The Serbian Army in the Wars for Independence Against Turkey 1876-1878

Description

The Wars for Independence, also called the First and the Second Serbo-Turkish Wars 1876-1878, were the first military conflicts in the modern history of the Serbian state, after which the Principality of Serbia gained full independence at the Berlin Congress., There are many written sources concerning the wars of 1876-78. Some of them date from between 1877 to the lull between two world wars, and some many years later. Nevertheless, the fact is that today this bright period of Serbian history is almost forgotten. This book offers to a very thorough analysis of the Serbian Army of the period, its organization, participation in military operations, weapons, equipment, uniforms, and the system of orders and medals that had just been introduced. It is a synthesis of all available literature, published for the first time in the English language, and contains extensive visual material and photographs, including colour uniform plates, contemporary paintings, portraits and photographs and many colour photographs of preserved artifacts and documents. A special emphasis is placed on the colourful aspects of Serbian uniforms from the epoch. After the Crimean War, when photographers were reporting from the field of military conflict for the first time, coverage of the American Civil War and Franco-Prussian War followed, as did the Balkan wars of 1876-78. This book offers remarkable photographs of the time, showing all manner of aspects of the Serbian campaigns, including uniforms, military formations, artillery, telegraphs, liberated towns, and wounded soldiers. It is up to readers to open the book, and enter into this unknown and unexpected territory. The book is the result of two decades of research and will enable readers to gain a clearer picture on this fascinating subject.

Dusan Babac was born in 1969 in Belgrade, from a family with a military tradition, and has been interested in military history and uniforms since an early age. He is an associate of the Belgrade Military Museum and Serbian History Museum. Since 1995 he has published a large number of articles in Serbia (Vojska, Odbrana), Slovenia (Obramba), France (Militaria Magazine, Gazette des Uniformes, Steel Masters, Ligne de front, Aero-Journal), Russia (Zeughaus), Germany (Deutsche Militarzeitschrift), Italy (Uniformi e Armi) and Japan (Air World). He is also a well-known author or co-author of books about the military history of Serbia, Montenegro and Yugoslavia, including the following: Armies in the Balkans 1914-18 for Osprey Publishing, 2001; Special Units of the Royal Yugoslav Army in the April War, Belgrade, 2006; with Cedomir Vasic and Miladin Markovic: Montenegrin Army 1896-1916, Belgrade, 2007; Elite Branches of the Royal Yugoslav Army in the April War, Belgrade, 2008; with Cedomir Vasic: The Guards in Serbia 1829-1945, Belgrade, 2009; The Serbian Hussar, Belgrade, 2010; with Zoran Vesic: Serbian Armed Forces, Belgrade, 2011, The Serbian Army in Wars for Independence 1876-1878, Belgrade, 2011; with Biljana Crvenkovic, Tijana Boric and Ana Radovanovic: The Royal Compound in Dedinje, Belgrade, 2013; as an editor: King Peter II of Yugoslavia A King's Heritage - The Memoirs, Belgrade, 2013. He is one of four authors of the exhibition and catalogue Official Dress in Serbia in the 19th and 20th Century, organised in 2001 in the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. he has acted as a consultant for uniforms in more than 10 feature films and theatre plays in Serbia. Dusan is also a member of the Privy Council of HRH Crown Prince Alexander II of Serbia and holder of the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the White Eagle. This is his first book for Helion & Company.