Jelena Šaulić (1896 – 21 March 1921) was a Serbian teacher, participant in the

Toplica Uprising The Toplica Uprising () was a mass uprising by Serbian rebels against the Bulgarian occupation forces that took place in Bulgarian-occupied Serbia during the First World War. The rebels were motivated by grievances against the Bulgarian author ...

, and a

Komitadji Komitadji, Comitadji, or Komita (plural: Komitadjis, Comitadjis, or Komitas) ( Bulgarian, Macedonian and , , , , pl. , , ) was a collective name for members of various rebel bands ( chetas) operating in the Balkans during the final period of th ...

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 ...

Early years and education

Jelena Šaulić was born in Junča do near

Žabljak Žabljak (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Жабљак, ) is a small town in Montenegro in the Northern Montenegro, northern region. It has a population of 1,723. Žabljak is the seat of Žabljak Municipality (2011 population: 3,569). The town is in ...

, in 1896. She was the youngest of five children in the family of Perko Šaulić, a priest. In record-breaking short time before World War I, she graduated from the school of teacher instruction, and received her appointment as a teacher in

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

Career

In February 1917, Bulgarian forces killed her mother and four days, later the Toplica Uprising started. Šaulić joined the rebels with her father. After the failure of the uprising, she crossed over to Montenegro with her father and the rest of the rebels. There, they joined the group of

irregular military Irregular military is any military component distinct from a country's regular armed forces, representing non-standard militant elements outside of conventional governmental backing. Irregular elements can consist of militias, private armie ...

, led by Duke Boško Bojović. Šaulić was feared not only by the occupying forces but also by the irregulars who had joined only to loot, whom she mercilessly punished. After the war, she married her war companion, Bojović, and started working as a teacher in

Pljevlja Pljevlja (, ) is a town located in the Northern Montenegro, Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along Ćehotina, Ćehotina river. The town lies at an altitude of . In the Middle Ages, Pljevlja had been a crossroad of the important commercial ...

. She died in Pljevlja on 21 March 1921 at the age of 26 from the consequences of the wounds sustained in the exhausting battles she took part in. She was posthumously awarded the Karadjordje’s Star with Swords for exceptional bravery. The Association of Warriors and War Veterans or 1912-1918 from Pljevlja, raised a memorial plaque for her at the Pljevlja City Cemetery where she was buried.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saulic, Jelena 1896 births 1921 deaths People from Žabljak Montenegrin educators Montenegrin women educators Montenegrin people of World War I Montenegrin women in World War I