Mihailo Mihaljević (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Михаило Михаљевић; 1748 – April 26, 1794) was an Austrian

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

(later

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

) of Serbian origin who led the

Serbian Free Corps The Serbian Free Corps (), known simply as ''frajkori'' ( sr-cyr, фрајкори), was a volunteer militia composed of ethnic Serbs, established by the Habsburg monarchy, to fight the Ottoman Empire during the Austro-Turkish War (1787–1791). T ...

during the

Austro-Turkish War (1788-1791) The term Austro-Turkish War may refer to: * Austro-Turkish War (1593–1606) * Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) * Austro-Turkish War (1683–1699) * Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) * Austro-Turkish War (1737–1739) * Austro-Turkish War (1788–17 ...

Biography

Mihailo Mihaljević graduated from cadet school, and then served in a

Petrovaradin Petrovaradin ( sr-Cyrl, 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 the m ...

regiment which was part of the Habsburg Military Frontier. He was a Slavonian general command for several years with the rank of

and later

in the Imperial Austrian Army. In the operations of the Austrian army in 1789, with the frigate ''Stanko'', he ensured the attack on

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

via the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

river, and then took part in the occupation of

Paraćin Paraćin ( sr-Cyrl, Параћин, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. Located in the Velika Morava river valley, north of Kruševac and southeast of Kragujevac, the town had a population of 22,349 ...

Jagodina Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of � ...

Ćuprija Ćuprija (Serbian Cyrillic: Ћуприја, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 16,522, while the municipality has 25,325 inhabitants (2022 census). History The Romans ...

, Karanovac,

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...

and

Aleksinac Aleksinac ( sr-Cyrl, Алексинац) is a town and municipality located in the Nišava District of Southern and Eastern Serbia, southern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 43,258 inhabitants. History Preh ...

, all in modern Serbia.https://nauka.f.bg.ac.rs/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Culture-of-Remembrance-Visuality-and-Crisis-NBS.pdf#page=67 Among the many volunteers who enlisted in the corps were

Aleksa Nenadović Aleksa Nenadović (1749 Brankovina, Sanjak of Smederevo — 4 February 1804, Valjevo, Sanjak of Smederevo) was ober knyaz of Tamnava—Posavina district of Valjevo nahiyah of the Belgrade Pashaluk. Family Aleksa Nenadović was a member of the ...

Karađorđe Petrović Đorđe Petrović (; ; – ), known by the sobriquet Karađorđe (; ), was a Serbian revolutionary leader who led a struggle against the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He held the title of Grand Vožd of Serbia from 14 ...

, Stanko Arambašić, the prominent Radič Petrović and the most distinguished of all,

Koča Anđelković Korun "Koča" Anđelković ( sr-cyr, Коча Анђелковић, 1755 – 7 September 1788), known as Captain Koča (Kapetan Koča), was a Serbian military leader who served as commander of the Serbian Free Corps, the Habsburg military unit ...

. The Orthodox clergy in Serbia supported the rebellion. Koča's militia quickly took over Palanka and

Batočina Batočina (, ) is a town and municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. According to 2022 census, the population of the town is 5,105, while population of the municipality is 10,162. Settlements Aside from the town of Bato� ...

, attacked

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

, and reached the Constantinople road, cutting off the

Ottoman army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

from the

Sanjak of Niš The Sanjak of Niš ( Turkish: Niş Sancağı; Serbian: Нишки санџак, romanized: ''Niški Sandžak''; Albanian: Sanxhaku i Nishit; Bulgarian: Нишки санджак, romanized: ''Nishki sandzhak'') was one of the sanjaks of the O ...

and

Sanjak of Vidin The Sanjak of Vidin or the Vidin Sanjak (, , ) was a sanjak in the Ottoman Empire, with Vidin as its administrative centre. It was established after the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396 out of the territories of the Tsardom of Vidin and in the mid-15 ...

. Ultimately, the aforementioned Serbian volunteer corps had the legacy of promoting the creation of future paramilitaries, particularly in the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...

headed by

Karađorđe Đorđe Petrović (; ; – ), known by the sobriquet Karađorđe (; ), was a Serbian revolutionary leader who led a struggle against the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He held the title of Grand Vožd of Serbia from 14 ...

. In 1792, Colonel Mihaljević went on to organize the Serbian and Slavonian Freikorps with which he participated in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

; while serving in that campaign, he was killed on 26 April 1794.

Source

* Војна енциклопедија, том 5, стр. 453 (Serbian: Military Encyclopedia, Volume 5, page 453)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mihaljevic, Mihailo 1748 births 1794 deaths Austrian people of Serbian descent