HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Field Marshal Živojin Mišić ( sr-cyrl, Живојин Мишић; 19 July 1855 in
Struganik Struganik is a village situated in Mionica municipality in Serbia and the birthplace of Field Marshal Živojin Mišić Field Marshal Živojin Mišić ( sr-cyrl, Живојин Мишић; 19 July 1855 in Struganik – 20 January 1921 in Be ...
– 20 January 1921 in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 m ...
) was a Field Marshal who participated in all of Serbia's wars from 1876 to 1918. He directly commanded the First Serbian army in the Battle of Kolubara and in breach of the Thessaloniki Front was the Chief of the Supreme Command. He is the most decorated officer of Serbia ever.


Early years

Mišić's grandfather was born in Struganik near
Mionica Mionica ( sr-cyr, Мионица, ) is a town and municipality located in the Kolubara District of western Serbia. , the population of the town is 1,571, while population of the municipality is 14,263 inhabitants. Geography The township of Mionic ...
. His parents Radovan and Anđelija (born Damjanović - Koštunjić) had thirteen children. Živojin was the youngest child, and when he was born, only eight of his brothers and sisters were still alive. When he turned 6, he became a shepherd. He finished primary school in Kragujevac. In his memories, he mentions troubles he had with the city kids that teased him because of his peasant origin. In 1868, he started his gymnasium education in Kragujevac, where he finished the 1st, 2nd, and 6th grade. He finished the third and fourth grade in Belgrade. In the first five gymnasium grades he was not a particularly good student, but he finished the 6th grade with much greater success. Because of that, he was admitted to the Military Academy in 1874, ranked 19th. On every holiday he visited his village, and often he worked in the field with his brothers. Later, on 25 November 1884, he married a German woman, Louise Krikner (1865-1956), at Ascension Church in Belgrade, and they had six children, three sons and three daughters. He participated with distinction in the Serbo-Turkish wars of 1876 and 1878 with the rank of
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
JG of the infantry and in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885 as a full lieutenant - a company commander in the 5th infantry regiment of Drinska division. Sometime after the assassination of King
Aleksandar Obrenović Alexander I ( sr-cyr, Александар Обреновић, Aleksandar Obrenović; 14 August 187611 June 1903) reigned as the king of Serbia from 1889 to 1903 when he and his wife, Draga Mašin, were assassinated by a group of Royal Serbian ...
(see May Overthrow), he was forced to retire, supposedly through the influence of the " Black Hand" as he was considered too close to the
Obrenović dynasty The House of Obrenović ( sr-Cyrl, Обрeновић, Obrenovići / Обреновићи, ) was a Serbian dynasty that ruled Serbia from 1815 to 1842, and again from 1858 to 1903. They came to power through the leadership of their progenitor Mi ...
, but was reactivated on the personal insistence of the Chief of Staff of the High command of the Serbian Army, General Radomir Putnik who made him his aide.


Military career

In the Balkan wars Mišić was the assistant chief of staff of the Supreme Command of vojvode Radomir Putnik, his right-hand man. After the
Battle of Kumanovo The Battle of Kumanovo ( sr, / , tr, Kumanova Muharebesi), on 23–24 October 1912, was a major battle of the First Balkan War. It was an important Serbian victory over the Ottoman army in the Kosovo Vilayet, shortly after the outbreak of th ...
of the First Balkan War, he was promoted to General. During the critical moments of the Bulgarian surprise offensive at the
Battle of Bregalnica The Battle of Bregalnica was fought between the Kingdom of Bulgaria army and the Kingdom of Serbia during the Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of t ...
of the Second Balkan War, when most of the staff suggested that the Serbian army should withdraw to the second line of defence, Mišić (still the Aide of the Chief of Staff) strongly disagreed and persuaded Putnik to order the army to repel the attack on the first line, thus contributing greatly to the Serbian victory in the battle. During the July Crisis of 1914 Mišić effectively deputised for the ailing Putnik (then recuperating at a spa in Hungary). Defending against the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, Mišić (who had emerged from retirement to do so) was placed in command of the
Serbian First Army The Serbian First Army (Српска Прва Армија / Srpska Prva Armija) was a Serbian field army that fought during World War I. Order of battle August 1914 *First Army - staff in the village Rača **I Timok Infantry Division - Smed ...
; in December 1914, he won a decisive victory at the Battle of Kolubara that resulted in the humiliating expulsion of Austro-Hungarian forces from Serbia. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Field Marshal in recognition of his efforts in winning such a sweeping Serbian victory. Although Mišić participated in the great retreat of the Serbian Army through the winter
mountains of Albania With an average elevation of above sea level, Albania is one of the most mountainous countries in the world. It has a mountainous terrain that covers more than 70% of its total territory. There are many peaks reaching heights of more than . Alban ...
during the winter of 1915–16, harried by the second combined German and Austro-Hungarian invasion force (ultimately joined by
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...
), he remained in favour of halting and making a final stand against Serbia's combined enemies. He was over-ridden however by both King Peter and the other Army commanders at a meeting in
Peć Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mount ...
, and was followed by the withdrawal of the Serbian army through Montenegro and Albania. Having suffered badly from exposure during the epic retreat, Mišić recovered. At the Thessaloniki front in 1916, Mišić commanded the First Army, which stopped and forced the withdrawal of the Bulgarian army at the Battle of Gornicevo. Towards the end of the war in June 1918 Mišić was appointed Chief of the Supreme Command and commanded the Serbian army during the breakthrough of the
Salonika 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 ...
in September 1918. He was a lecturer at the
Military Academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
in Belgrade, and the end of his military career was greeted in 1918 with appointment as the Chief of General Staff of Army of The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Biography at First World War.com
/ref>


Mišić's memoirs

During his hospitalization in France prior to his death Mišić began writing his memoirs titled ''Moje uspomene'' ("My memories" in English). He managed to cover his entire life up to the start of the Second Balkan War, but died before he could cover it and the First World War. In this book, the famous general did not hesitate to present the reality of life in Serbia and the harsh parts of participating in war, the reality of Serbian army which was back then made mostly of inexperienced peasants and problems Serbian peasants had at beginning of second half of the 19th century with new laws about land peasants owned and beginning of political life in Serbia. Most notable of Mišić's book was the connotation how Serbs are naive people who are too idealistic. "As the Russian lancer squadron moved into a battle, I noticed how our people are naive, since we all believed that that squadron will make miracles up on hills fighting Turks, and that we will succeed in pushing Turks out from battle. But the Russian squadron soon broke apart and they went in some other direction."


Death

Mišić died in a Belgrade hospital of lung cancer in 1921.


Legacy

He is included in
The 100 most prominent Serbs ''The 100 most prominent Serbs'' ( sr-Cyrl, 100 најзнаменитијих Срба) is a book containing the biographies of the hundred most important Serbs compiled by a committee of academicians at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. ...
.


Decorations


References


Sources

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Misic, Zivojin 1855 births 1921 deaths People from Mionica People from the Principality of Serbia Serbian soldiers People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War Serbian people of World War I Serbian military personnel of World War I Serbian military personnel of the Balkan Wars Field marshals Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Serbian Army soldiers Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)