Dragutin Gavrilovich ( 1882 - 1945 ) - Serbian and Yugoslav military leader, colonel.
Dragutin Gavrilovich | ||
---|---|---|
Serb. Dragutin Gavrilovi | ||
Date of Birth | May 25, 1882 | |
Place of Birth | Cacak , Kingdom of Serbia | |
Date of death | July 19, 1945 (63 years) | |
Place of death | Belgrade , SFRY | |
Affiliation | Serbia Yugoslavia | |
Type of army | infantry | |
Rank | the colonel | |
Battles / Wars | First Balkan War
| |
Awards and prizes |
Biography
Gavrilovich was born in 1882 in Cacak . In 1901 he graduated from the Military Academy in Belgrade . Participated in the Balkan Wars . Since 1914, participated in the First World War . Dragutin Gavrilovich became famous after the heroic events of October 1915 . On October 7, 1915, Austro-German troops began to force Sava and the Danube in order to capture the capital of Serbia, Belgrade. Major Gavrilovich commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Infantry Regiment, also under his leadership was a detachment of Belgrade gendarmerie and 340 Serbian volunteers from Srem . These forces under the command of Gavrilovich occupied positions at the confluence of the Sava and the Danube near the Kalemegdan fortress. After the start of the crossing, the Austrians captured a number of Serbian positions, however, the Serbs also carried out violent counterattacks. In these battles, the parties suffered heavy losses. Crossing despite the fire of the Serbian artillery continued and the Austrians became on the Serbian coast more and more. Under these conditions, Major Gavrilovich made the decision to conduct the last counterattack with all the remaining forces. Before the attack, Gavrilovich made a legendary speech to his soldiers:
Soldiers, at exactly 15 o'clock the enemy must be defeated by your rapid attack, destroyed by your shells and bayonets. The image of Belgrade, our capital, should be bright.
Warriors!
Heroes!
The High Command struck out our regiment from the number of troops.
Our regiment was sacrificed for the honor of Belgrade and the Fatherland.
You can no longer worry about your lives, they no longer exist.
Therefore, forward to the glory! For the king and fatherland !
Long live the king, long live Belgrade!Original Text (Serb.)At 3 o'clock, inaccurately defeat Ima by your strong Pour, remove your bombs and baonites. The image of Beograd, our predstonitsa, ima yes budeto light.Lively Beauty! Geo Beograd!
War!
Ounaci!
The Vrhovna team hated our bunch of svog brogјa, our bunch ж donated for part of Ottabin and Beograd.
Wee nemate vishe and brinete for your abdomen that kishe is not permanent.
But instead of fame! For Kraљa and Otabina!
Desperate counterattack could not eliminate the bridgehead captured by the Austrians. In the battle, Gavrilovich was seriously wounded. In total, during the fighting for Belgrade, the Austro-German troops lost 10,000 people killed. For courage and heroism, Major Gavrilovich was awarded the Order of the Star of Karageorgiya and the French Military Cross.
After the First World War, he continued service in the royal army of Yugoslavia . During the invasion of the Axis forces in Yugoslavia, Colonel Gavrilovich was captured . Gavrilovic spent the entire war in a prisoner of war camp. After the war, he returned to Yugoslavia. He died in Belgrade in 1945 . It is rumored that Gavrilovich was beaten by unknown persons to death, having learned that he served in the royal army.
The streets in Belgrade, Nis , Cacak and Užice are named after Dragutin Gavrilovich.
Literature
- Dr. Savo Skoko. Vojvoda Radomir Putnik . - Beograd: Beogradski izdavačko-grafički zavod, 1985. - P. 238-240. - ISBN 8613004539 .