He graduated from the Military Engineering Academy in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and from 1815 to 1831 he advanced in the Austro-Hungarian military service from cadet to captain while at the same time taking part in the military campaign in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. By 1839, he had achieved considerable success in setting up fortifications of

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

on the islands of Vis and

Hvar Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For'', el, Φάρος, Pharos, la, Pharia, it, Lesina) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast, lying between the islands of Brač, Vis and Korčula. Approximately long, wi ...

and the construction of border fortifications in

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

, around Comorn and in the vicinity of Innsbruck. He received the rank of major in 1841 and 1848 the rank of

oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

in 1848 when he was appointed chief of the general staff in Habsburg Croatia. Under the command of Lieutenant Marshal Franz Dahlen von Orlaburg, he distinguished himself in the battles during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and 1849. In December 1848 he united the " Styrian-Croatian Military Corps" with which he fought in the region between the Drava and the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

. He thus prevented the penetration of the Hungarians into

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...

and

Srem Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the ex ...

in 1849, advancing from Osijek to

Petrovaradin Petrovaradin ( sr-cyr, Петроварадин, ) is a historic town in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, now a part of the city of Novi Sad. As of 2011, the urban area has 14,810 inhabitants. Lying on the right bank of the Danube, across from t ...

. He repulsed the attacks on

Sremska Kamenica Sremska Kamenica (Serbian Cyrillic: ''Сремска Каменица'', ) is a town and urban neighborhood of Novi Sad, in Serbia. Name In Serbian, the town is known as ''Sremska Kamenica'' (Сремска Каменица), in Croatian a ...

and Sremske Karlovce. Because of these merits, the Austrian emperor awarded him the Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa and the title of baron. Russian Tsar Nicholas I decorated Lazar with the

Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...

II class. Lazar von Mamula received the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in 1850 from the Austrian Emperor and in 1853 the rank of field marshal (lieutenant marshal). Baron Mamula was appointed by

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

in 1857 commander of Dalmatia, in 1859

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Dalmatia and 1865 conferred on him the rank of

General of the Artillery General of the Artillery is/was a general officer of artillery, and may be: *General of the Artillery (Germany) and Austria-Hungary * General of the Artillery (Imperial Russia) * General of the Artillery (Poland) *Feldzeugmeister (OF-8) of the Austr ...

. He retired with the same title -- Feldzeigmeister. He was the godfather at the Montenegrin Prince

Danilo Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born 19 ...

's wedding. He was the viceroy of the

Kingdom of Dalmatia The Kingdom of Dalmatia ( hr, Kraljevina Dalmacija; german: Königreich Dalmatien; it, Regno di Dalmazia) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entire ...

from 1859 to 1865. He was then the military and civilian governor of Dalmatia. In the middle of the 19th century, he built a fortification on the island of Lastavica at the entrance to the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( Montenegrin and Serbian: , Italian: ), also known as the Boka, is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated around the bay. It is also the southernmost part of the hi ...

. After him, this island was named Mamula. In 1858, Baron Mamula founded the Dalmatian Invalids Foundation with an initial capital of 20,000

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

. In 1867, Baron Mamula made several donations to the Serbian Orthodox Church of St. George in

Ogulin Ogulin () is a town in north-western Croatia, in Karlovac County. It has a population of 7,389 (2021) (it was 8,216 in 2011), and a total municipal population of 12,251 (2021). Ogulin is known for its historic stone castle, known as Kula, and the ...

. The bells were donated to the church by Emperor Francis Joseph I himself, while the iconostasis was donated to the church by Baron Mamula. Baron Mamula died in Vienna on 12 January 1878. Later Fleet Admiral Branko Mamula is a descendant of his.

Ranks

Kadett Kadett corresponds to Cadet in English and is a term used in Sweden to denote officer candidates studying in order to become an officer. There are basically two ways to become officer as described below. Specialist Officers (SO) Direct recruitment ...

feldwebel ''Feldwebel '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupi ...

(cadet-sergeant) awarded in 1815, *

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

(captain) awarded in 1831, * Major (major) awarded in 1841, *

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

(Colonel) awarded in 1848, *

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

(Major General) awarded in 1850, * Feldmarschalleutnant (sub-marshal) awarded in 1853, *

Feldzeugmeister ''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century i ...

(artillery general) awarded in 1865.

Medals

Austrian Empire

* Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa (''Ritter des Militär Maria Theresien Ordens'') * Knight's Cross of the

Order of Leopold (Austria) The Austrian Imperial Order of Leopold (german: Österreichisch-kaiserlicher Leopold-Orden) was founded by Franz I of Austria on 8 January 1808. The order's statutes stipulated only three grades: Grand Cross, Commander and Knight. During the wa ...

(''Ritterkreuz des Österreichisch-kaiserlicher Leopold-Orden'')

Russian Empire

II class (''Orden Svjatoi Anny, II'')

References

1795 births 1878 deaths Serbs of Croatia People from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County {{DEFAULTSORT:Mamula, Lazar Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia Austro-Hungarian generals