Stepa Stepanovic
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Stepa Stepanovic ( Степа Степановић, Stepa Stepanović; March 2, 1856 - April 29, 1929) was a field-marshal (vojvoda) of the Serbian and Yugoslavian Armies who participated in Serbia's wars from 1876 to 1918. He was born in the village of Kumodraz outside of Belgrade on March 2, 1856. He joined the Serbian army in 1874, as a cadet in the artillery school. He was an active officer untill the end of 1919, when he retired from service as the commander in chief of the Serbian army.
Stepa.jpg
Image:stepa.jpg
Stepa Stepanovic
Photo courtesy of
freesrpska.org (http://www.freesrpska.org)
Stepanovic obtained significant achievements in the war against the Turks, especially in the Battle of Jedren. He pulled out a great victory in WWI at the Cer mountain, where his Second Army completely defeated the Austrian Fifth Army . The Battle of Cer was the first allied victory of the war, and he was promoted to Field-Marshal. It was then that Stepanovic became commander-in-chief of the Serbian army. His army achieved success in the battles at Drina and Kolubara rivers, in addition to the defence of Serbia in 1915. In 1918 he was again in command of the Second Army which was a part of the large Allied offensive in Macedonia ,they achieved a breakthrough on September 17. This Duke's army forced Bulgaria to surrender on September 29th 1919. He's acquainted as the final liberator of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He died in the town of Cacak on April 29, 1929. During his career he was also serving as the minister of defence on two occasions and was decorated with the "Takovski krst sa ukrstenim macevima" medal for bravery during the 1876-1878 wars against the Turks.
External links
www.firstworldwar.com (http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/stepanovic.htm) www.vj.yu (http://www.vj.yu/vojna_istorija/Stepa_Stepanovic.htm)