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 The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the principal Army, ground force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It existed from the establishment of ...

prior to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was replaced in late 1938, and later commanded the 2nd Army Group during the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-led

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

of April 1941. Nedić's command consisted of General Milan Rađenković's 1st Army, responsible for the area between 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 ...

and the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

, and the 2nd Army of General Dragoslav Miljković, responsible for the border from Slatina to the Danube. Nedić had no Army Group reserve, but the 2nd Army was to constitute a reserve of one infantry division deployed south of

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (, ), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod is the 7th lar ...

Early life

Milutin Nedić was born in the

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 ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Sopot Sopot (; or ) is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomerania Province and has the City with powiat ri ...

on 26 October 1882, to Đorđe and Pelagija Nedić ( Ilić). His was an old revolutionary family. His brother

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

would go on to have a long military career lasting until

. Nedić's father was a district chief and his mother was a schoolteacher. She was the granddaughter of Nikola Mihailović, who was mentioned in the writings of the poet

Sima Milutinović Sarajlija Simeon "Sima" Milutinović "Sarajlija" ( sr-cyr, Симеон "Сима" Милутиновић "Сарајлија", ; 3 October 1791 – 30 December 1847) was a Serbian poet, hajduk, translator, historian and adventurer. Literary critic Jova ...

and served as an ally to the revolutionary leader

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 ...

. The Nedić family was originally from the village of Zaoka, near

Lazarevac Lazarevac ( sr-cyr, Лазаревац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. , the town has a total population of 27,635 inhabitants, while the municipal area has a total of 55,146 inhabitants. Its name stems from the name of medieval Ser ...

. It traced its origins to two brothers, Damitrije and Gligorije, who had defended the Čokešina Monastery from the Turks during the

Serbian Revolution The Serbian Revolution ( / ') was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Sanjak of Smederevo, Ottoman province into a Revolutionary Serbia, reb ...

. The family received its surname from Nedić's great-grandmother Neda, who was a member of the

Vasojevići The Vasojevići (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl, Васојевићи, ) is a historical Tribes of Montenegro#Brda, highland tribe (''pleme'') and region of Montenegro, in the area of the Brda (Montenegro), Brda. It is the largest ...

tribe of Montenegro. In 1920, Nedić married Anastasija Krsmanović, the daughter of a successful Belgrade merchant. The couple had one child, a son named Nastas. After Anastasija's death, he married a Jelica Hristić, daughter of lawyer, diplomat, and Minister of Justice, Kosta Hristić, and granddaughter of Serbia's 4 times prime minister,

Nikola Hristić Nikola Hristić (10 August 1818 – 26 November 1911) was a Serbian politician who served as Prime Minister of Serbia for four terms. Biography Hristić was born and educated in Sremska Mitrovica. In 1840 he came to live and work in Belgrade, whe ...

Military career

Balkan Wars and World War I

Nedić attended the Military Academy in Belgrade in the late-19th century, and finished first in his class. He began his military service in 1901, and participated in both

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

, during which he was in the communications section of the Supreme Command and later adjutant to the Chief of the General Staff. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Nedić was the chief of the General Staff section of the Ministry of War, and chief of staff of the ''Drinska'' Division.

Interwar period

During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, Nedić was the Yugoslav

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

in Bulgaria, France and Italy, before being appointed as the General Officer Commanding the Air Force. He remained in this position until he was appointed as Chief of the General Staff in September 1936. On 17 September 1938, Nedić approved a Yugoslav war plan to address a potential attack from the north following

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

's annexation of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

(the ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

''). In October, he was replaced as Chief of the General Staff by General

Dušan Simović Dušan Simović (; 28 October 1882 – 26 August 1962) was a Yugoslav Serb Army general (Kingdom of Yugoslavia), army general who served as Chief of the General Staff (Yugoslavia)#Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces (1920–1941), Chief of the General Sta ...

, who implemented a new war plan code-named ''Plan S'' ("S" standing for ''sever'', or north). Nedić became the Minister of the Army and Navy. Contemporary British diplomatic staff described him as having "a charming personality", and stated that he was "very energetic and keen". However, they also blamed him for the indecision that plagued Yugoslav air policy during his time as minister.

World War II

Nedić commanded the 2nd Army Group during the German-led

of April 1941. Nedić's command consisted of General Milan Rađenković's 1st Army, responsible for the area between the

and the

. During the invasion, he was taken into captivity by the Germans and detained in a German prisoner-of-war camp in Germany. The Germans allowed Nedić to return to Belgrade in 1942. He left Belgrade in October 1944 and retreated to Austria, where he committed suicide in 1945.

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nedic, Milutin 1882 births 1945 deaths People from the Kingdom of Serbia Military personnel from Belgrade Royal Serbian Army soldiers Army general (Kingdom of Yugoslavia) Serbian generals Serbian military personnel of the Balkan Wars Serbian military personnel of World War I Serbian people of World War II Royal Yugoslav Army personnel of World War II Government ministers of Yugoslavia Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of St. Sava Suicides in Austria Military personnel who died by suicide 1945 suicides