Cene Marković
| Vojvoda Cene Marković | |
|---|---|
 Cene Marković in Chetnik gear. | |
| Birth name | Aleksandar Marković |
| Nickname(s) | Cene |
| Born |
1864 Jelošnik, Ottoman Empire (now R. Macedonia) |
| Allegiance |
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| Years of service | 1905–18 |
| Rank | vojvoda |
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Aleksandar Marković (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Марковић, 1864–1918+), known by his nickname Cene (Цене Марковић), was a Serbian Chetnik commander (voivoda) in Macedonia, in the Balkan Wars and World War I.
Life
Marković was born in the village of Jelošnik near Tetovo (now in the Republic of Macedonia).[1] He lived in his village for his first 15 years, then sought work in the Principality of Bulgaria, then a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire.[2] He finished training at the NCO school and served as a soldier, then returned to Bulgaria,[2] as a cavalry officer of the Bulgarian Army.[1]
He joined the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) and quickly became a voivoda (commander). After the massacre of Serbs in Kokošinje and Rudar by IMRO in 1905 he left the organisation, and joined the Serbian Chetnik Organization. Identifying as a Serb, he could not forgive the cruelty of the massacres, and fled at once at night and joined the Serbian bands,[3] operating on the left side of the Vardar, with his band in Upper Poreč and in the Gostivar region. He mainly fought against Albanian kachaks.[2]
With the outbreak of the First Balkan War in 1912, he joined the Chetnik detachment of Vojislav Tankosić and participated in fighting in Merdare, destroying the Ottoman border stations.[2] In World War I he fought against the Austro-Hungarians in Belgrade, then was sent to his home region to monitor the IMRO.[2] In 1915, with the fall of Serbia, the Bulgarians attacked Tetovo, killing Marković's horse, but he survived and escaped into Albania.[2] He fought on the Macedonian Front.[2] During this time he married in Bitola, then returned to fighting in the north.[2] When the war ended, he returned to his village, which was devastated, the houses having been burnt down by the Bulgarians.[2]
References
- 1 2 Jovanović 1937, p. 303.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Simo Živković (December 1998). "Sakupi se jedna četa mala". Srpsko-nasledje.rs. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ↑ Đurić & Mijović 1993, p. 84.
Sources
- Jovanović, Aleksa (1937). Spomenica dvadesetogodišnjice oslobodjenja Južne Srbije, 1912-1937 (in Serbian). Južna Srbija.
- Đurić, Veljko Đ.; Mijović, Miličko (1993). Ilustrovana istorija četničkog pokreta (in Serbian).
- Trbić, Vasilije (1996). Memoari: 1898-1912 (in Serbian). Kultura.
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With the outbreak of the First Balkan War (1912), the organization was put under the supervision of the Serbian Army (see Chetniks in the Balkan Wars) | |