, native_name_lang = Serbian , birth_name = , nickname = , birth_date = , birth_place = Lešje,

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

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 ...

, placeofburial = , placeofburial_label = , placeofburial_coordinates = , allegiance =
, branch =
, serviceyears = 1849–1888 , serviceyears_label = , rank =

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, rank_label = , servicenumber = , unit = , commands = Military Academy
Timok Army/Corps
Morava Corps

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

, battles = Serbian–Turkish Wars (1876–1878)

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War (, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', , ''Srpsko-bugarski rat''), a war between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Principality of Bulgaria, erupted on and lasted until . Despite Bulgaria's statu ...

, battles_label = , awards = , memorials = , spouse = , children = , relations = , laterwork = Minister of Army , signature = , signature_size = , signature_alt = , website = , module = Milojko Lešjanin ( sr-cyr, Милојко Лешјанин; Lešje, 15 February 1830 –

, 15 February 1896) was a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

military

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and politician. He served as Minister of Army and Chief of the

Serbian General Staff The General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces () is the highest Staff (military), authority within the Serbian Armed Forces and a significant command entity with numerous organizational units under its direct command. Missions General Staff pos ...

for several times in the 1870s and 1880s. As

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

and

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

commander he took part in the wars with

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

and

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

in 1876–1885. He led the Serbian troops at the liberation of

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

in 1877 (together with

Jovan Belimarković Jovan Belimarković ( sr-cyr, Јован Белимарковић, 1827–1906), was a Serbian general and politician. Belimarković was born on January 1, 1827, in Belgrade, Principality of Serbia. He finished military school in Berlin. He wa ...

) and at the blockade of

Vidin Vidin (, ) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since ...

in 1885. He also served as Chief of the Military Academy of Serbia for several times in the 1860s and 1880s.

Biography

Education and teaching career

The son of a merchant from Lešje (near

Paraćin Paraćin ( sr-Cyrl, Параћин, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. Located in the Velika Morava river valley, north of Kruševac and southeast of Kragujevac, the town had a population of 22,349 ...

), Lešjanin joined the

Armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

of the

in 1849. He graduated from the Artillery School (modern Military Academy) in

as a lieutenant in engineering, and later completed a three-year course at the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n Staff College in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and a one-year internship at the

Prussian General Staff The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the German Army, responsible for the continuous study of all aspects of ...

. After his return to his homeland, he was a longtime teacher (between 1859 and 1880, intermittently) at the Artillery School, and served three times (1865–1868, 1874–1875, June–November 1880) as its Chief. In 1870 (now with the rank of major) he was again in the Prussian General Staff, this time as an observer of the fighting in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. Самарџић, Момир. Лешjанин (Матица Српска
Српски биографски речник. Одабране биографиjе, Том V
стр. 64–65, приступљено 22. децембра 2012) He witnessed the sieges of

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Military career

In 1862, during the bombardment of Belgrade by the

, Lešjanin commanded a section of the defence and was promoted to the rank of captain I class. At the beginning of the First Serbian–Turkish War in the summer of 1876, Lešjanin (who was promoted to the rank of colonel the previous year) commanded the Timok Army, which aimed to invade the northwestern

Ottoman Bulgaria The history of Ottoman Bulgaria spans nearly 500 years, beginning in the late 14th century, with the Bulgarian–Ottoman Wars, Ottoman conquest of smaller kingdoms from the disintegrating Second Bulgarian Empire. In the late 19th century, Bulgar ...

and to raise the Bulgarians in revolt. His attempt to accomplish this task was thwarted by the Turks; Lešjanin then ceded command to the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

general

Mikhail Chernyayev Mikhail Grigoryevich Chernyaev ( Russian: Михаил Григорьевич Черняев) (3 November / 22 October 1828 in Bender, Bessarabia Governorate – 16 August 1898) was a Russian major general, who, together with Konstantin Kaufm ...

