VOJAŠKA ZGODOVINA MILITARY HISTORY Številka/Number 1 (17), Letnik/Volume 11/2010 VOJAŠKA ZGODOVINA MILITARY HISTORY Številka/Number 1 (17), Letnik/Volume 11/2010 MILITARY HISTORY • 1 6 • VOJAŠKA ZGODOVINA Slovenski dobrovoljci v srbskih osvobodilnih vojnah 1912–1918 Slovenian Volunteers in Serbian Liberation Wars 1912-1918 • MLISI aV SEKULIĆ mag. in generamajor v pokoju Vojaškozgodovinski opis Military-Historical Outline Dobrovoljci v srbskih osvobodilnih voj- Volunteers in Serbian Liberation Wars, nah 1804–1918 1804-1918 Petstoletno srbsko suženjstvo pod Turki je The five hundred years that the Serbs spent un- zaznamovano tudi z nenehnim bojem Srbov za der Turkish rule have been marked by their ongoing ohranitev njihove identitete in narodne osvo- struggle to preserve national identity and achieve boditve. V tem boju je bila zelo pomembna vlo- national liberation. Volunteers have been very im- ga dobrovoljcev. V daljših časovnih obdobjih je portant in this struggle. For a very long time, vol- bilo dobrovoljstvo edina možnost in priložnost unteers weres the only possible means for the Serbs Srbov, da so se z orožjem upirali turškemu to fight against Turkish invasions. Those Serbs, who zavojevanju in pokorščini. Pri tem je bila pre- were displaced from regions occupied by Turks to vladujoča vloga Srbov, ki so bili z okupiranih Austro-Hungarian territory, played a dominant role turških območij pregnani na avstro-ogrsko in this matter. Furthermore, they participated in ozemlje. Ti so tudi sodelovali v vojnah Avstro- Austro-Hungarian wars against the Turks, the objec- Ogrske proti Turkom za obrambo njenih meja tive of which was the defence of Austro-Hungarian in ozemelj, pa tudi v osvajanju tistih pod tur- borders and territories and the conquest of territo- ško oblastjo. ries that were under Turkish rule. Srbi so trdno verjeli in upali, da bodo s so- The Serbs firmly believed and hoped that their delovanjem v vojnah Avstrije proti Turčiji iz- participation in Austria’s wars against Turkey would bojevali in osvobodili tudi svoje dežele in oze- help them win and liberate the Serbian lands and mlje pod turško zasedbo. Zgodovina dokazuje territories occupied by Turks. From 1683 to 1699 množično sodelovanje Srbov v avstro-ogrskih and from 1716 to 1718, history witnessed a mass vojnah proti Turčiji od leta 1683 do 1699 in od participation of Serbs in Austro-Hungarian wars 1716 do 1718. against Turkey. Organizirani samostojni boji Srbov proti It was only in 1804, that the Serbs started to or- turški zasedbi so se začeli šele leta 1804. Tra- ganise independent fights against the Turkish occu- jali so vse do leta 1912, ko je bila Turčija v prvi pation. The fights lasted until 1912, when, for the balkanski vojni prvič popolnoma poražena in first time, Turkey was utterly defeated in the First je izgubila položaj balkanske in celo evropske Balkan War, losing the position of the Balkans and velesile. even the then European superpower. Osvobodilna vojna Srbije proti Turčiji je The Serbian War of Independence against Turkey tako trajala 108 let. V navedenem obdobju sta lasted for 108 years. During the said period, from ta boj Srbov in prizadevanja Srbije dodobra iz- 1804 to 1912, Austria and Russia fully exploited koristili tudi Avstrija in Rusija za uveljavitev the Serbs’ struggle and efforts to promote their own MILITARY HISTORY • 7 svojih interesov. Turčija je bila otomansko specific interests. Turkey, or the Ottoman Empire, cesarstvo, ki se je stoletja bojevalo s cesarsko had been fighting with the Russian Empire and the Rusijo in avstrijsko monarhijo. V teh vojnah Austrian Monarchy for centuries. In these wars the so bili prav Srbi vedno izkoriščani kot vojaki, Serbs were exploited as soldiers, getting nothing za nagrado pa so dobivali obljube, ki niso bile more than empty promises in return. Both the losers nikoli izpolnjene. Poraženci in zmagovalci v and the winners of the wars of the three empires were medsebojnih vojnah treh cesarstev so vsako- venting their anger on the Serbs and usually forgot krat sproščali svojo jezo nad Srbi in pozabljali to fulfil their promises. na obljube. With a view of attaining its goals and interests – a Rusija je strateško vedno iskala zavezništvo passage to the Adriatic Sea (this remains unchanged s Srbijo, da bi dosegla svoje cilje in interese up to the present time), Russia has always been seek- – izhod na Jadransko morje (kar se ni spre- ing alliance with Serbia in strategic terms. On the menilo do danes), Avstro-Ogrska pa je v Srbiji other hand, Austria-Hungary saw nothing more in videla samo del turškega ozemlja, ki ga ima Serbia than a part of the Turkish territory it believed pravico zavzeti v svojem osvajalnem pohodu it was entitled to occupy during its conquest of the proti vzhodu (ali Drang nach Osten, ki je še West (or Drang nach Osten, which is still topical). vedno aktualen). The accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 Aneksija Bosne in Hercegovine 1908 je po- was an indicator of the Austro-Hungarian aggres- menila