Petar Bojović

Petar Bojović (Петар Бојовић, ; 16 July 1858 – 19 January 1945) was a Serbian and Yugoslav military commander who fought in the Serbo-Turkish War, the Serbo-Bulgarian War, the First Balkan War, the Second Balkan War, and World War I. He was briefly the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Yugoslav Royal Army in World War II, but played no real part in the conduct of the defence of Yugoslavia when it was invaded by the Axis powers in April 1941.

Following the breakthrough on the Thessaloniki Front of World War I, he became the fourth Serbian officer promoted to field marshal.

Early life
Bojović was born on 16 July 1858 in Miševići, Nova Varoš. He had 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 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 Bojović was tortured by the new communist authorities following the liberation of Belgrade in October 1944 and that he died from the consequences of that torture. Bojović was indeed questioned by the new authorities for three days, however according to Kosta Rakić, a close family friend of Bojović, the elderly commander was not harmed in any way during the interrogation. Two months passed between the questioning and Bojović's death. Later two members of the Yugoslav Partisans, including an officer, broke into his home, insulted him and stole his sabre. Bojović's son Dobrica then hit the officer who fell down the stairs, and then both Partisans ran away. Bojović was disturbed by the incident, but wasn't physically harmed during it. Bojović died during on January 19 1945 from pneumonia.

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