Mašo Vrbica ( sr-Cyrl, Машо Врбица; 1833 in Vrba – 10 May 1898 in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

) was a Montenegrin '' vojvoda'' and military commander.

Biography

He graduated from the Mikhailovskaya Artillery Military Academy in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. After his return to Montenegro, he was appointed as a captain in the Njeguši militia, which was part of the Montenegrin army. He commanded a unit at the

Battle of Grahovac The Battle of Grahovac took place in the eponymous village of Grahovac from 11 to 13 May 1858, when the Montenegrin Grand Duke Mirko Petrović-Njegoš led the army of Principality of Montenegro against the Ottomans, ending in a decisive Monten ...

in 1858, and with the cannon captured there organized the artillery for Montenegrin army. During the Montenegrin-Ottoman War of 1861-1862, he commanded the artillery. Between the wars he joined the nationalist "

United Serbian Youth The United Serb Youth (), also known as ''Omladina'' ("the Youth"), was a diverse progressive Serbian political, cultural and national movement active between 1866 and 1872 among Prečani Serbs in Austria-Hungary as well as among Serbs in the Pri ...

" where he met such men as Vladimir Jovanović,

Svetozar Miletić Svetozar Miletić ( sr-cyr, Светозар Милетић; 22 February 1826 – 4 February 1901) was a Serbian lawyer, journalist, author and politician who served as the mayor of Novi Sad between 1861 and 1862 and again from 1867 to 1868. ...

Nikola Pašić Nikola Pašić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Пашић, ; 18 December 1845 – 10 December 1926) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat. During his political career, which spanned almost five decades, he served five times as prime minis ...

, Nikola Petrovic, Marko Popovic Miljanov, and

Valtazar Bogišić Valtazar Bogišić ( sr-Cyrl, Валтазар Богишић; 20 December 1834 – 24 April 1908), also known as Baltazar and Baldo Bogišić, was a Serb jurist from Dubrovnik and a pioneer in sociology. In the domain of private law his most n ...

. In 1875 Vrbica was given the title of '' vojvoda''. He was a liaison of Montenegro to the Serbian Supreme Command during the

Serbo-Turkish War (1876–78) The term Serbian-Turkish War or Serbian-Ottoman War may refer to: * Serbian-Turkish War (1371) * Serbian-Turkish War (1389) * Serbian-Turkish War (1804-1813) * Serbian-Turkish War (1815) * Serbian-Turkish War (1876-1877) * Serbian-Turkish War (1877 ...

, during which he commanded Montenegrin dragoons in the battles of Aleksinac and Deligrad (20–21 October 1876). He was appointed Montenegrin Minister of Internal Affairs in 1877. He commanded the Montenegrin forces in the attack on

Nikšić Nikšić (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Никшић, ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 32,046 (2023 census) located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot of Trebjesa ...

. Strategically, he took Trebješka Glava, where he placed the artillery that supported the attack on the town. After the fall of Nikšić, his main effort was in clearing out the Ottoman troops in the area. He took three battalions and on 16 September captured the fort at Bilek, on 25 September he captured the fortifications at Dugskogo Pass. In November 1877 he laid siege to

Stari Bar Stari Bar ( cyrl, Стари Бар, ; lit. "Old Bar") is a small town in Montenegro. It is located inland, three kiolmeters from the new city of Bar. According to the 2003 census, the town has a population of 1,864 people. Geography Stari Bar ...

, taking the coastal port and eventually the town in January 1878. Vrbica headed several large construction works in Montenegro, notably the bridge over the

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; , , classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived from the Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician letter zay ...

Danilovgrad Danilovgrad (Cyrillic: Даниловград) is a town in central Montenegro. It has a population of 6,852, according to the 2011 census. It is situated in the Danilovgrad Municipality which lies along the main route between Montenegro's two la ...

, the road from

Rijeka Crnojevića Rijeka Crnojevića ( cnr-Cyrl, Ријека Црнојевића, lit=River of Crnojević noble family, Crnojević) is a town in Montenegro on the eponymous Rijeka Crnojevića (river), Rijeka Crnojevića River, near the shore of Lake Skadar lake, ...

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

and the water supply in

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

. On 16 May 1881, he was awarded the Russian Military

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

. Vrbica came into conflict with Prince Nikola, and defected to

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

with his son Labud, who was married to Danica, the daughter of the Austro-Hungarian envoy to Montenegro, Theodor von Milinković. With the help of Milinković, Mašo Vrbica was awarded an estate near

and a state pension. He remarried and spent his final years there. Prince Nikola denied him the right to be buried in

Njeguši Njeguši ( cnr-Cyrl, Његуши) is a village in the Cetinje Municipality of southern Montenegro, located on the slopes of Mount Lovćen, within the Lovćen national park. It is part of the historical territory of the Njeguši tribe. Demogr ...

. Vrbica died and was buried near Banja Luka in 1898. His remains were transferred and reburied by the St Petka Church in Vrba, Njeguši on 17 November 2007.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vrbica, Maso 1833 births 1898 deaths People from the Principality of Montenegro 19th-century Serbian people Serbian military leaders Military personnel from Cetinje Serbs of Montenegro