PAVLE JURIŠIĆ ŠTURM - FAMOUS GENERAL OF THE SERBIAN ARMY

BIJELJINA, AUGUST 21 /SRNA/ - The famous Serbian general of Lusatian origin, Pavle Jurišić Šturm, who played a major role in the Serbian Army's victories over the Austro-Hungarian forces in the Battles of Cer and Kolubara, was born on August 22, 1848.

Šturm joined the Serbian Army as a volunteer with the rank of lieutenant and distinguished himself as early as the First Serbian-Ottoman War /1876-1877/, when he commanded the Šabac and Posavina-Tamnava battalions.

He successfully commanded the First Volunteer Regiment and later the Krajina Combined Regiment in the battles near Bela Palanka and Pirot.

During the Serbian-Bulgarian War /1885/, Šturm commanded the Sixth Regiment of the Drina Division; during the First Balkan War /1912-1913/, he commanded the Drina Division; and during the Second Balkan War /1913/, the Danube Division.

In the First World War, as commander of the Third Army, he bore the brunt of the initial assault by the considerably superior Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army and slowed its advance, allowing Serbian forces to regroup for the Battle of Cer. He also commanded the Third Army during the Battle of Kolubara and on the Salonika Front until August 1916.

According to Serbian sources, Šturm was of Lusatian Serbian origin. He attended military academies in Wrocław and Nancy, while during the Franco-Prussian War he served as a platoon commander on the side of the Kingdom of Prussia. After arriving in Serbia, he changed his name to Pavle Jurišić and added his former surname, Šturm, as a nickname.

Because of his friendship with King Peter I, Šturm was appointed the king's first adjutant and accompanied him on all his travels.

He was awarded the Order of the Karađorđe Star, the Order of the White Eagle and numerous Allied decorations, including the Order of the Crown of Italy, the Order of St. George, the Order of the Crown of Belgium, the Legion of Honour and the Order of St. Michael.

His most prestigious decoration was the Order of the Paulownia Flowers, Grand Cross, personally awarded to him by the Japanese Emperor.

Šturm was also a recipient of the Iron Cross, the Order of St. Leopold and the Order of the Medjidie, decorations awarded to him by the future Central Powers. He is regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of the First World War and of Serbian military history.

Pavle's biological brother, Evgenije Jurišić Šturm, was also a volunteer in the Serbian Army.

Pavle Jurišić Šturm died in 1922.