Milunka Savić

Milunka Savić was a Serbian war heroine who fought in the Balkan Wars and in World War I

She is the most-decorated female combatant in the recorded history of warfare.

## Biography

Milunka Savić was born in 1892, in the village of Koprivnica, near Novi Pazar, in Serbia.

In 1912, her brother who was ill with tuberculosis received call-up papers for mobilization for the First Balkan War.

She chose to go in his place—cutting her hair and donning men's clothes and joining the Serbian army.

When, after the publication of the Decree on Mobilization on September 30 / October 3, 1912, there was a mass response, Milunka decided to register at one of the mobilization gatherings in Belgrade.

She registered under the name Milun Savić.

In the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, she fought disguised as a man.

She quickly saw combat and received her first medal and was promoted to corporal rank in the Battle of Bregalnica.

In the World War I, she also volunteered.

She was received by Duke Putnik and King Alexander - who assigned her to another regiment. it was part of the "Iron regiment", the most elite Second Regiment of the Serbian Army "Knjaz Mihailo".

In this regiment, besides her, the Scottish Flora Sands fought.

Milunka stood out as a bomber in the Battle of Kolubara

Engaged in battle, she sustained wounds and it was only then, when recovering from her injuries in hospital, that her true gender was revealed, much to the surprise of the attending physicians.

Savic was called before her commanding officer. They didn't want to punish her, because she had proven a valuable and highly competent soldier.

The military deployment that had resulted in her sex being revealed had been her tenth.

But neither was it suitable for a young woman to be in combat.

She was offered a transfer to the Nursing division.

Savic stood at attention and insisted she only wanted to fight for her country as a combatant.

The officer said he'd think it over and give her his answer the next day. Still standing at attention, Savic responded, "I will wait."

It is said he only made her stand an hour before agreeing to send her back to the infantry

### **Military honors**

In 1914, in the early days of World War I Savić was awarded her first Karađorđe Star with Swords after the Battle of Kolubara.

She received her second Karađorđe Star (with Swords) after the Battle of the Crna Bend in 1916 when she captured 23 Bulgarian soldiers single-handedly.

Also she was awarded with :

the French Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour) twice,

the Russian Cross of St. George,

the British medal of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael,

and the Serbian Miloš Obilić medal.

She was the sole female recipient of the French Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 with the gold palm attribute for service in World War I

## Later life

She was demobilised in 1919, and turned down an offer to move to France, where she was eligible to collect a comfortable French army pension.

Instead, she chose to live in Belgrade and found work as a postal worker.

In 1923, she married Veljko Gligorijević, whom she met in Mostar, and divorced immediately after the birth of their daughter Milena.

She also adopted three other daughters.

In the interwar period, Milunka was largely forgotten by the general public.

She worked several menial jobs up to 1927, after which she had steady employment as a cleaning lady in the State Mortgage Bank.

In 1945, with the arrival of socialism to power, she was given a state pension, and continued to live in her house in Belgrade's Voždovac neighborhood.

By the late 1950s her daughter was hospitalized, and she was living in a crumbling house in Voždovac with her three adopted children:

Milka, a forgotten child from the railway station in Stalac;

Radmila-Višnja; and Zorka, a orphans girls from Dalmatia.

Later, in 1964. when she attended the jubilee celebrations wearing her military medals, other military officers spoke with her and heard of her courageous actions .News spread and at last she gained recognition.

In 1970, public pressure and a newspaper articles highlighting her difficult housing and financial situation led to her being given a small apartment by the Belgrade City Assembly.

She died in Belgrade on October 5 1973, and was buried in Belgrade New Cemetery.

Milunka Savić's incredible story inspired Swedish heavy meta band Sabaton for the song and video ' Lady Of The Dark', published in 2022.