Ilija Gojković

General
Ilija Gojković
38th Minister of the Army of the Kingdom of Serbia
In office
4 March 1910 – 11 February 1911
MonarchPeter I
Prime MinisterStojan Novaković
Nikola Pašić
Preceded byMilutin Marinović
Succeeded byStepa Stepanović
Personal details
Born(1854-08-02)2 August 1854
Drenovac, Principality of Serbia
Died15 February 1917(1917-02-15) (aged 62)
Ionian Sea, near Sicily, Kingdom of Italy
Military service
Allegiance Principality of Serbia
 Kingdom of Serbia
Branch/serviceRoyal Serbian Army
Years of service1870–1917
RankGeneral
Unit1st Morava Infantry Division
Timok Army
Battles/warsBalkan Wars

World War I

Ilija Gojković (Serbian Cyrillic: Илија Гојковић[needs IPA]; 2 August 1854 – 15 February 1917) was a Serbian military commander and Minister of Defence.[1]

He served during the Serbian–Turkish Wars, the Balkan Wars and during the Serbian Campaign (part of the larger Balkans Campaign) during World War I. He became well-known for commanding the Serbs in the east around Timok.

Career

Gojković was the Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Serbia from 4 March 1910 to 24 February 1911. He commanded Morava division 1st ban during the Battle of Cer and was criticized by the commander of the 2nd army, general Stepa Stepanović for lackluster performance on the first day of the battle, but performed well thereafter and contributed significantly to the Serbian victory.

Death

While traveling to the Salonica front, his boat was hit by a German torpedo boat near Sicily. Gojković refused to surrender and was killed while shooting back at the torpedo boat. He drowned in the Ionian Sea.[2]

Gojković was the highest ranking member of the Serbian Army that died in combat during the First World War.[3]

References

  1. ^ Sević, Jelena (6 May 2014). "Čovek koji je pucao na nemačku podmornicu" (in Serbian). RTS. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  2. ^ Đeneral Božanović, Politika, issue 4931, 15 January 1922, pg. 2
  3. ^ Knežević, Kosta (5 February 2017). "Zaboravljeni pomorski vojvoda" (in Serbian). Politika. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
Government offices
Preceded by Minister of Defence
1910–1911 		Succeeded by