Svetozar Boroević von Bojna | |
|---|---|
 Borojevićc. 1913 | |
| Nickname | Lion of Isonzo[1] |
| Born | (1856-12-13)13 December 1856 |
| Died | 23 May 1920(1920-05-23) (aged 63) |
| Allegiance |  Austria-Hungary |
| Branch | Austro-Hungarian Army |
| Years of service | 1872–1918 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Battles / wars | See battles
|
| Awards | Military Merit Cross, Cross of the Order Star of Romania, Persian Order of the Sun and the Lion, Order of the Iron Crown (Austria), Knights' Cross of the Order of Leopold, Military Order of Maria Theresa |
Svetozar Boroević von Bojna (orBorojević) (13 December 1856 – 23 May 1920) was anAustro-Hungarian field marshal who was described as one of the finest defensive strategists of theFirst World War. He commanded Austro-Hungarian forces in theIsonzo front, for which he was nicknamed the "Lion of Isonzo".
For his service during the First World War, Boroević rose to the rank ofFeldmarschall before the end of the war in 1918, becoming the first and only Austro-Hungarian field marshal ofSouth Slavic descent.
Boroević was born to aSerbian Orthodox family on 13 December 1856 in the village ofUmetić,Croatian Military Frontier.[2][3] He was baptized in theSerbian Orthodox Church, most likely in the parish church inMečenčani, where his father served.[4][5] His father Adam Boroević was aGrenzer (border guard) officer, his mother was Stana (née Kovarbašić von Zborište).[6][7][8][page needed][9] His father took part in wars in Italy, Hungary andAustro-Hungarian campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878. He was awarded the silver medal for bravery.[10] As an old man, Boroević's father had built aSerbian Orthodox church as his endowment in Mečenčani, which was consecrated in 1877.[11] Boroević had a brother, Nikola, a colonel who also received Austrian noble status in 1917.[12]
Some sources state that Boroević was an ethnicSerb or of Serb origin.[13][14][15][16][17][18][6][19] Other sources regard him as an ethnicCroat or of Croat origin.[4][5][6][20][21][22][23][24][25] Allegedly, Boroević himself stated that he was a Croat and thatCroatia was his homeland.[26][27]
He joined cadet school at the age of ten.[8][page needed] After finishing grade school he moved toKamenica and laterGraz where he studied in military academies.[2] He attended the Liebenau cadet school in 1875.[2][7] After graduating from Military School he served as a Junior Officer in the army.[8][page needed] He advanced quickly through the ranks. He was a corporal in 1872, and later on May 1, 1875, he became a lieutenant.[2] He would also fight battles inBosnia in 1878.[8][page needed] In 1889, he married Leontina von Rosner, a daughter of a late Austrian colonel, Friedrich Ritter von Rosner. The couple had one son, Friedrich Borojević von Bojna, named after his mother's father. The son died in 1918.[citation needed]
Boroević was awarded for his service in the capture ofSarajevo. Svetozar would eventually become a commander in theCroatian Home Guard. Before theFirst World War, he commanded the42. Home Guard Infantry Division of theCroatian Home Guard.[28] In 1903 he was formally released from the Home Guard, already having been assigned to the Imperial & Royal Army in 1898. During war, the defensive troops were part of the Armed Forces commanded by the Supreme Army Command and could be used at the front. He distinguished himself in theAustro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878.[2] Because of his service, he was awardedMilitary Merit Cross.[2] Afterwards, he was promoted to the rank ofOberleutnant in 1880. From 1881 to 1883 he studied at the military academy inVienna.[2] Between 1887 and 1891 he underwent additional military training and worked as an instructor after that, and he would begin his teaching at theTheresian Military Academy. He would finish teaching there in 1891.[2] Svetozar became a major in May 1892.[2] In May 1895, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.[2] He would take control over abattalion of the 17th Infantry Regiment during the month of April in 1896.[2] In November 1897 he was promoted to Colonel.[2] Later he was appointed to chief of staff of the Seventh Corps of the Imperial & Royal Army in June 1898, where he remained until February 1904.[2] In 1904, he was promoted Major General and took control of the 14th Infantry Brigade.[2] In May 1905, he was created a Hungarian nobleman (since Croatia was one of the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown) with the attributevon Bojna by the Emperor & King.[2] From 1907 to 1912 he commanded to VII Landwehr Division.[2] On May 1, 1908, the monarch made him Field Marshal Lieutenant (Feldmarschallleutnant).[2] In September 1909 he was put in charge of the VI Corps inKassa.[2][6][29] He became the commander of the Sixth Corps of the I & R Army in April 1912 and on May 1, 1913, General of the Infantry.[2]
WhenWorld War I started in 1914 he was in command of the Sixth Corps onGalicia in theEastern Front.[2] He would distinguish himself at these battles.[8][page needed] On September 1, 1914, he became commander of theThird Army.[29][30] He would fight at theBattle of Komarów.[2] Later, in early October he liberated FortPrzemysl, providing a temporary relief in theSiege of Przemyśl.[2] His troops then pulled back to hold positions aroundLimanowa, at theDukla mountain pass, and elsewhere on the Carpathians, stopping theRussians from breaking out on theDanube. The Russian counter-offensive in February and March 1915 almost managed to push Boroević's Third Army back towardsHungary, but they managed to hold just enough for the German reinforcements to arrive and save the already endangeredBudapest and thePressburg bridgehead. They then proceeded to join the general Austro-Hungarian—Germanoffensive (with the Austro-Hungarian Fourth Army underArchduke Joseph Ferdinand and the German Eleventh Army underMackensen) that pushed back the Russians and eventually retook Przemysl.
