Krsta Kovačević
Krsta Kovačević–Trgoviški | |
---|---|
2 July 1910 | |
Nickname(s) | Krsta Trgoviški, Krsta Preševski (Крста Прешевски) |
Born | 1877 Trgovište, Preševo kaza, Kosovo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Serbia) |
Died | January 30, 1948 (aged 69) Preševo, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) |
Allegiance |
|
Years of service | 1903–24 |
Rank | Voivode (Vojvoda) |
Battles/wars | Macedonian Struggle Balkan Wars World War I |
Krsta Kovačević (Serbian Cyrillic: Крста Ковачевић; 1877—January 30, 1948), known as Krsta Trgoviški (Крста Трговишки), was a Serbian Chetnik commander that was active in Old Serbia and Macedonia during the Macedonian Struggle (1903–08), then participated in the Balkan Wars (1912–13) and World War I (1914–18). In Bulgaria he is considered a Bulgarian renegade who switched sides, i.e. (sic) Serboman.
Early life
Kovačević was born in the village of Trgovište in the Pčinja region, which at the time was administratively part of the Preševo kaza (administrative region) of the Kosovo Vilayet in the Ottoman Empire (now located in Serbia). He was a blacksmith in his birth village until 1900, when he murdered an Ottoman soldier who beat up his younger brother Spiro. He fled to the Principality of Bulgaria where he worked as a labourer on the railways in Sofia.
IMRO
Kovačević was soon noticed by the pro-Bulgarian Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), which recruited him into the organization. He was initially part of the četa (band) of general Ivan Tsonchev, where he became best friends with Krastyo Lazarov, the later IMRO commander of Kumanovo. At the time of the Ilinden Uprising (1903) he was part of the band of IMRO commander of Skopje, Nikola Pushkarov, at which time he used his experience as a railway worker to blow up the rail near the village of Novačani. After Pushkarov's withdrawal, Kovačević joined the band of Todor Panitsa whose band after several unsuccessful skirmishes was forced to take shelter in Vranje, in the Kingdom of Serbia. There, Kovačević befriended Živojin Rafajlović, and determined to join the newly self-organized Serbian Chetnik Organization, thus he left the Bulgarian organization which had up until then had many Serbian fighters in its ranks (as there was no self-organized Serbian organization prior to 1904).
Serbian Organization
In 1904, Kovačević was awarded the title of vojvoda, and he commanded several notable fighters who later became commanders themselves, such as Vojislav Tankosić and Vojin Popović-Vuk. After the Young Turk Revolution (1908), he lived a peaceful life in Preševo until 1909, when he discovered just in time that the Turks sought to murder him, which made him leave for the woods.
- Cheta of Krsta Kovačević-Trgoviški, 1905
- Group photo, taken during the Young Turk Revolution (1908). Krsta standing third in the second row (from the top), in dark attire.
- Group photo of some of the Serbian voivodes, 1908. Krsta standing third.
First Balkan War
In the First Balkan War he participated as a vojvoda in the Chetnik detachment of vojvoda Vojin Popović-Vuk, his old friend. He participated in the battles of Kumanovo, Mukos and Bakarna Gumna.
World War I
Kovačević participated in World War I as well, alongside six of his brothers and cousins. He independently led his band through Albania in 1915–16, and participated in the breakthrough of the Salonika front.
Later years
In 1924 he led a band that pursued the band of Vancho Mihailov and bands of Albanian kachaks. During the German occupation of Serbia (1941–44) he lived secretly in Leskovac. He died in 1948, in Preševo.
Sources
- Trbić, Vasilije (1996). Memoari: 1898-1912 (in Serbian). Kultura.
