Simović, born on 28 October 1882 in Kragujevac, attended elementary school and two years of high school in his hometown. Due to his interest in military matters, he left high school and entered the Military Academy in Belgrade. He completed the Military Academy course in 1900, when he was promoted to second lieutenant of artillery. He completed the Higher School of the Military Academy in 1905. During the Balkan Wars (1912–13) and during the First World War (1914–1918), he proved an excellent officer. He won promotion in 1913, and again, in 1915, to lieutenant colonel.[2]
At the Salonika front, he commanded the 7th Infantry Regiment. But even while working in the Salonika front as an infantry commander, Simović was interested in air power and in air defense. Every day he became more and more interested in the works of flight pioneer Mihailo Petrović (1884-1913), reading Petrović's reports on the Balkan Wars, as well as his studies on aviation. So Simović decided to dedicate his career to aviation. In 1918, he was named to the delegates of the Serbian government and the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in Zagreb. Up to the onset of World War II he devoted himself exclusively to aviation.[3]
From May 1938 until 1940 he served as Chief of the General Staff, in which position he replaced General Milutin Nedić. He joined other officers in the March 1941 coup against the government of Dragiša Cvetković. After the coup, Simović became the new prime minister (27 March 1941). He did not have much time to make his mark on Yugoslav politics: on the wedding day of his daughter, 6 April 1941, Nazi GermanyinvadedYugoslavia,[4] which surrendered on 18 April 1941.
Simović fled Yugoslavia with his family on 15 April 1941. On 28 October 1941 Simović sent a message to the commander of the Chetniks, Draža Mihailović, and urged him to avoid premature actions and to avoid reprisals.[5]
He married Snežana Tadić (1883–1971), a Serbian-Ukrainian-Croatian pharmacist from Valjevo, and daughter of Milorad Tadić (1861–1940), in October 1908. They had three sons and four daughters.[6]
References
^A. W. Palmer, "Revolt in Belgrade, March 27, 1941,"History Today (March 1960) 10#3 pp 192-200.
^ Dusan Biber, "The Yugoslav Coup d'État, 27 March 1941" in John Erickson and David Dilks (eds), Barbarossa: The Axis and the Allies (Edinburgh University Press, 1994), pp.34-42
^ Dusan Biber, "The Yugoslav Coup d'État, 27 March 1941" in John Erickson and David Dilks (eds), Barbarossa: The Axis and the Allies (Edinburgh University Press, 1994), pp.34-42
