General Diković laid a wreath at the tomb of Stepa Stepanovic
Sunday, 27.4.2014 | Culture and traditions
General Ljubisa Dikovic, Serbian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff has laid today, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, a laurel wreath on the tomb of Stepa Stepanovic, at the City Cemetery in Cacak. Besides General Dikovic, the delegation comprised Lieutenant General Aleksandar Zivkovic, Army Commander, and Brigadier General Marinko Pavlovic, Commander of the 2nd Army Brigade.
General Ljubisa Dikovic, Serbian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff has laid today, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, a laurel wreath on the tomb of Stepa Stepanovic, at the City Cemetery in Cacak. Besides General Dikovic, the delegation comprised Lieutenant General Aleksandar Zivkovic, Army Commander, and Brigadier General Marinko Pavlovic, Commander of the 2nd Army Brigade.
Laurel wreath laying and paying state and military honours are to mark 85th anniversary of the death of the famous military leader.
At the tomb of Field Marshal Stepanovic, laurel wreaths and flowers were laid by representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, Moravica administrative district, representatives of the City of Cacak, organizations and associations for fostering the tradition of the Serbian liberation wars. On this occasion, General Dikovic said that there are people who never die, immortals, those whose ideas and actions remain inscribed in golden letters in the national and world history, forever present in the collective consciousness of the descendants.
- Field Marshal Stepa Stepanovic is certainly one of them, as he built all his physical, moral and spiritual capabilities into the freedom and honour of his people. For the last 46 years, from 1874, when he donned the uniform of the Artillery School cadet, until 1919, when he retired from active service, he steadily went on a war path of the Serbian Armed Forces, thorny but crowned with eternal glory. He fought in two liberation wars against Turkey from 1876 until 1878, the Serbian-Bulgarian war in 1885, the First and the Second Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913, respectively, and in the First World War from 1914 to 1918, becoming one of the greatest military leaders that Serbia ever had. In our history, Field Marshal Stepa is remembered as a legendary commander of the 2nd Army, which he led from the beginning of the First Balkan War until the end of the First World War. Under his command, this Army was successfully besieging Adrianople, fought in the valley of the Vardar River, the old Serb-Bulgarian border, on Cer, Drina and Kolubara, Chief of General Staff emphasized.
According to him, in the history of the art of war, pure and simple concept has always written the most beautiful pages. Under constant struggle, Stepa's army managed not only to stop the progressing of the adversary, but he also caused his shattered troops to run away. Thus, largely due to Stepa's merit, it was in Serbia that the first major Allied victory of the Central Powers in the Great War was won. For this victory, Stepa was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal.
- Stepa gained boundless merits in the reorganization of the Serbian army at Corfu and in the battles on the Salonika front, but his greatest achievement is considered the breakthrough in the Salonika front, which was made exactly by his army. After the end of the Great War, Field Marshal Stepa said that "there are few mortals whose destiny is to live long enough to see the fruits gained by victims and see the centuries-old dreams come true". We today, and the generations to come, must never forget the sacrifice of our forefathers, heroes of the Great War, at any cost. Their works are a beacon that illuminates the present and future of Serbia by everlasting light of historical truth.
The fruits of their accomplishments must be kept, as the most precious assets of the homeland, general Dikovic said and pointed out that we have to learn also another life lesson from Field Marshal Stepa – although he was undoubtedly among the most deserving of his time, Stepa was a modest man, ready to sacrifice himself for his people and his homeland, without expecting rewards, and not caring about honour and personal gain.
- He spoke: "I originate from the people. The people made me what I am now. I have to obey their will and serve them until my last breath". So he always did, and this Stepa's thought can be rightly considered his life's wisdom. May the soul of our immortal Field Marshal Stepa Stepanovic rest in eternal peace and thank him, Chief of General Staff said.
Within the artistic programme, actor Nenad Ciric recited a speech by General Stepanovic in the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Serbia on the occasion of receiving the rank of Field Marshal.
