VICTORIOUS SERBIAN ARMY ENTERED NIŠ WITH MARCH ON THE DRINA

BIJELJINA, OCTOBER 11 /SRNA/ – The Serbian military march March on the Drina, composed by Stanislav Binički, was first performed on the streets of Niš, which had just been liberated during the First World War, on October 12, 1918.

To the sound of this march, the Drina Division of the Serbian Army marched triumphantly.

March on the Drina is a traditional Serbian military march composed by Stanislav Binički in Valjevo at the beginning of the First World War, in honour of the Serbian Army’ victory over the Austro-Hungarian at the Battle of Cer in tribute to Milivoje Stojanović, commander of the Iron Regiment.

The composition became a symbol of Serbs’ courage during the First World War. Despite suffering heavy human losses, the Serbs emerged from the war victorious.

The victory of the numerically smaller Serbian army over the superior Austro-Hungarian forces also marked the first Allied triumph of the First World War.

The composition March on the Drina received the highest number of votes in a 1992 referendum on Serbia’s national symbols.

However, the referendum was subsequently annulled due to insufficient voter turnout.

The song remained Serbia’s unofficial national anthem until 2004, when “Bože pravde/God of Justice” was officially proclaimed the national anthem.