tudi avstro-ogrsko agresijo na Srbijo, sion on Serbia approved by the then European super- seveda v soglasju s tedanjimi evropskimi vele- powers. In such conditions, together with Bulgaria silami. V takšnih razmerah je Srbija, skupaj z and Greece, Serbia prepared and declared war Bolgarijo in Grčijo, pripravila in bojevala voj- against Turkey. This was the so-called First Balkan no proti Turčiji. Šlo je za t. i. prvo balkansko War, which lasted from 1912 to 1913. During this vojno od leta 1912 do 1913. V tej vojni sta bila war, Macedonia and Kosovo had been liberated from izpod turške zadedbe osvobojena Makedonija Turkish occupation. Nonetheless, Bulgaria was not in Kosovo. Toda Bolgarija ni bila zadovoljna, satisfied and, consequently, with intent to annex zato je leta 1913 proti Srbiji začela drugo bal- Eastern Macedonia started the Second Balkan War kansko vojno s ciljem, da si pripoji vzhodno against Serbia in 1913. Makedonijo. Austria-Hungary anticipated Serbia’s defeat in Avstro-Ogrska je pričakovala srbski poraz v the war with Turkey and afterwards planned to oc- vojni s Turčijo, da bi nato lahko sama zavzela cupy Serbia itself. Since this did not happen, it talked Srbijo. To se ni zgodilo, zato je Avstro-Ogrska Bulgaria into quickly attacking Serbia without any nagovorila Bolgarijo, naj čimprej napade Srbi- prior declaration of war and into annexing Eastern jo brez vojne napovedi in si prisvoji vzhodno Macedonia. The strong Serbian Army easily defeated Makedonijo. Močna srbska vojska je brez te- the promise-breaking Bulgarians, for which reason žav opravila z verolomnimi Bolgari, zato se je Austria-Hungary began feverish preparations to Avstro-Ogrska začela mrzlično pripravljati na punish the disliked Serbs. kaznovanje nevšečnih Srbov. The entire world and in particular the Slavic Boje srbskega naroda za osvoboditev so z peoples, observed Serbian combats for national lib- naklonjenostjo spremljali po vsem svetu, pose- eration with sympathy. Slovenians were no excep- bej slovanski narodi. Slovenci niso bili izjeme. tion. These sympathies and expressions of solidar- Te simpatije in izrazi solidarnosti so pripomo- ity contributed to a mass recruitment of volunteers gli k množičnemu udejstvovanju dobrovoljcev from across the world with a view of participating in z vsega sveta za odločilen boj proti turški za- the decisive fight against the Turkish occupation of sedbi srbskega etničnega ozemlja. Serbian ethnic space. Vodstvo prvega srbskega upora je že leta In 1805 already, the leadership of the first 1805 sprejelo odlok, po katerem so v uporni- Serbian resistance adopted a decree on the admis- ške (četniške) enote sprejemali vse Srbe zunaj sion of all Serbs outside the Belgrade pashalic (a beograjskega pašaluka, in tudi vse druge, ki Turkish administrative zone governed by a pasha) so želeli pomagati Srbom v boju proti Turči- as well as those who would like to help the Serbs, to ji. Tako je dve leti pozneje (1807) v boju med the resistance (chetnik) units, in their fight against Srbi in Turki na Štubiku sodelovala ruska boj- the Turks. Two years later (in 1807) a Russian bat- na enota in 200 grških dobrovoljcev. Od takrat tle unit and 200 Greek volunteers participated in a 8 • VOJAŠKA ZGODOVINA izvira veliko prijateljstvo Srbov z Rusi in Grki, combat between the Serbs and the Turks in Štubik. ki še vedno traja. Leta 1808 je iz avstro-ogr- This is when Serbia’s great (and still lasting) friend- ske vojske dezertiralo 515 vojakov (predvsem ship with the Russians and the Greeks started. In Srbov), ki so se vključili v srbsko vojsko kot 1808, 515 soldiers (mostly Serbs) deserted from the dobrovoljci. Pridružilo se ji je 800 bolgarskih Austro-Hungarian Army and joined the Serbian dobrovoljcev, pa tudi iz Boke Kotorske 37 čr- Army as volunteers. 800 Bulgarian volunteers and nogorskih dobrovoljcev, ki jih je vodil Subotić Gavrilov Subotić with 37 Montenegrin volunteers Gavrilov. from Boka Kotorska also joined the Serbian rebels in V bosansko-hercegovskem uporu Srbov the Serbian Army. 1875–1878 je sodelovalo več dobrovoljcev iz A large number of volunteers from Serbia, Srbije, Črne gore, Hrvaške in Slovenije (3). Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia (3) participated Od Slovencev se je najbolj izkazal Ljubljančan in the resistance of Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina be- Viktor Merlak v bojih ob Drini, za kar je prejel tween 1875 and 1878. The Slovenians that excelled Karađorđevo zvezdo z meči. Sodelovala sta še the most were: Viktor Merlak, an inhabitant of poznejši polkovnik srbske vojske Janko Stibilj Ljubljana, excelled in the Battle of Drina, for which – Vukasović in novinar Aleksander Toman, ki he was awarded Karađorđe’s Star with Swords, the je o dogodkih poročal slovenski javnosti. Ko later Colonel of the Serbian Army Janko Stibilj – je 1876 Srbija napovedala vojno Turčiji, so ji Vukasović and a journalist, Aleksander Toman, who priskočili na pomoč številni dobrovoljci iz vse reported the events to the Slovenian public.