Dragoljub Jeličić

Dragoljub Jeličić (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгољуб Јеличић; c. 1902 – 1963) was one of the youngest soldiers in the Serbian Army during the First World War.

Dragoljub Jeličić
Bornc. 1902
Died1963 (aged 60–61)
Nikšić, SR Montenegro, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Allegiance Kingdom of Serbia
 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
RankLance Sergeant

Biography

The Jeličić family originally lived in Kordun, in present-day Croatia, but emigrated as refugees to the Serbian town Šabac, hoping for a better life there.[1] When Serbia was invaded by Austria-Hungary, Dragoljub had just begun elementary school. His father was among the ones that were killed in the initial battles of the war.[2]

As the Austro-Hungarian Army approached Belgrade, he participated in the attempts to defend the Serbian capital against the invading forces. Jeličić later managed to escape southwards to a unit stationed near Rudnik. During a battle for the Mačva region, he was wounded while replacing a machine gunner who had been killed earlier.[1] In Niš, he befriended Archibald Reiss, a professor in criminology who later would become known for his documentations of Austro-Hungarian war crimes against civilians during the occupation of Serbia. Reiss wrote about the encounter in his memoirs.[2] During the war, Jeličić was personally awarded the rank of Corporal by Prince-Regent Alexander.[2] Shortly before the age of fourteen, he was promoted to Lance Sergeant, and he participated in the battles at the Salonika Front. He was wounded six times in total during the course of the war.[1]

After the war had ended, he worked as an actor at the theatre in Nikšić.[1][3] During the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia in the Second World War, he joined the Yugoslav Partisan resistance movement. He died in Nikšić in 1963, leaving three daughters behind him.[1]

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See also
  • Momčilo Gavrić (1906–1993), youngest soldier of World War I (joined at the age of 8).

References
  1. Kadić, Veliša (22 February 2014). "Srpski junak od 12 godina". Večernje Novosti. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  2. Levental, Zdenko (1992). Rodolphe Archibald Reiss: criminaliste et moraliste de la Grande guerre. Lausanne, Switzerland: L'AGE D'HOMME. pp. 39–40. ISBN 9782825101971. ...C'est aussi à Nis que j'ai fait connaissance d'un soldat qui devait devenir mon ami. C'est le petit Dragoljub Jelicic qui avait alors douze ans. Quand la guerre éclata, il était en classe de première au lycée de Sabac. Son père, cordonnier, était tombé lors des premiers combats. C'est alors que Dragoljub part venger son père. Il prend part aux combats, il tire, il jette des bombes. Lorsqu'il est blessé au bras et qu'on lui retire la balle, il refuse qu'on l'endorme. Sans un mot, il endure l'opération et quand elle est terminée, il prononce le plus beau juron de troupier à l'adresse des Boches. Le prince-régent Alexandre en personne lui a conféré le rang de caporal. Telle était la jeunesse serbe en 1914. Que la jeunesse actuelle apprenne à lui ressembler !... Deux jours plus tard, je partis pour Valjevo.
  3. Perović, Dragan. "Narodno Pozorište u Nikšiću". Montenegrina, digitalna biblioteka crnogorske kulture. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
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