His actions on other sections of the war appealed to EmperorFranz Joseph and on May 25, 1915, he was given command on theIsonzo front.[30] He arrived on May 27 with part of the Third Army with him and leaving the rest to Army GroupMackensen.[8][page needed] There Boroević became the Commander of theFifth Army, with which he organized a defense against theItalians to break countless offensives.[2][8][page needed][31] He finished building defenses and managing the logistics of his army by the end of May.[8][page needed] While there, Boroević's troops contained eleven Italian attacks and he was hailed as theKnight of Isonzo in Austria-Hungary, while his soldiers adored him and called himNaš Sveto! ("Our Sveto!"). For valor in combat, he was promoted to the rank of Generaloberst on 1 May 1916. On 23 August 1917 he rose to the position of commander of the Southwestern Front, which was later renamedArmy Group Boroević. He would later fight at theBattle of Caporetto.[2][8][page needed] In January 1918, he opposed Hungarian proposals to split Austria-Hungary's Army into separate Austrian and Hungarian units.[2][32] He becameField Marshal on 1 February 1918 and was also awarded numerous medals, including the highest order for Austro-Hungarian soldiers, theMilitary Order of Maria Theresia.[2] He led to defeat the southern prong of the last Austro-Hungarian offensive at theBattle of the Piave River.[33] The front was maintained until end of October 1918, when the Italian army launched the decisiveoffensive of Vittorio Veneto and non-Austrian troops left their positions following the secessions of their nations from the dual monarchy (Czechs and Slovaks on 28 October, South Slavs on 29 October, Hungary on 31 October). After that Boroević fell back toVelden, where he sent a telegram to the Emperor offering to march on Vienna to fight the anti-Habsburg revolution in the imperial capital. It is not certain whether the Emperor was given this message (Boroević doubted it); the offer was refused on behalf of the Emperor. After the Imperial & Royal Army had been demobilized by the Emperor on 6 November, Boroević was retired, by the I & R War Ministry in liquidation, by 1 December 1918.
After the demise and disintegration ofAustria-Hungary, Boroević decided to become a citizen of the newly createdKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He was not welcome despite offering his services to theNational Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.[34] So he stayed inCarinthia, now Austria's southernmost state; his personal belongings, which were on transport in Slovenia, the former Austrian crownland ofCarniola, were confiscated there. Boroević could not understand the mean treatment he had to experience, "the only field marshal the Southern Slavs had ever produced", as he wrote in his memoirs.
Boroević died in a hospital atKlagenfurt, the capital city of Carinthia. His body was transferred toVienna where he was entombed at the Central Cemetery (Grave no. 62 in the New Arcades to the right of the Church of St. Charles Borromeo). The grave had been paid for by the former emperorCharles, who lived in Switzerland then. He could not take part in the funeral, since he had been banished from Austria for his lifetime by theHabsburg Law since 3 April 1919.
In 1916, with the approval of the EmperorFranz Joseph I, on the proposal of theFaculty of Law and the Senate of theUniversity of Zagreb, Svetozar Borojević andArchduke Eugen were awarded the university's highest honorary degree,Doctor Honoris Causa in the field of social sciences, for their victory over the enemy and especially for the protection of hereditary grudge, and rights and cultural progress of Croats ("Ob eximia in limitibus imperii strenue defendendis ac imprimis in Croatum paterno solo iuribus atque litterarum et artium progressu tuendis merita"). The award ceremonies were held on 30 January 1916 (for Archduke Eugen) and 1 February 1916 (for Svetozar Borojević) at the Fifth Army's military apartment, 305 Military Field Post on the Italian front. Delegation for the award was made ofJosip Šilović;Milorad Stražnicki, dean of the Faculty of Law;Fran Barac, rector;Robert Frangeš-Mihanović, sculptor; and Andrija Kišur, clerk.[35][36]
Svetozar Borojević de Bojna, Srbin s Banije (selo Borojevići kraj Mečenčana, odnosno Kostajnice)
[described as "of Serb Grenzer family descent"]
son of a Serbian Grenzer family from Croatia.
regiments on this front; and one of the most successful Habsburg commanders was in fact a Serb from the old 'Military Frontier' region, Marshal Svetozar Boroevic, whose family had fought for the emperors through many generations.
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