- Radomir Putnik
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Radomir Putnik
Field Marshal Radomir PutnikBorn 24 January 1847
Kragujevac, SerbiaDied 17 May 1917 (age 70)
Nice, FranceAllegiance Principality of Serbia
Kingdom of SerbiaYears of service 1863 – 1917 Rank Field Marshal Commands held Serbian 3rd Army Battles/wars Serbo-Turkish wars, Serbo-Bulgarian War, First Balkan War, Second Balkan War, World War I Radomir Putnik, also known as Vojvoda Putnik, OSS OCT OKS GCMG (Serbian: Радомир Путник, Војвода Путник; pronounced [rǎdɔmiːr pûːtniːk]; 24 January 1847 – 17 May 1917) was a Serbian Field Marshal (vojvoda) and Chief of General Staff in the Balkan Wars and World War I, and took part in all wars that Serbia waged from 1876 to 1917.
Contents
Biography
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 the later Military Academy) in Belgrade, where he graduated in 1863, placing eighth in his class. In 1879, he married Ljubica Bojović, 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 was also thought tough on professional issues. He proved himself in the battlefield during the wars against the Turks in 1876 and 1877. On several occasions, he was severely reprimanded and even briefly put in custody for using "inappropriate language" to senior officers.
He became a professor in the Military Academy, holding that position from 1886 to 1895. In 1889 he was appointed Deputy Chief of 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 Kings Milan and his successor, King Alexander I, would follow him throughout this part of his career. In 1895, he was forced to retire and, after an unsuccessful assassination attempt at King Milan in 1899, he left the country for fear of further retaliation.
After the military coup d'etat (executed by what would later become unofficially called Black Hand organisation) against Alexander I in 1903, Putnik was rehabilitated, promoted to the rank of General and appointed Chief of General Staff. He proceeded to completely reorganise the army, to retire old and promote new officers, and to update 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.
World War I
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.[1] 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. With the Bulgarians attacking from the rear, the Serbs found themselves in a hopeless position. 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. The retreat was one of the most tragic events in Serbian history during which the Serbian army lost more than 100,000 soldiers[verification needed] to desertion, starvation, illness, and attacks from enemy forces. Some 125,000 Serbian soldiers reached the Adriatic coast and embarked on French transport ships that carried them to the Greek islands, chiefly Corfu. In worsening health, Putnik had to be carried during the retreat, exhausted by the effort and episodes of bronchitis, influenza and pneumonia. He 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.
Quotes
Troop concentration on paper is a quick and easy matter.
- Ironic remark in a letter to Andra Knićanin on the movements of the Serbian army across very difficult terrain at the beginning of the Serbo-Turkish war of 1878.
Those were only skirmishes with Turkish rearguards
- Upon first hearing of the Battle of Kumanovo - The Serbian High Command expected that a decisive battle with the Ottoman forces has yet to take place - most likely on Ovče Polje plateau just north of Skopje. Also, due to communication problems, it first heard of the battle when it had already been won.
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
Awards, Decorations and Badges
Order of the Karađorđe's Star with Swords of II class Order of the Karađorđe's Star with Swords of III class Order of the Karađorđe's Star with Swords of IV class Order of the Karađorđe's Star of I class Order of the Karađorđe's Star of II class Order of the Cross of Takovo, II class Order of the Cross of Takovo with Swords, V class Order of the White Eagle of III class Order of the White Eagle of IV class Order of the White Eagle of V class Order of St. Sava of I class Gold medal for courageousness Silver medal for courageousness Commemorative medal of the King Petar I Commemorative medal of the wars with Turkey 1876-1878 Commemorative medal of the war with Bulgaria 1885 Commemorative medal of the Serbo-Turkish war 1912-1913 Commemorative medal of the Serbo-Bulgarian war 1913 Order of Saint Stanislaus of I class Order of Saint Stanislaus with Swords of III class Order of St. George with Swords of IV class Order of St Michael and St George Légion d'honneur of II class Order of the Crown of II class Order of the Iron Crown of IV class Order Of Military Merit of I class Order of the Karađorđe's Star with Swords of III class References
- ^ Rothenburg, G. The Army of Francis Joseph. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 1976. p 182.
- (Serbian) Serbian Unity Congress, Portreti iz novije srpske istorije, by Dimitrije Đorđević
- World War I Biographical Dictionary, Brigham Young University
- First World War.com, Who's Who: Radomir Putnik
External links
- Radomir Putnik at Find a Grave
- "Putnik, Radomir". Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). 1922.
Serbian Vojvodas from World War I Categories:- 1847 births
- 1917 deaths
- People from Kragujevac
- Field Marshals
- Serbian soldiers
- Serbian military personnel of World War I
- Serbian military personnel in the Balkan Wars
- Chiefs of General Staff of Serbia
- Recipients of the Order of the Star of Karageorge
- Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo
- Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Serbia)
- Recipients of the Order of St. Sava
- Recipients of the Medal for Bravery (Serbia)
- Recipients of the Order of Saint George IV Class
- Order of St Michael and St George
- Order of the Crown (Romania) recipients
- Recipients of the Order of the Iron Crown
- Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria)
- Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian)
- Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
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