Milunka Savic - the most decorated woman soldier in the First World War

Milunka Savic (06/24/1890 – 05/10/1973)  according to certain sources was the most decorated woman soldier in the First World War.

Milunka Savic during WW1

Born in Koprivnica near Raska, Serbia, disguised as a boy she enlisted to the army in a place of her brother and participated in many battles. At the Battle of Bregalnica during the Second Balkan War she was wounded and the hospital examination revealed her gender.



During the First World War she again voluntarily enlisted in the Serbian army,  but she was rejected this time since her secret was already revealed. Yet, she was persistent and managed to reach the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Command, "Voivoda" Radomir Putnik. He also refused at first and offered her position as a nurse, but due to her further persistence she was accepted and assigned to the Second Infantry Regiment of the Morava Division "Prince Mihailo" or better known as the "Iron Regiment".



Her regiment participated in the battles of Drina, Cer, and Kolubara. At the Battle of Kolubara, Milunka proved herself as a bomber and in 1915 she was honored with the Gold Order of Mercy "Milos Obilic".

During the retreat of the Serbian army through Albania, in Tirana, Milunka receives her promotion to lance sergeant, and with her fellow soldiers, they were transferred to Bizerte (Bizerta) in Tunisia, where Milunka recovered from her previous injuries. After recovering in Bizerte, in April 1916, they are transferred to Marseille, and from there to the newly-formed Macedonian Front.
At the Battle of Crna (Black) River she alone managed to capture 23 Bulgarian soldiers and was awarded with Karadjordje star. At the battle near Grunishte village, she was again wounded.
In March 1917, Milunka Savic was honored with the French Legion of Honor of the 5th degree (knight) in Thessaloniki for her courage in fighting at the hill 1212.

There is an interesting story of a bet that Milunka had with a French officer, concerning her skill at throwing hand grenades. At the very first attempt, Milunka managed to hit a bottle of French cognac, set 40 meters away from her, and as a result of her victory, together with her comrades later that evening, they managed to destroy an entire crate of expensive French cognac.

In the spring of 1917, Milunka again was sent to Bizerte due to the consequences of her previous injuries. She spent the rest of 1917, and part of 1918, in Tunisia and in France. In July 1918, Milunka was honored with a French Cross with gold palm branches, an order that was established during World War I.
On July 19, 1918, together with other soldiers are boarded to the ship "Polinesia", and sent again to the Front. However, the ship was sunk by a German submarine along the way and many died. Milunka managed to escape from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea.
Demobilized in 1919 she lived in Belgrade where she worked as a postal worker. In 1923 she marries Veljko Gligorijevic whom she met in Mostar, but divorced him soon after the birth of their daughter Milena. Later, despite her difficult financial position Milunka adopts three more daughters and forgotten by everyone she works as a cleaning lady.

Milunka Savic in Paris in 1931

In 1945 Milunka was awarded a state pension but it is again insufficient for her family.
Long forgotten, during the commemoration of the anniversary of the First World War in 1972, she appears with all her decorations and receives a great number of compliments from other military personnel, especially from the French veterans of war.

Under pressure from the public, influenced by the published newspaper article that highlights her situation, Milunka was awarded an apartment in Belgrade, where she dies on October 5th, 1973. She was buried with military honors.



Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milunka_Savi%C4%87
• http://www.milunkasavic.rs
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7YXaFfjb6bZ7hCBazybS8w