I wanted to see the heron again
It was the monthly meeting of the Peterborough Military History Group this week and the talk was about the Great War in Serbia with particular reference to six female soldiers and a boy who all fought with distinction. It was quite an eye-opener. I knew the basics, but wasn’t aware that the massacre of Serb civilians was commonplace during the occupation. or that there had been so many female soldiers in the Serbian Army. That’s why history is important. Although I knew there were problems between Balkan states, I hadn’t realised that Serbia had lost between 21 and 27% of its population during the war, including the systematic massacre of civilians by the Central Powers. There was also quite a problem with Albania in the Great Retreat. In the retreat King Peter, veteran of three previous wars and a guerilla campaign, led the civilian column, walking every step of the way and refusing to ride a horse as others had to walk. He was 71 years old. You can see why his people venerated him.
I’m practicing to be artistic.
The “boy” of the talk’s title, Momčilo Gavrić “enlisted” at the age of eight when his parents, grandmother and seven siblings were killed by Croat troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was adopted by an artillery unit and provided them with information on the location of the troops that committed the crime. The battery was able to open fire on the troops and they allowed him to fire one of the guns to take his revenge. He had an interesting life, but I’ll let you read the rest of it by following the link.
It was, as I say, an interesting talk, and shows what happens when generations of struggle breaks out into warfare, and why that warfare is more savage than you sometimes expect. However, the real question is, what can we do about breaking the cycle? The evidence I see today is not making me optimistic about peace, or even common sense.
Not tempted one of these into the garden yet . . .
