The Serbs and Their Leaders in the Twentieth Century by Aleksandar Pavkovic & Peter Redan

Author:Aleksandar Pavkovic & Peter Redan [Pavkovic, Aleksandar & Redan, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Europe, General
ISBN: 9780429772597
Google: Tnp_DwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 43329136
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2018-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

Exile and Last Days

On 25 November Vojvoda Putnik issued his last and most painful command to the army. The troops were ordered to start the march through Albania, towards the Adriatic shores, to meet the Allies. Recuperated and reorganised, they would continue to fight. Unable to be carried over the Albanian trails and mountain peaks, the artillery was to be dismantled and buried in the ground. ‘The State did not lose its being - it still exists’, Putnik reminded his soldiers.70

Unable to walk, Putnik was carried over Albania by four young soldiers in a kind of improvised sentry-box, supplied with a chair. The old King Petar I joined him in an ox-cart. The 115-km-long trip was covered in eleven days. The day after his arrival at Skutari, on 8 December, Putnik got a five-month’s leave of absence for reasons of health. Accompanied by his daughter and a private physician, Putnik left for Brindizi, but soon returned to Corfu, where the remainder of the Serbian army, some 150,000 men, were stationed before being transferred in 1916 to the Salonika Front.

Obviously Putnik’s military service was over. During his last days, personal misfortune was to join the misfortune of his country. As often happens after the defeat, the question of responsibility surfaced. In an atmosphere of mutual recrimination, the government, in order to justify itself, blamed the military. Actually, responsibility for the tragic issue of the 1915 campaign should have been shared by all the elements which took part in deciding on Serbian politics and strategy. Under the circumstances, Putnik did the best he could to avoid the annihilation of his army from a superior adversary. The error he committed, together with the government, was to rely too much on the expected support from the Allies. A retreat planned in due time towards the Adriatic, through Montenegro, would have saved the Serbian army from the tragedy of the exodus over Albania.

Be that as it may, the scapegoat was found. In January 1916 the entire Supreme Command, including Putnik, was relieved from duty. The vojvoda learned about his replacement from the cashier who delivered him his salary without the commander-in-chief’s supplemental amount. Embittered, the vojvoda moved to Nice, where the French government received him with honours and offered a comfortable villa in the suburbs of the city. Bronchitis and emphysema finally took their toll: on 17 May 1917 Putnik died at the age of seventy.

Among Serbian military leaders in the twentieth century wars, vojvoda Putnik was the most distinguished, but also the most tragic figure.

His main achievement was the preparation of the Serbian army for the coming wars. Putnik trained brilliant commanders - Stepa Stepanović, Živojin Mišić, Petar Bojović and Živko Pavlović. They worked as a team under his guidance and supervision. His authority dominated their temperaments; his judgement and decision were the final ones.

The strategy which Putnik applied in the 1912–1914 wars was flexible and adapted to the requirements of the specific situation. In 1912 he applied the offensive strategy, in 1913 he switched from defence to attack.

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