Vasilija Vukotić ( sr-cyr, Василија Вукотић ; (1897–1970) was a serbian from Montenegro military ordonance and a daughter of the

Serdar Serdar may refer to * Serdar (given name) * Serdar (surname) * SERDAR, a stabilized remote-controlled Ukrainian weapon station * Serdar (city) in Turkmenistan, the capital of Serdar District * Serdar (Ottoman rank), a military and noble rank of the ...

Janko Vukotić Janko Vukotić ( sr-cyr, Јанко Вукотић; 18 February 1866 – 4 February 1927) was a Montenegrin serdar, general in the armies of the Principality and Kingdom of Montenegro in the Balkan Wars and World War I. Biography Vukotić was bor ...

, accompanying her father in the armies of the

Principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

and

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 ...

throughout all the battles 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 ...

and

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 ...

. Vasilija Vukotić was and remains a heroine and a role model for the participation of Montenegrin women in all wars for the liberation of the Serbian people from the occupiers. In the newly established state of Serb Croats and Slovenes, her role and significance, as the role and significance of her father, were completely suppressed.

Biography

Vasilija Vukotić was born in

Čevo Čevo ( sr-cyrl, Чево}), historically also known as Kčevo (Кчево), is a village in the municipality of Cetinje, Montenegro. History The village was held by the Ozrinići tribe of the Katunska nahija. Five families of the Ozrinići fou ...

in 1897. She was the only daughter and the eldest of two children of

. Belonging to the Vukotić brotherhood, she was related to

Petar Petar ( sr, Петар, bg, Петър) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter. Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra. P ...

and Milena Vukotić. She took part in 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 ...

, and

, until the fall of the Montenegrin army and state in 1916. She was the only woman to participate in the

Battle of Mojkovac The Battle of Mojkovac was a World War I battle fought between 6 January and 7 January 1916 near Mojkovac, in today's Montenegro, between the armies of Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Montenegro. It ended with a decisive Montenegrin victory. ...

. When World War I broke out, Vasilija’s brother Vukašin, who was twelve years her junior, was not yet old enough to fight. As Vasilija already had some military experience, her father gave her the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

. She personally transmitted his orders to military units and their commanders. As she was the only woman, and none other than the Serdar’s daughter, she was well-loved by the soldiers, especially for her daring, honor and courage. She took part in the Battle of Mojkovac, in which the Montenegrin army defended the retreat of the Serbian army, moving towards northern Albania. Having survived the battle, she left a detailed account of the moments of heroism and tragedy: “If it were not for that bloody Christmas at

Mojkovac Mojkovac (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Мојковац, ) is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 3,590 (2011 census). Mojkovac is the centre of Mojkovac Municipality, which has a population of 8,622.Kajmakchalan. Had it not been for the Montenegrin eagles, those young men, who scorned death and closed the doors of Mojkovac with their own bosoms and stopped the enemy army from reaching the Serbian rear, perhaps the fate of the Serbs would have been sealed for good…” She died in

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 ...

in 1970.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vukotic, Vasilija 1897 births 1970 deaths 20th-century Serbian people People of the Principality of Montenegro People of the Kingdom of Montenegro Montenegrin soldiers Serbian military personnel of the Balkan Wars Serbian military personnel of World War I Montenegrin military personnel of the Balkan Wars Montenegrin military personnel of World War I Military personnel from Cetinje Serbs of Montenegro Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery Serbian women in World War I

Biography

Further reading

References