Vasilije Trbić ( sr-Cyrl, Василије Трбић; 1881 – 1962) was a Serbian Chetnik commander in Macedonia who became a politician in the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, first representing the

People's Radical Party The People's Radical Party ( sr, Народна радикална странка, Narodna radikalna stranka, abbr. НРС or NRS) was the dominant ruling party of Kingdom of Serbia and later Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from the la ...

(NRS) in the country's National Assembly and later the

Yugoslav National Party The Yugoslav National Party ( sh, Jugoslavenska nacionalna stranka, Југославенска национална странка, JNS; sl, Jugoslovanska nacionalna stranka), established as Yugoslav Radical Peasants' Democracy ( sh, Jugoslavensk ...

(JNP). Born in the village of Bijelo Brdo, near

Dalj Dalj ( sr-Cyrl, Даљ, hu, Dálya, german: Dallia, la, Teutoburgium) is a village on the Danube in eastern Croatia, near the confluence of the Drava and Danube, on the border with Serbia. It is located on the D519 road, south of its intersecti ...

Austria-Hungary 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 ...

, Trbić was a monk in his youth. He fled

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

after being accused of murdering several fellow monks and joined the nationalist band of Jovan Drimkolski in 1904–05, quickly becoming the unit's commander. Trbić fought alongside Serbian forces during 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 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 ...

, earning the

Order of the Star of Karađorđe Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

for his efforts. Acting alongside other former Chetnik commanders, he participated in establishing organizations whose purpose was to raise monuments to Serbian military successes from 1912–18 and to promote cultural development in Macedonia in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

. He died in 1962.

Early life

Vasilije Trbić was born in 1881 in the

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

n village of Bijelo Brdo, near

. He completed his early schooling here before continuing his education in the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

. A monk in his youth, Trbić was forced to flee

in 1902 after being charged with murdering several Greek monks. He found sanctuary 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 ...

, where he met several Serbian nationalist leaders who convinced him to join their Chetnik bands. In 1903, Trbić murdered a Turk near the

Pčinja River Pčinja () may refer to: *Pčinja District, a district of Serbia *Pčinja (river) The Pčinja (Serbian and Macedonian Пчиња ) is a 135 km long river in Serbia and North Macedonia, a left tributary of the Vardar river. Serbia The Pčin ...

. He was caught and sentenced to death by Ottoman Turkish authorities before being pardoned for his crime.

Involvement with the Chetniks

In 1904–05, Trbić joined a Chetnik band in a Macedonian village in Drimkol and replaced ''vojvoda''

Đorđe Cvetković Đorđe Cvetković ( sr-cyr, Ђорђе Цветковић; 1903–d. 27 May 1904), known by the '' nom de guerre'' Drimkolski (Дримколски), was a Serbian Chetnik ''vojvoda'' (commander) of the ''četa'' (band) of Drimkol. Life He w ...

-Drimkolski as the unit's commander. Soon afterwards, he had one of his men executed for lack of discipline. This incident brought him into conflict with other Chetnik leaders in the area, notably ''vojvoda'' Andjelko Krstić. In 1907, Trbić was promoted to the rank of ''vojvoda'' in the city of Veles. Bloody skirmishes near the village of

Nebregovo Nebregovo ( mk, Небрегово) is a village in the municipality of Dolneni, North Macedonia. History Toponyms such as ''Arbanasi'', literally meaning "Albanians", as well as toponyms referring to the presence of ''Latins'' such as ''Latins ...

followed, involving Trbić's Chetniks and local Bulgarian insurgents. In 1907, Trbić and fellow ''vojvoda''

Jovan Babunski Jovan Stojković ( sr-cyr, Јован Стојковић; 25 December 1878 – 17 February 1920), known as Jovan Babunski (Јован Бабунски), was a Serbian Chetnik commander ( sr, vojvoda, војвода) during the Macedonian ...

joined forces to defeat the forces of Bulgarian warlord

Stevan Dimitrov Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

in the village of Drenovo. During the

, his Chetnik band launched several diversionary attacks against Turkish forces in Macedonia on behalf of the

Serbian Army The Serbian Army ( sr-cyr, Копнена војска Србије, Kopnena vojska Srbije, lit=Serbian Land Army) is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. History Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Pr ...

. As the war progressed, his Chetniks became one of the first Serbian units to enter the towns of Veles and

Prilep Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko. Name The name of Prilep appear ...

in November 1912. Trbić flew an airplane past

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 **Ger ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

lines and carried out

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

missions for the Serbian Army after consulting with the intelligence officer Major Milan Vasić. He was awarded the

for his efforts. In September 1912, Vasilije Trbić entered the village of Desovo with 30

Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

where they massacred 111 Albanian men and burned the village. In nearby

Brailovo Brailovo ( mk, Браилово) is a village in the municipality of Dolneni, North Macedonia. Demographics In statistics gathered by Vasil Kanchov in 1900, the village of Brailovo was inhabited by 250 Christian Bulgarians and 100 Muslim Alban ...

, Trbić had 60 Albanians executed.

Political career

After the war, Trbić became involved in politics. In 1924, he was elected as a deputy representing the

(NRS) in the National Assembly of the

. Afterwards, he changed allegiances and became a member of the

(JNP). Alongside other former Chetnik commanders, he also participated in establishing organizations whose purpose was to raise monuments to Serbian military successes from 1912–18 and to promote cultural development in Macedonia. Following the

Yugoslav coup d'état The Yugoslav coup d'état took place on 27 March 1941 in Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, when the regency led by Prince Paul of Yugoslavia was overthrown and King Peter II fully assumed monarchical powers. The coup was planned and conducted ...

in March 1941, Trbić was overtly antagonistic towards the political and military leaders of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

, whom he blamed for the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

invasion 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 ...

of the country. As

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 ...

progressed, Trbić's son,

Milivoje Milivoje ( sr, Миливоје) is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Milivoje Blaznavac (1824–1873), Serbian soldier and politician *Milivoje Božović (born 1985), Serbian professional basketball player * Milivoje M ...

, became a Chetnik commander and led Chetnik forces in the

Poreče Poreče, Porečie or Porečje or Poreč ( mk, Порече, Поречие, Поречје or Poreč), is a region in North Macedonia which includes the Makedonski Brod Municipality, and the western part of the Prilep Municipality Prilep ( mk ...

region. Trbić died in 1962.

Notes

References

Books

* * * * *

Websites

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trbic, Vasilije People from Dalj Serbs of Croatia 20th-century Serbian people Serbian Chetnik Organization Serbian military leaders People of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Serbian politicians World War I pilots Serbian military personnel of World War I Serbian military personnel of the Balkan Wars 1881 births 1962 deaths Royal Serbian Army soldiers Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Serbia People associated with Mount Athos