Post by Balkaneros on Jan 27, 2013 15:22:46 GMT -5
Radomir Putnik, also known as Vojvoda Putnik
In the mid-19th century, Putnik's family returned from exile in Austria-Hungary to liberated Serbia. Putnik's father, Dimitrije, was a teacher in Kragujevac, and Radomir completed his basic schooling there. He attended the Artillery School (the precursor to what would eventually become the Military Academy) in Belgrade, where he graduated in 1863, placing eighth in his class. In 1879, he married Ljubica Bojović, the daughter of a colonel, with whom he had seven children (three daughters and four sons). Contemporaries describe him as an ascetic, introverted man, and a heavy smoker; however, he is also thought to have been tough on professional issues. He proved himself on the battlefield during Serbia's wars against the Ottomans that were fought between 1876 and 1877. On several occasions, he was severely reprimanded and even briefly put in custody for using "inappropriate language" when addressing senior officers.
He became a professor in the Military Academy, holding that position from 1886 to 1895. In 1889, he was appointed the Deputy Chief of the General Staff. However, he soon came into conflict with King Milan I, partly for not allowing a King's protégé to pass an examination. Political intrigue and latent conflict with King Milan and his successor, King Alexander I, would follow him throughout this part of his career. In 1895, he was forced to retire by the King.
After a military coup d'etat (executed by what would later become unofficially called the Black Hand organisation) against Alexander I in 1903, Putnik was rehabilitated, promoted to the rank of General and was appointed the Chief of the General Staff. He then proceeded to completely reorganize the army by retiring old and promoting new officers, and updating outdated war plans. He appointed General Živojin Mišić as his deputy. Despite occasional personality clashes, the two men had deep respect for each other. Putnik was the first officer to be appointed to the highest rank of vojvoda (Field Marshal). In 1912, he led the Serbian Army into victories in the First and Second Balkan War. During that period, he was also Serbian Minister of War on several occasions.
Caught in Budapest when Austria-Hungary declared war upon his country, Putnik was allowed safe passage back to Serbia in a chivalrous and possibly self-defeating gesture by the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Josef.After a troublesome trip, Putnik returned to Serbia and offered his resignation to King Peter I of Serbia on the grounds of ill health. It was rejected, the King insisting that Putnik take command over the army, if only in strategic sense, while younger generals would take over operational duties. Putnik had to spend most of his time in a well-heated room. However, his impaired health did not prevent him from successfully organising the campaign. Serbia defeated the Austrian Army's offensives in August and September 1914, driving it out of Serbia by December.
The Serbian front remained relatively quiet until Autumn 1915, when Austro-Hungarian, German and Bulgarian forces, led by Field Marshal August von Mackensen, began a large offensive against Serbia with more than 300,000 soldiers. On 31 October, Putnik ordered a general retreat onto Kragujevac, attempting to keep his exhausted army together as it sought an escape into friendly territory. Many of Putnik's soldiers were farmers, who slipped away from the retiring army to resume their rural lives. Putnik's rapidly declining forces continued their withdrawal towards Albania during the first week of November 1915, a process aided by the fact that the Germans, Bulgarians and Austro-Hungarians began to lose interest in prosecuting the campaign any further. The Germans felt that the war against Serbia was won, with most of the nation under the control of the Central Powers. Regarding the Russian Empire as the main threat in the East, Mackensen was eager to move his forces back to the Russian front. The Bulgarians were more than happy with their territorial gains in Macedonia and northwest Serbia, while the Austro-Hungarians were equally content with the notion that the Bulgarians were not moving to establish a Greater Bulgaria.The final confrontation occurred in Kosovo, the Field of the Blackbirds, between 19 and 24 November 1915. The Serbs were afflicted by a new outbreak of typhus, while food and ammunition was in extremely short supply. Defeat was inevitable. On 25 November, Putnik made his last and most painful order — full retreat, southwards and westwards through Montenegro and into Albania, trying to reach allied ships that would, he hoped, transport the core of the army to the safety of the Ionian islands. Many of the fleeing soldiers and civilians did not make it to the coast, though - they were lost to hunger, disease, attacks by enemy forces and Albanian tribal bands.The circumstances of the retreat were disastrous, and all told, some 155,000 Serbs, mostly soldiers, reached the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and embarked on Allied transport ships that carried the army to various Greek islands (many to Corfu) before being sent to Salonika. In worsening health, Putnik had to be carried in a sedan chair during the retreat, exhausted by the effort and episodes of bronchitis, influenza and pneumonia. Putnik was taken over by allied forces in Skadar and transported to Brindisi, and then to Corfu along with the core of the army.
In the atmosphere of recrimination that followed between the government and the High Command, the entire General Staff was dismissed in January 1916, including Putnik. He felt embittered, having learned of his dismissal from a cashier who gave him his salary without a Chief of General Staff's supplement. He traveled to Nice, where French authorities welcomed him with honors and gave him a villa. He was overcome by lung emphysema and died on 17 May 1917, without seeing his homeland again. His remains were transferred to Serbia in 1926 and buried with honors in a chapel at Belgrade's New Cemetery. The grave carries the epitaph "Grateful Homeland to Radomir Putnik". Mount Putnik in Canada is named after him
Putnik's Military Career:
- Commander of 3rd Mountain Battery, January 1867
- Commander of Čačak Battery of People's Army, October 1868
- Commander of 4th Mountain Battery, April 1867
- Commander of Merzetska Battery, February 1871
- Duties at Artillery inspection, October 1872
- Duties at Department of the Artillery, January 1874
- Chief of Artillery Factory at Kragujevac, 1875
- Adjutant I class of Rudnik Brigade, April 1876
- Chief of staff of Rudnik Brigade, June 1876
- Commander of Rudnik Brigade, 1876
- Commander of Vranje Military District, 1878
- Duties at Artillery Department of Ministry of the Military, 1879
- Chief of staff of Division of standing army, 1880
- Commander of Toplica Military District, April 1881
- Duties at Artillery Department of Ministry of the Military, March 1883
- Chief of staff of Danube Division, September 1883
- Chief of Foreign Intelligence Department of Operational Department of Main General Staff, 1886
- Chief of Operational Department of Main General Staff, April 1888
- Deputy Chief of Main General Staff, 1890
- President of examination committee for a rank of major, March 1893
- Commander of Šumadija Division, June 1893
- President of examination committee for a rank of major, April 1894
- Deputy Chairman of the Military Court of Cassation, January 1895
- Retired on October 26, 1896
- Chief of General Staff, 1903
</B>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Putnik