Ilija Gojković (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Илија Гојковић; 2 August 1854 – 15 February 1917) was a Serbian military commander and

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

. He served during the Serbian–Turkish Wars, the

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 ...

and during the

Serbian Campaign The Serbian campaign was a series of military expeditions launched in 1914 and 1915 by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Serbia during the First World War. The first campaign began after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 ...

(part of the larger Balkans Campaign) 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 ...

. He became well known for commanding the Serbs in the east around Timok.

Career

Gojković was the

of the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

from 4 March 1910 to 24 February 1911. He commanded Morava division 1st ban during the

Battle of Cer The Battle of Cer was a military campaign fought between Austria-Hungary and Serbia in August 1914, starting three weeks into the Serbian Campaign of 1914, the initial military action of the First World War. It took place around Cer Mountain an ...

and was criticized by the commander of the 2nd army, general

Stepa Stepanović Stepan "Stepa" Stepanović ( sr-Cyrl, Степан Степа Степановић, ; – 29 April 1929) was a Serbian military commander who fought in the Serbo-Turkish War, the Serbo-Bulgarian War, the First Balkan War, the Second Bal ...

for lackluster performance on the first day of the battle, but performed well thereafter and contributed significantly to the Serbian victory.

Death

While traveling to the

Salonica 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 Germa ...

, his boat was hit by a

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 ...

torpedo boat near

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. Gojković refused to surrender and was killed while shooting back at the torpedo boat. He drowned in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

.Đeneral Božanović, ''Politika'', issue 4931, 15 January 1922, pg. 2
/ref> Gojković was the highest ranking member of the Serbian Army that died in combat during the

First World War 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gojkovic, Ilija 1854 births 1917 deaths People from Paraćin 19th-century Serbian people 20th-century Serbian people Serbian soldiers Serbian generals Royal Serbian Army soldiers Government ministers of Serbia Defence ministers of Serbia Serbian military personnel of the Balkan Wars Serbian military personnel of World War I Serbian military personnel killed in World War I People who died at sea Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery