Petar Bojović facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vojvoda Petar Bojović GCLH, KCMG
Deputy Commander in Chief of the Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces
In office 3 April 1941 – 17 April 1941
Monarch	Peter II
Preceded by	Prince Paul
Succeeded by	Dušan Simović
Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces
In office 21 January 1921 – 8 December 1921
Monarch	Peter I Alexander I
Preceded by	Živojin Mišić
Succeeded by	Petar Pešić
Chief of Staff of the Supreme Command of the Serbian Army
In office 8 December 1915 – 1 July 1918
Monarch	Peter I
Preceded by	Radomir Putnik
Succeeded by	Živojin Mišić
Chief of the Serbian General Staff
In office 1906–1908
Monarch	Peter I
Preceded by	Aleksandar Mašin
Succeeded by	Radomir Putnik
Personal details
Born	(1858-06-16)16 June 1858 Miševići, Nova Varoš, Ottoman Empire
Died	19 January 1945(1945-01-19) (aged 86) Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Resting place	Belgrade New Cemetery
Spouse	Mileva Bojović (1893–1945; his death)
Children	Božidar Bojović Vojislav Bojović Jelica Bojović Dobrosav Bojović Rada Bojović Radoslav Bojović
Alma mater	Military Academy Serbia
Profession	Army officer
Awards	Order of the Star of Karageorge Order of the Star of Karageorge with Swords Order of the Yugoslav Crown Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Order of Saint Michael and Saint George
Military service
Allegiance	Principality of Serbia  Kingdom of Serbia  Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Branch/service	Serbian Army
Years of service	1876–1921 1941
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands	Serbian 1st Army
Battles/wars	Serbo-Turkish War Serbo-Bulgarian War First Balkan War Second Balkan War World War I World War II

Petar Bojović GCLH, KCMG (Serbian: Петар Бојовић, pronounced [pětar bǒːjoʋitɕ]; 16 July 1858 – 19 January 1945) was a Serbian military commander who fought in the Serbo-Turkish War, the Serbo-Bulgarian War, the First Balkan War, the Second Balkan War, World War I and World War II. Following the breakthrough on the Thessaloniki Front he was promoted to fourth Field Marshal.

Life

Early life

Bojović was born on 16 July 1858 in Miševići, Nova Varoš. He had distant ancestry from the Vasojevići.

He fought in Serbian-Ottoman Wars from 1876 to 1878 as a cadet of the Artillery school, as well as in wars that Serbia waged at the beginning of the 20th century. He was Chief of the General Staff for the first time from 1905 to 1908.

Balkan Wars

In the Balkan Wars, he was the Chief of Staff of the 1st Army, which scored huge success in battles of Kumanovo, Bitola (First Balkan War) and Bregalnica (Second Balkan War). Given that the commander was the militarily infinitely less experienced crown prince Alexander who had to rely heavily on his chief of staff - the appointment made him effectively the commander of the army. He took part in peace negotiations with Turkey, held in London in 1913, as a military expert in the Serbian Government delegation.

World War I

At the start of World War I, he was given command of the 1st Army. His army suffered huge losses at the Battle of Drina in 1914, but managed to stop the Austro-Hungarian offensive. Bojović was wounded in the battle, and was replaced at the army general position by Živojin Mišić. In January 1916, he was appointed Chief of General Staff for a second time in place of the ailing vojvoda Radomir Putnik, who was carried by his soldiers to the city of Skadar. He held that position until June 1918, when he resigned because of disputes with the allied generals on the issue of widening the Thessaloniki Front. He returned to his position Commander of the 1st Army, which broke the enemy lines and advanced deep into the occupied territory. He received the title of Field Marshal on 26 September [O.S. 13 September] 1918 for his contribution during the war.

Inter-war years and World War II

In 1921, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, and in 1922 he withdrew from active service.

At the very beginning of World War II, Petar Bojovic was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Yugoslavian Armed Forces by the young King Petar II Karađorđević. However, because of his old age, he did not participate in the events that followed.

Death

One of the most famous historical myths in Serbia is that Petar Bojović was tortured by new communist authorities following liberation of Belgrade and that he died from consequences of that torture. Bojović was indeed questioned by new authorities for three days, however according Kosta Rakić, close family friend of Bojović, elderly commander wasn't harmed in any way during interrogation. Two months passed between the questioning and Bojović's death. Later two members of Yugoslav Partisans, including an officer, broke into vojvoda's home, insulted him and stole his sabre. Bojović's son Dobrica than hit officer down the stairs, and than both Partisans ran away. Vojvoda was disturbed by the incident, but wasn't physically harmed during it. Bojović died during on January 19 1945 from pneumonia.

Bojović wasn't buried with military and state honors, but privately. This was expected as Bojović was a commander of a army that capitulated in 1941 and state that didn't exist anymore. Two members of OZNA were present at a funeral.

Awards and decorations

Serbian military decorations
	Order of the Karađorđe's Star, Grand Officer
	Order of the Karađorđe's Star, Commander
	Order of the Karađorđe's Star, Knight
	Order of the Karađorđe's Star with Swords, Grand Officer
	Order of the Karađorđe's Star with Swords, Commander
	Order of the Karađorđe's Star with Swords, Officer
	Order of the White Eagle, Commander
	Order of the White Eagle, Officer
	Order of the White Eagle, Knight
	Order of the White Eagle with swords, Grand Officer
	Order of the White Eagle with swords, Knight
	Order of St. Sava, Commander
	Order of the Cross of Takovo, Grand Officer
	Order of the Cross of Takovo, Commander
	Order of the Cross of Takovo, Officer
	Order of the Cross of Takovo, Knight
	Order of the Yugoslav Crown, Grand Officer
Serbian Service Medals
	Medal for Bravery
	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 First Balkan War
	Commemorative Medal of the Second Balkan War
	Commemorative Medal of the First World War
	Commemorative Medal of the Albanian Campaign
International and Foreign Awards
	Order of St Michael and St George, Knight Commander (United Kingdom)
	Order of St Michael and St George, Companion (United Kingdom)
	Order of Franz Joseph, Knight (Austria-Hungary)
	Legion of Honour, Grand Officer (France)
	Legion of Honour, Commandeur (France)
	Legion of Honour, Officer (France)
	Legion of Honour, Chevalier (France)
	War Cross 1914–1918, Bronze palm (France)
	Order of the Redeemer, Grand Commander (Greece)
	Order of the Redeemer, Gold Cross (Greece)
	Order of Saint Alexander (Bulgaria), II class (Kingdom of Bulgaria)
	Order of Military Merit, II class (Bulgaria)
	Order of Civil Merit, II class (Bulgaria)
	Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Knight Grand Cross (Italy)
	Order of the Dannebrog, Knight (Kingdom of Denmark)
	Order of Saint Vladimir, III class (Russian Empire)
	Order of St. George with swords, III class (Russian Empire)

See also

In Spanish: Petar Bojović para niños

• Radomir Putnik
• Živojin Mišić
• Stepa Stepanović
• Božidar Janković
• Ilija Gojković
• Pavle Jurišić Šturm
• Ivan S. Pavlović

Literature

• DiNardo, Richard L. (2015). Invasion: The Conquest of Serbia, 1915. Santa Barbara: Praeger. ISBN 9781440800924. https://books.google.com/books?id=9sbloQEACAAJ.
• Leko, Milan; Vartabedijan, Miodrag (2006). Beogradske ulice i trgovi 1872-2006. Beograd: Zavod za udžbenike. ISBN 9788617128584. https://books.google.com/books?id=z6uFAAAACAAJ&q=Milan+Leko+Ulice+Beograda.