The Military General Governorate of Serbia (german: Militärgeneralgouvernement Serbien, MGG/S for short) was a
military administration
Military administration identifies both the techniques and systems used by military departments, agencies, and armed services involved in managing the armed forces. It describes the processes that take place within military organisations outsid ...
established by the
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...
during the
Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia
The Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces occupied Serbia from late 1915 until the end of World War I. Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia on 28 July 1914 marked the beginning of the war. After three unsuccessful Austro-Hungarian offens ...
. The Governorate existed from 1 January 1916 to 1 November 1918 during
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 ...
. Along with
Bulgarian occupied Serbia, it was one of the two separate occupation zones created after the
Kingdom of Serbia was
invaded
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
and partitioned by the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
.
History
During the unsuccessful Austro-Hungarian
Serbian campaign of 1914, a first military governorate was set up in Belgrade by the Austrian Supreme Command. Field-Marshal
Stjepan Sarkotić
Stjepan Freiherr Sarkotić von Lovćen (also ''Stefan Sarkotić'', ''Stjepan Sarkotić'', or ''Stephan Sarkotić''; 4 October 1858 – 16 October 1939) was an Austro-Hungarian Army generaloberst of Croatian descent who served as Governor of Bosni ...
, commander of the
Devils's Division, was appointed military governor in November. The Serbian army’s counteroffensive a month later liberated the country, ending the short-lived occupation. Following the Central Powers'
Serbian campaign of 1915 and the subsequent
retreat of the Serbian army, the country was divided into three zones of control, Austria-Hungarian,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
.
The Austro-Hungarian zone encompassed the northwestern part of Serbia, with
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
as its administrative centre, to the north-east corner near
Negotin
Negotin ( sr-cyrl, Неготин, ; ro, Negotin) is a town and municipality located in the Bor District of the eastern Serbia. It is situated near the borders between Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. It is the judicial center of the Bor District ...
. The areas east of the
Morava,
Macedonia itself and most of Kosovo fell under
Bulgarian occupation. The Germans decided not to seek territory for themselves but took control instead of railways, mines, forestry, and agricultural resources in both occupied zones; in the area east of
Velika Morava
The Great Morava ( sr, Велика Морава, Velika Morava, ) is the final section of the Morava ( sr-Cyrl, Морава), a major river system in Serbia.
Etymology
According to Predrag Komatina from the Institute for Byzantine Studies ...
,
Južna Morava
The South Morava ( Macedonian and Serbian: Јужна Морава, ''Južna Morava'', ; sq, Lumi Morava) is a river in eastern Kosovo and in southern Serbia, which represents the shorter headwater of Great Morava. Today, it is 295 km lon ...
in Kosovo and the
Vardar valley. The Austro-Hungarian occupiers established a similar military administration in the territory of the
Kingdom of Montenegro
The Kingdom of Montenegro ( sr, Краљевина Црна Горa, Kraljevina Crna Gora) was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World ...
.
The Austro-Hungarian Military Governorate in Serbia was officially started on 1 January 1916 by order of the Austro-Hungarian Supreme Command.
Governance
The MGG/S was directly subordinated to the
Austro-Hungarian Army High Command under
Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf
Franz Xaver Josef Conrad von Hötzendorf (after 1919 Franz Conrad; 11 November 1852 – 25 August 1925), sometimes anglicised as Hoetzendorf, was an Austrian general who played a central role in World War I. He served as '' K.u.k. Feldmarschall ...
and later
Arthur Arz von Straußenburg
Generaloberst Arthur Freiherr Arz von Straußenburg ( hu, Báró Artúr Arz de Straussenburg; 16 June 1857 – 1 July 1935) was an Austro-Hungarian colonel general and last Chief of the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army. At the outbreak o ...
.
General
Johann Graf von Salis-Seewis, a
Croat
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...
by ethnicity, was appointed Military Governor-General by the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
at the end of 1915, he assumed his position on 6 January 1916. The governor-general was supported by Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Otto Gellinek, who been military attaché in Belgrade before the war.
General von Salis-Seewis was replaced by General Adolf Freiherr von Rhemen on 6 July 1916, while Colonel Hugo Kerchnawe succeeded Lieutenant Colonel Otto Gellinek.
A civilian commissioner was appointed by the Hungarian government, to assist the military governor-general. Dr.
Ludwig (Lajos) Thallóczy, a Hungarian historian and Balkan expert, took office on 17 January 1916. After his accidental death in December 1916, he was succeeded by Teodor Kušević in January 1917.
Four administrative departments were set up: military, economic, judicial, and political, with the latter under future
Ustaše
The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...
leader
Slavko Kvaternik
Slavko Kvaternik (25 August 1878 – 7 June 1947) was a Croatian Ustaše military general and politician who was one of the founders of the Ustaše movement. Kvaternik was military commander and Minister of '' Domobranstvo'' (''Armed Forces''). O ...
.
Administrative divisions
The administrative divisions initially consisted of five county commands or provinces, based on pre-war Serbia’s counties, as established during the brief occupation of 1914. After March 1916 the divisions came up to a total of twelve provinces plus the city of Belgrade: Each of the twelve provinces (german: Kreise), were ruled by a commander (german: Kreiskonimandanten) who was responsible for all military and civil affairs. The provinces were additionally divided into sixty-four districts (german: Bezirkskommandos). Civil administration in towns and villages was done by a , a community leader chosen from the ranks of the local population.
![Austro-Hungarian occupied Serbia ww1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Austro-Hungarian_occupied_Serbia_ww1.jpg)
After the
Austro–Bulgarian confrontation of April 1916, the cities of
Prizren and
Pristina
Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...
in Kosovo were subordinated to the Austro-Hungarian governorate.
Dissolution
In mid October 1918, overwhelmed by the
Allies offensive spearheaded by Serbian and French troops, Governor Hermann von Kövess ordered a retreat of all the remaining Austro-Hungarian personal behind the Danube, Save and Drina rivers; Belgrade was liberated on 30 October, thus ending the Military General Governorate of Serbia.
See also
*
Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia
The Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces occupied Serbia from late 1915 until the end of World War I. Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia on 28 July 1914 marked the beginning of the war. After three unsuccessful Austro-Hungarian offens ...
*
Bulgarian occupation of Serbia
*
Serbian Campaign
The Serbian campaign was a series of military expeditions launched in 1914 and 1915 by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Serbia during the First World War.
The first campaign began after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 J ...
*
List of administrators of occupied Serbia during World War I
This article lists the administrators of occupied Serbia during World War I, which represented the Central Powers of World War I in Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia, Austro-Hungarian occupied Serbia and Bulgarian occupation of Serbia (World ...
Notes
References
Sources
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Politics of World War I
States and territories established in 1916
States and territories disestablished in 1918