. At Veliki Izvor, Lešjanin led the Zaječar detachment on the left flank of the Serbian troops. The battle ended in defeat for the Serbs, who were soon forced to abandon

Zaječar Zaječar ( sr-Cyrl, Зајечар, ; or ) is a city and the administrative center of the Zaječar District in eastern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city administrative area had a population of 48,621 inhabitants. Zaječar is widely ...

to the Turks. During the Second Serbian–Turkish War in the winter of 1877–1878, Colonel Lešjanin was commander of the Morava Corps (16,715 soldiers and 46 cannons), advancing on both banks of

South Morava The South Morava (; Macedonian and Serbian: Јужна Морава, ''Južna Morava'', ) is a river in eastern Kosovo and in southern Serbia, which represents the shorter headwater of Great Morava. Today, it is long, including its source ri ...

and took part in the operations (29 December 1877 – 11 January 1878) that led to the capture of

. After this success, Lešjanin was entrusted with the joint command of the Morava and Timok Corps to take over

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

. He failed to accomplish this task due to unsuccessful assault on Turkish–Albanian positions near Samokovo. In February 1878 he was a special envoy of the Prince Milan Obernović to the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

headquarters in San Stefano (modern

Yeşilköy (; meaning "Green Village"; prior to 1926, San Stefano or Santo Stefano , ) is an affluent neighbourhood () in the municipality and district of Bakırköy, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 25,039 (2022). on the Marmara Sea about ...

) for the negotiations that led to the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano (; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. It was signed at San Ste ...

, unfavorable for Serbia. Upon his return from San Stefano, Lešjanin was promoted to the rank of general. He commanded the Timok Corps, and in 1879–1880 and 1882–1885 he was Chief of the

, and in 1883–1884 he was also the commander of the active army. In the

in November 1885, General Lešjanin commanded the Timok Army during the unsuccessful siege of

. After the war, Lešjanin took over the leadership of the General Staff for the third time, in 1886–1888; afterwards, he left the

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 ...

and entered politics. In 1888 he replaced

Đorđe Simić Đorđe S. Simić (28 February 1843, in Belgrade – 11 October 1921, in Zemun), was a Serbian politician and diplomat. He was twice Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia. Biography Đorđe S. Simić was the son of Stojan Simić and the ...

as president of The

Red Cross of Serbia The Red Cross of Serbia () is a humanitarian, non-governmental organisation that provides humanitarian aid, disaster relief and education in Serbia. It is the national affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societi ...

. His tenure lasted from 1888 to 1896 when he was succeeded by General

Jovan Mišković Jovan Mišković ( sr-cyr, Јован Мишковић; (Negotin, 18 July 1844 – Belgrade, 2 November 1908) was a Serbian general, Minister of Defence, military theorist, writer and the president of Serbian academy of sciences and arts. Biogra ...

Political career

Lešjanin became Minister of Army for the first time in 1873, when he entered the Liberal government headed by

Jovan Ristić Jovan Ristić ( sr-Cyrl, Јован Ристић; 16 January 1831 – 4 September 1899) was a Serbian politician, diplomat and historian. Biography Ristić was born in Kragujevac in a poor family where he attended elementary school. In 1842 he ...

. From 1880 to 1882 he held the same position in the Progressive government of

Milan Piroćanac Milan Piroćanac ( sr-cyr, Милан Пироћанац; 7 January 1837 – 1 March 1897) was a Serbian jurist, politician, Prime Minister and the leader and founder of the Serbian Progressive Party (historical), Progressive Party. Early life ...

. After his dismissal, he participated in the drafting of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of 1888 and in the work of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

(representing the Liberal Party) in the early 1890s.

References

Sources

* Chief of the General Staff: 1876–2000, Ivetić Velimir, Belgrade 2000. , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesjanin, Milojko 1830 births 1896 deaths People from Paraćin People from the Principality of Serbia People from the Kingdom of Serbia Serbian generals Chiefs of the Serbian General Staff Royal Serbian Army soldiers Serbian–Turkish Wars (1876–1878) People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War Government ministers of Serbia Liberal Party (Kingdom of Serbia) politicians Defence ministers of Serbia