The ceremony was organized by the Board of the Government of Serbia for preserving the tradition of Serbian liberation wars in cooperation with the City of Cacak.
Field Marshal Stepa Stepanovic was one of the most important military commanders in Serbia during the liberation wars between 1912 and 1918. He was the holder of a number of high-ranking Serbian and foreign decorations. He spent the last decade of his life in Cacak, where he died on 27th April 1929.
Laurel wreath laying and paying state and military honours are to mark 85th anniversary of the death of the famous military leader.
At the tomb of Field Marshal Stepanovic, laurel wreaths and flowers were laid by representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, Moravica administrative district, representatives of the City of Cacak, organizations and associations for fostering the tradition of the Serbian liberation wars. On this occasion, General Dikovic said that there are people who never die, immortals, those whose ideas and actions remain inscribed in golden letters in the national and world history, forever present in the collective consciousness of the descendants.
- Field Marshal Stepa Stepanovic is certainly one of them, as he built all his physical, moral and spiritual capabilities into the freedom and honour of his people. For the last 46 years, from 1874, when he donned the uniform of the Artillery School cadet, until 1919, when he retired from active service, he steadily went on a war path of the Serbian Armed Forces, thorny but crowned with eternal glory. He fought in two liberation wars against Turkey from 1876 until 1878, the Serbian-Bulgarian war in 1885, the First and the Second Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913, respectively, and in the First World War from 1914 to 1918, becoming one of the greatest military leaders that Serbia ever had. In our history, Field Marshal Stepa is remembered as a legendary commander of the 2nd Army, which he led from the beginning of the First Balkan War until the end of the First World War. Under his command, this Army was successfully besieging Adrianople, fought in the valley of the Vardar River, the old Serb-Bulgarian border, on Cer, Drina and Kolubara, Chief of General Staff emphasized.
According to him, in the history of the art of war, pure and simple concept has always written the most beautiful pages. Under constant struggle, Stepa's army managed not only to stop the progressing of the adversary, but he also caused his shattered troops to run away. Thus, largely due to Stepa's merit, it was in Serbia that the first major Allied victory of the Central Powers in the Great War was won. For this victory, Stepa was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal.
- Stepa gained boundless merits in the reorganization of the Serbian army at Corfu and in the battles on the Salonika front, but his greatest achievement is considered the breakthrough in the Salonika front, which was made exactly by his army. After the end of the Great War, Field Marshal Stepa said that "there are few mortals whose destiny is to live long enough to see the fruits gained by victims and see the centuries-old dreams come true". We today, and the generations to come, must never forget the sacrifice of our forefathers, heroes of the Great War, at any cost. Their works are a beacon that illuminates the present and future of Serbia by everlasting light of historical truth.
The fruits of their accomplishments must be kept, as the most precious assets of the homeland, general Dikovic said and pointed out that we have to learn also another life lesson from Field Marshal Stepa – although he was undoubtedly among the most deserving of his time, Stepa was a modest man, ready to sacrifice himself for his people and his homeland, without expecting rewards, and not caring about honour and personal gain.
- He spoke: "I originate from the people. The people made me what I am now. I have to obey their will and serve them until my last breath". So he always did, and this Stepa's thought can be rightly considered his life's wisdom. May the soul of our immortal Field Marshal Stepa Stepanovic rest in eternal peace and thank him, Chief of General Staff said.
Within the artistic programme, actor Nenad Ciric recited a speech by General Stepanovic in the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Serbia on the occasion of receiving the rank of Field Marshal.
The ceremony was organized by the Board of the Government of Serbia for preserving the tradition of Serbian liberation wars in cooperation with the City of Cacak.
Field Marshal Stepa Stepanovic was one of the most important military commanders in Serbia during the liberation wars between 1912 and 1918. He was the holder of a number of high-ranking Serbian and foreign decorations. He spent the last decade of his life in Cacak, where he died on 27th April 1929.
