Retreat: from Niš to Corfu (1915‐1916) – Silent Witnesses
Milan Radovanović’s latest book was published in 2023 in Belgrade. It is written in Serbian with the original title Повлачење: Од Ниша До Крфа (1915-1916) – Неми Сведоци translated into English as Retreat: from Niš to Corfu (1915‐1916) – Silent Witnesses.
The part of the material relating to the retreat of the Serbian army and the role of foreign medical and military missions was partially published in Milan Radovanovic’s previous two books: Allies and Serbs in the Great War (1914-1915) – Silent Witnesses and Allies and Serbs in the Great War (1916-1918) – Silent Witnesses. In those works, insufficient attention and space were dedicated to the withdrawal of Serbian refugees, Allied military and medical missions, as well as prisoners of war in enemy territories. Considering what has been written so far, it is evident that this tragic and painful chapter of Serbian history has not received adequate attention, nor have the harrowing events during the march through Montenegro and Albania to Greece in winter—amid Albanian attacks—been fully acknowledged.
The subtitle of this book is also Silent Witnesses, referring to documents, photographs, and correspondence. Among these, wartime correspondence was especially significant as it served as a primary source of news. It caused happiness or unhappiness, joy or sadness, hope or disappointment, for both the soldiers in retreat and their families left behind in Serbia.
A substantial portion of the historical documents used from this period reflect the personal perspectives of foreign participants (the Allies) and examples of postal history.
Available by the author at radmi@sbb.rs, mobile: +381 638024913.
