Petar Bojović (, ; 16 July 1858 – 19 January 1945) was a Serbian military commander who fought in the Serbo-Turkish War, the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Serb ...

, the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

, the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

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 ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Following the breakthrough on the

Thessaloniki 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 ...

he was promoted to fourth

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Life

Early life

Bojović was born on 16 July 1858 in Miševići,

Nova Varoš Nova Varoš ( sr-cyr, Нова Варош, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. The municipality of Nova Varoš has a population of 16,638, while the town of Nova Varoš itself has a population of ...

. He had distant ancestry from the

Vasojevići The Vasojevići ( sh, Васојевићи, ) is a historical highland tribe (''pleme'') and region of Montenegro, in the area of the Brda. It is the largest of the historical tribes, occupying the area between Lijeva Rijeka in the South up to ...

. He fought in Serbian-Ottoman Wars from 1876 to 1878 as a cadet of the Artillery school, as well as in wars that Serbia waged at the beginning of the 20th century. He was Chief of the General Staff for the first time from 1905 to 1908.

Balkan Wars

In the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

, he was the Chief of Staff of the 1st Army, which scored huge success in battles of

Kumanovo Kumanovo ( mk, Куманово ; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in North Macedonia and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia by population, largest municipali ...

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...

(

) and

Bregalnica Bregalnica (, ) is the second largest river in North Macedonia. It starts as a spring near the mountain city of Berovo and it passes near the cities of Makedonska Kamenica, Kočani, Vinica and Štip, before joining the river Vardar on its way ...

(

). Given that the commander was the militarily infinitely less experienced crown prince Alexander who had to rely heavily on his chief of staff - the appointment made him effectively the commander of the army. He took part in peace negotiations with Turkey, held in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1913, as a military expert in the Serbian Government delegation.

World War I

At the start of World War I, he was given command of the 1st Army. His army suffered huge losses at the

Battle of Drina The Battle of the Drina ( Serbian: , ) was fought between Serbian and Austro-Hungarian armies in September 1914, near Loznica, Serbia, during the First Serbian campaign of World War I. After a first failed invasion of Serbia where he lost ...

in 1914, but managed to stop the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

offensive. Bojović was wounded in the battle, and was replaced at the army general position by

Živojin Mišić Field Marshal Živojin Mišić ( sr-cyrl, Живојин Мишић; 19 July 1855 in Struganik – 20 January 1921 in Belgrade) was a Field Marshal who participated in all of Serbia's wars from 1876 to 1918. He directly commanded the First Ser ...

. In January 1916, he was appointed Chief of General Staff for a second time in place of the ailing vojvoda

Radomir Putnik Radomir Putnik ( sr, Радомир Путник; ; 24 January 1847 – 17 May 1917) was the first Serbian Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian army in the Balkan Wars and in the First World War. He served in every war in ...

, who was carried by his soldiers to the city of Skadar. He held that position until June 1918, when he resigned because of disputes with the allied generals on the issue of widening the

. He returned to his position Commander of the 1st Army, which broke the enemy lines and advanced deep into the occupied territory. He received the title of

on for his contribution during the war.

Inter-war years and World War II

In 1921, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, and in 1922 he withdrew from active service. At the very beginning of World War II, Petar Bojovic was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Yugoslavian Armed Forces by the young King Petar II Karađorđević. However, because of his old age, he did not participate in the events that followed.

Death

Petar Bojović was beaten on 19 January 1945 by a group of Partisans who came to forcibly evict him from his home in Trnska street in Belgrade. According to an alleged testimony: Bojović soon died of the injuries sustained. His body was transferred to the

Belgrade New Cemetery The New Cemetery ( sr, Ново гробље, ''Novo groblje'') is a cemetery complex in Belgrade, Serbia, with a distinct history. It is located in Ruzveltova street in Zvezdara municipality. The cemetery was built in 1886 as the third Christia ...

in a wagon on 20 January 1945 and the burial was held privately. To prevent his being paid tribute, the Communists on Radio Belgrade announced that anyone who tried to come to Bojović's funeral would be arrested and prosecuted. The new Administration in 1945 named one of the important streets in Belgrade after Vojvoda Bojović. It is a street previously called ''Donjogradski bulevar'', which is today called ''Bulevar vojvode Bojovića''. In 1990 a monument to Bojović was erected in the small park in the Kalenić neighborhood. The park, which is encircled by the small roundabout, became known as the "Park of Vojvoda Bojović".

Awards and decorations

References

Literature

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bojovic, Petar 1858 births 1945 deaths People from Nova Varoš Vasojevići Serbian soldiers Serbian military personnel of World War I Serbian military personnel of the Balkan Wars Field marshals Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Order of the Yugoslav Crown Royal Serbian Army soldiers People killed by Yugoslav Partisans Serbian murder victims People murdered in Yugoslavia Deaths by beating in Europe Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo