Ljubica Čakarević (Serbian language, Љубица Чакаревић–Ди Сорно; later, Ljubica Čakarević-Di Sorno; 1894–1980) was a Serbian combatant and heroine in

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 ...

Biography

Ljubica Čakarević was born in

Užice Užice ( sr-cyr, Ужице, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Zlatibor District in western Serbia. It is located on the banks of the river Đetinja. According to the 2022 census, the city proper has a popu ...

, in 1894. In her early career, she worked as a teacher. When the war broke out, she became a nurse at the Military Hospital in

with her sister Milica. She refused to work as a teacher during the occupation. With the group led by

Dragutin Jovanović-Lune Dragutin Jovanović ( sr-cyr, Драгутин Јовановић, 1892 – July 2, 1932), known by his nickname Lune (Луне), was a Serbian guerrilla fighter, officer, politician, delegate and mayor of Vrnjci. He was awarded several times fo ...

she arrived at 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 Germa ...

, after 23 days of evading Bulgarian ambushes, and brought the Serbian command valuable information from the occupied homeland.

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

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 ...

and

Živojin Mišić Živojin Mišić ( sr-cyrl, Живојин Мишић; 19 July 1855 – 20 January 1921) 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 an ...

, whom she met at the front, told her that she was the first messenger from Serbia. For this feat, she was awarded the golden medal for bravery “

Miloš Obilić Miloš Obilić ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Обилић, ) is a Legend, legendary Serbian knight traditionally said to have served Prince Lazar during the Ottoman Serbia, Ottoman invasion of Serbia in the late 14th century. Although absent from conte ...

“.Посмртне остатке хероине Великог рата преносе у њен завичај („Политика”)
(in Serbian)Јунакиња Великог рата поново у родном граду („Политика”)
(in Serbian) After the war ended, Čakarević returned to teaching. In 1921, she married Nikola Di Sorno, son of Italian diplomat Dionisi, who was a consul in Belgrade. They had one child, a daughter, Ida. In the following years, the family lived in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. In 1980, Čakarević came to visit her brother Milutin in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

where she got sick and died. She was buried in the city's Bare Cemetery. In 2016, her remains were transferred from Sarajevo to her native Užice and she was buried in a family tomb at the Dovarja Cemetery. One street in Uzice is named after her.

References

Bibliography

* Биографски лексикон Златиборског округа, Удружење Ужичана у Београду, Београд 2006. (in Serbian) * Жене- солунци говоре, НИРО „Књижевне новине“, Београд 1987. (in Serbian) * Жене Србије у НОБ, Нолит, Београд 1978. (in Serbian) * Ужички лексикон/ уредник тома Драгица Матић, Београд: Службени гласник; Ужице: Град Ужице, 2014. (in Serbian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cakarevic, Ljubica 1894 births 1980 deaths Military personnel from Užice 20th-century Serbian educators Serbian women educators Serbian women in World War I Serbian military personnel of World War I Serbian nurses Serbian schoolteachers