The Commemorative Medal of the Great Serbian Retreat or Commemorative Medal for Loyalty to the Fatherland 1915 ( sr, Споменица за верност отаџбини 1915), better known as the Albanian Commemorative Medal (Serbian: Албанска споменица) was a single-classed military medal awarded to all Serbian military personnel who participated in the Great Serbian Retreat of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

History and criteria

The Albanian Commemorative Medal was instituted on 5 April 1920 by decree of Crown Prince-Regent Alexander I Karadjordjević in the newly established

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

until 1929, then by the Kingdom of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. At the end of 1915,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

was invaded by combined Austro-Hungarian, German and Bulgarian armies, the greatly outnumbered Serbian Army, under the command of King Peter and Prince Alexander, faced total destruction but refused to come to terms. The decision was taken to retreat through the mountains of Albania towards the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

coast to Corfu and Greece. During the journey across the mountains around 70,000 soldiers and 140,000 civilians froze, starved to death, died of disease or were killed by hostile Albanian tribes. The reorganised Serbian Army continued fighting the rest of the war on the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...

liberating their country alongside French troops in 1918. The Commemorative Medal was given on anniversaries and jubilees to all the participants of the event.

Appearance

The medal was gilt and silvered bronze in appearance, 32.5 mm x 50 mm. the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...

side depicts the profile of the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Army, Prince-Regent Alexander I, surrounding it is the inscription TO MY COMRADES IN ARMS ALEKSANDAR (). On the reverse is the inscription FOR LOYALTY TO THE FATHERLAND 1915 (). The medal is worn on a light green bar with black stripes along the edge. The medal was struck by

Arthus-Bertrand Arthus-Bertrand is a maker of medals and decorations. It was founded in Paris in 1803 by Claude Arthus-Bertrand, an army officer during the French Revolution. Artists who have designed for the firm include Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (sculptor o ...

in Paris.

Notable recipients

Momčilo Gavrić Momčilo Gavrić ( sr-Cyrl, Момчило Гаврић; 1 May 1906 – 28 April 1993) was the youngest Serbian soldier, he became a soldier at the age of eight.

Sergej Ingr Sergius is a male given name of Ancient Roman origin after the name of the Latin ''gens'' Sergia or Sergii of regal and republican ages. It is a common Christian name, in honor of Saint Sergius, or in Russia, of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, and ...

Stanislav Krakov Stanislav Krakov ( sr-Cyrl, Станислав Краков; 1895–1968) was a Serbian officer, Chetnik guerrilla, journalist, writer and film director. He participated in the Balkan Wars and First World War. During the Second World War, he supp ...

Milutin Nedić Milutin Đ. Nedić ( sr-Cyrl, Милутин Ђ. Недић; 26 October 1882 – 1945) was a Yugoslav '' Armijski đeneral'' (lieutenant general) and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army prior to the outbreak of World War ...

Milan Nedić Milan Nedić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Недић; 2 September 1878 – 4 February 1946) was a Yugoslav and Serbian army general and politician who served as the chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army and minister of war in the R ...

Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...

Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin ( sr-cyr, Илија Трифуновић-Бирчанин; 1877 – 3 February 1943) was a Serbian Chetnik military commander (''vojvoda'', војвода). He took part in the Balkan Wars and World War I and af ...

Images

File:Zbirka odlikovanja, diploma i plaketa Narodnog muzeja u Leskovcu 02.jpg, front of the medal File:Zbirka odlikovanja, diploma i plaketa Narodnog muzeja u Leskovcu 01.jpg, reverse of the medal File:Albanska spomenica, inženjerski potporučnik Leon H. Lebl.jpg, Document issued to Leon Lebl. File:Momčilo Gavrić Albanian Commemorative Medal.jpg, Document issued to

Momčilo Gavrić Momčilo Gavrić ( sr-Cyrl, Момчило Гаврић; 1 May 1906 – 28 April 1993) was the youngest Serbian soldier, he became a soldier at the age of eight.

. File:Document issued to Radivoj A. Marinkovic.jpg, Document issued to Radivoj A. Marinkovic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Commemorative Medal of the Great Serbian Retreat

Albanian Commemorative Medal The Commemorative Medal of the Great Serbian Retreat or Commemorative Medal for Loyalty to the Fatherland 1915 ( sr, Споменица за верност отаџбини 1915), better known as the Albanian Commemorative Medal (Serbian: Алб ...

1920 establishments in Serbia Orders, decorations, and medals of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Awards established in 1920 Military awards and decorations of World War I Serbia in World War I

History and criteria

Appearance

Notable recipients

See also

Images

References