- v
- t
- e
- Aksentije Bacetović-Baceta
- Borko Paštrović
- Boško Mitrović-Virjanac
- Doksim Mihailović-Debarac
- Dušan Dimitrijević-Dule
- Đorđe Ristić-Skopljanče
- Đorđe Cvetković-Drimkolski
- Gligor Sokolović-Nebregovski
- Ilija Trifunović-Birčanin
- Ilija Jovanović-Pčinjski
- Jovan Cvetković-Dolgač
- Jovan Stojković-Babunski
- Jovan Stanojković-Dovezenski
- Kosta Milovanović-Pećanac
- Krsta Kovačević-Trgoviški
- Lazar Kujundžić-Klempa
- Ljuba Jezdić-Razvigora
- Micko Krstić-Porečki
- Nikola Skadarac
- Pavle Mladenović-Čiča
- Petar Kacarević
- Petar Koćura
- Petko Ilić-Nagorički
- Rade Radivojević-Dušan
- Savatije Milošević
- Spasa Pavlović-Garda
- Sreten Rajković-Rudnički
- Todor Krstić-Algunjski
- Trenko Rujanović
- Vasilije Trbić
- Vojin Popović-Vuk
- Vojislav Tankosić-Voja
- Zafir Premčević
- Aleksa Komnenić
- Aleksandar Arsić
- Aleksandar Blagojević-Kočanski
- Aleksandar Simić
- Alimpije Marjanović-Ovčepoljski
- Anđelko Aleksić
- Anđel Đorđević
- Aranđel Bojković
- Arsa Gavrilović
- Atanasije Sredojević
- Blagoje Krušić
- Bogdan Jugović Hajnc
- Bogdan Kostić-Čačanin
- Bogdan Maksimović
- Bogdan Radenković
- Bogosav Srećković
- Branivoje Jovanović-Brana
- Boško Čupić
- Božin Simić
- Božin Teofilović
- Cene Marković
- Cvetko Vasić
- Čuma
- Danilo Stojanović-Dane
- Danilo Krapjanin
- Danilo Smiljković
- Dejan Jekić-Dragomir
- Denko Božinović
- Denko Dajlević
- Denko Kumanovče
- Denko Somov
- Dimitrije Dimitrijević-Mita
- Dimitrije Aleksić-Ditko
- Dončo Crnorijski
- Dragiša Kovačević
- Dragiša Stojadinović
- Dragoljub Džilić-Stric
- Dragoljub Urošević-Podrinac
- Dragoljub Nikolić
- Dragomir Protić
- Dragomir Vasiljević
- Dragutin Jovanović-Lune
- Dragutin Antić-Alavantić
- Dušan Hadži-Jovanović
- Dušan Savković
- Dušan Sekulić
- Đoka Živković
- Đorđe Cvetković-Drimkolski
- Đorđe Đerđiković
- Đorđe Sokolović-Kratovac
- Đorđe Vuković-Užičanin
- Đoša Beljanovče
- Đura Ivanišević
- Emilio Milutinović
- Jaćim Mladenović
- Jaćim Pavlović-Jaćko
- Joca Mirčić
- Jovan Božinović
- Jovan Grković-Gapon
- Jovan Naumović-Osogovski
- Jovan Pešić-Strelac-Topličanin
- Jovan Protić
- Josif Jovanović-Belocrkvanac
- Josif Katić
- Josif Mihailović
- Koce Janković
- Koce Krstić
- Lazar Simić
- Ljubomir Vulović
- Ljuba Jovanović-Čupa
- Manasija Nikolić
- Marko Ibler
- Mateja Šumenković
- Mihailo Bošković
- Mihailo Josifović
- Mihailo Jovanović-Brodski
- Mihailo Petrović
- Mihailo Ristić-Džervinac
- Milan Aleksić
- Milan Palanka
- Milan Popović
- Milan Štipljanče
- Milivoje Čolak-Antić
- Miša Aleksić-Marinko
- Nace Janković
- Naum Marković
- Nikola Jablaničanin
- Nikola Janković-Kosovski
- Nikola Lukić-Skadarac
- Omilj Glišić
- Pandilo Ćoreski-Drimkolski
- Panta Radosavljević-Dunavski
- Pavle Blažarić-Bistrički
- Petar Đinović
- Petar Maričić
- Petar Todorović-Pera
- Projče Virjanac
- Raško Anastasijević
- Rista Cvetković-Porečki
- Rista Kovačević
- Rista Petrović-Porečki
- Rista Popović-Beranac
- Rista Starački
- Sava Petković
- Sava Petrović-Grmija
- Sekula Vlahović
- Serafim Smiljanac
- Spasa Tanović-Metohijski
- Stamenko Stanišić
- Stevan Nedić-Ćela
- Stevan Simić
- Stevan Pavlović
- Stojan Koruba
- Svetozar Ranković-Toza
- Tasa Konević
- Temeljko Barjaktarević
- Todor Stojković
- Toma Krstić
- Trajko Brodski-Porečki
- Trajko–Koporan Čauš
- Trajko Prizrenac
- Vanđel Dimitrijević-Skopljanče
- Vasilije Kostić
- Velibor Trebinjac
- Velimir Prelić
- Velimir Vemić
- Veljko Petrović-Kičevski
- Vlada T. Milanović-Voskar
- Vladimir Kovačević-Vlada Maleški
- Žika Milosavljević
- Živko Gvozdić
- Živojin Balugdžić
- Živojin Milovanović-Žika
- Battle of Šuplji Kamen (27 May 1904)
- Battle of Tabanovce (27 March 1905)
- Battle of Čelopek (16 April 1905)
- Battle of Velika Hoča (25 May 1905)
- Battle of Čelopek (1906)
- Young Turk Revolution (1908)