Milivoje Čolak-Antić (5 April 1884–15 April 1944) was a

Royal Serbian Army The Army of the Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Војска Краљевине Србије, Vojska Kraljevine Srbije), known in English language, English as the Royal Serbian Army, was the army of the Kingdom of Serbia that existed between 1882 ...

officer, most notable for his command of the

Chetniks The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

volunteer detachments in Macedonia during 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 his actions with Operation Departments 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 ...

for which he received multiple awards.

Biography

Milivoje P. Čolak-Antić was born on 5 April 1884 in

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

, his paternal grandfather was Vojvoda Čolak-Anta Simeonović a renowned rebel leader under

Karađorđe Đorđe Petrović (; ; – ), known by the sobriquet Karađorđe (; ), was a Serbian revolutionary leader who led a struggle against the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He held the title of Grand Vožd of Serbia from 14 ...

during the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...

, while his mother Jelena was the sister of painter Milan Milovanović; he had a sister Milica and a brother Antonije. After graduating from the Imperial Lyceum in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, he entered the Military Academy in September 1902. Čolak-Antić graduatued from the military academy in 1906 as infantry second lieutenant. In 1907 he transferred to the

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

, volunteered to serve as platoon leader of

Komita 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 ...

in southern Serbia during the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...

before becoming platoon officer in the 4th Cavalry Regiment from 1907 to 1911. The following year he was sent to France to train with the ''7e Regiment de Dragons''. At the start of the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

, two Chetnik detachments were established in Macedonia with one of them, ''the Transvardar detachment'' placed under his command. His unit was sent in the area of

Poreče Poreče, Porečie or Porečje or Poreč (), is a region in North Macedonia which includes the Makedonski Brod Municipality, and the western part of the Prilep Municipality Prilep ( ) is a municipality in the south of North Macedonia. ''Prilep ...

Kičevo Kičevo ( ; , sq-definite, Kërçova) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, located in a valley in the south-eastern slopes of Mount Bistra, between the cities of Ohrid and Gostivar. The capital Skopje is 112 km away. The city ...

and

Debar Debar ( ; , sq-definite, Dibra or Dibra e Madhe) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ethnic Albanian majorit ...

representing 16 companies. The task of Čolak Antić and his Chetnik companies was to act as the vanguard of the

in Macedonia facing the Ottoman forces. Čolak-Antić later served as platoon officer in the 4th cavalry regiment, platoon officer based in

Smederevska Palanka Smederevska Palanka ( sr-cyr, Смедеревска Паланка, ) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District and the geographical region of Šumadija. According to the 2022 census, the town has 20,345 while the municipality ...

and commander of the 2nd Squadron of the 4th Cavalry Regiment until the end of the war. Towards the end of 1913 he returned to France to study at the

École supérieure de guerre École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

in Paris. Following the invasion of Serbia, and the start of 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 ...

, Čolak-Antić served with the Operations Department of the Third Army Headquarters until March 1915, before being sent to the Military Delegation in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

as intelligence officer. For the next two years Čolak-Antić served in the Operations Department of the Headquarters of the Third Army and as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

to the Minister of Defence in Shkoder,

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

and

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

. In 1917, he then joined the Operations Department of the Supreme Command then the Operations Department of the Headquarters of the First Army. During the Salonika Trial he took part as witness alongside his cousin Colonel Boško Čolak-Antić. In 1917 he became a liaison officer in the Headquarters of the

Allied Army of the Orient upright=1.1, Allied collaboration: an Italian captain, a Russian lieutenant, a Serb colonel, a French lieutenant, and a Greek gendarme The Allied Army of the Orient (AAO) () was the name of the unified command over the multi-national allied armed f ...

and was assigned to the Operations Department of the Headquarters of the Cavalry Division a position he held until March 1918. Following the liberation of the country, after serving with the Operational Department of the Second Army's staff, he returned to the Higher Military School in Paris as a cadet. On his return he was appointed commander of the IV Squadron of the VI Cavalry Regiment, in 1922 joined the general staff, becoming in 1923 lieutenant colonel and assistant commander of the VI Cavalry Regiment, before serving as acting

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the First Cavalry Division. In 1927, after serving as acting commander of the VIII Cavalry Regiment, he was promoted to Colonel and appointed military attaché in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Towards the end of 1927 he served as head of staff of Navy command in

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

followed by commander of the VI Cavalry Regiment, and in 1935 commander of the

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

garrison in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. At his request, he retired and transferred to the reserve in 1935.

Personal life

Čolak-Antić married Jovana, daughter of Jovan and Klara Gaci from

, the Gaci ran the ''Bella Venezia hotel'' which hosted the Serbian government during the occupation of the country. Čolak-Antić and his wife had a son Pavle and a daughter Maja Maria. His sister Milica Krstić became one of the most important female architects in Serbia and Yugoslavia. Čolak-Antić died during the bombing of Belgrade on 15 April 1944, days before the liberation of Yugoslavia.

Military ranks

As a commissioned officer Čolak-Antić held the following ranks: * Second lieutenant, 1906 *

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, 1910 * Captain II class, 1913 * Cavalry captain I class, 1915 * Cavalry major, 1918 * Cavalry lieutenant colonel, 1923 * Cavalry colonel, 1927

Honours

For his action during war as well as in peace time Čolak-Antić was awarded several awards: ;Serbia/Yugoslavia *

Order of Karađorđe's Star Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

* Medal for Bravery, Gold * Order of the White Eagle *

Order of St. Sava The Order of St. Sava () is an ecclesiastic decoration conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church and a dynastic order presented by the house of Karađorđević. It was previously a state order awarded by both the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom ...

* Order of the Yugoslav Crown (2) ;Romania * Order Of The Crown ;Czechoslovakia *

Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion () is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia having no civilian decoration for its citizens in the 192 ...

Notes

References