Draft:Dragoljub Dzilic-Stric

Dragoljub Džilić-Stric (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгољуб Џилић-Стриц; Medveđa, near Trstenik, Principality of Serbia, around 1870 - Bizerte, then French Colony, now Tunisia, 18 February 1918) was an infantry second lieutenant in the Serbian army at Salonika during the breakthrough and a distinguished komita who fought in the Macedonian Struggle (and the wars in between: First Balkan War and Second Balkan War).

Biography

Dragoljub Džilić was born in the last couple of decades before the turn of the 20th century in Medveđa near Trstenik, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Spasoje Džilić, cafe owners. Dragoljub finished elementary school in Trstenik and high school in Leskovac before enrolling at a Military Academy in Belgrade.

Macedonian Struggle and after

From 1905 to 1908, he served as a volunteer Chetnik in southern Serbia and Macedonia with the famous voivodes, Vojin Popović Vuk and Vojislav Tankosić. Soon he became popular among the new recruits for protecting the younger and more inexperienced soldiers in battle, hence the nickname Stric or "uncle".

Dragoljub Džilić participated in almost all the skirmishes and battles against the Turks and Arnauts with the likes of Ljubomir Vulović, Jovan Babunski, Kosta Pecanac, Mihailo "Mikajle" Josifović, Ilija Trifunović Birčanin, Aksentije Bacetić, Lazar Kujundžić, Ilija Jovanović-Pčinjski, Dane Stojanović, Cene Marković, Petko Ilić, Jovan Dolgač, and Rade Radivojević. The Macedonian Struggle eventually blended into the First Balkan War. When on 1 October 1912, at Dubica near Merdare Dragoljub Džilić-Stric, on Tankosić's 'order, approached a Turkish watchtower unnoticed, and targeted a guard in front of the watchtower. With one shot, he killed the guard and that was the signal for the Chetniks to begin throwing their grenades at the Turkish bunker. This was followed by Chetnik attacks on other of checkpoints as well.After the Balkan Wars ended, World War I began. On 13 October 1914, Dragoljub S. Džilić-Stric' was awarded the Gold Medal and merits gained against Austria-Hungary and again another gold medal for zealous service on 31 May 1915 in Kragujevac against the combined forces of the Central Powers.

After the death of Vojislav Tankosić, Second Lieutenant Dragoljub Džilić-Stric transferred to the Chetnik detachment of Vojvoda Vuk who on 1 September 1916 was tasked with storming and seizing the village of Čaldžilar from the Bulgarians. On that day, Dzilić "had a malaria attack with a temperature close to 39 degrees". Just before leaving, the company commander came to his trench and said to him: "You, Džilić, since you are sick, you will stay where you are and take in the wounded, of whom there will certainly be, because the Bulgarians will defend themselves desperately." - "Better take out your revolver and kill me." - "answered the Uncle hoarsely, and his eyes flashed with the glow of embers in the thickest darkness." Although he was wounded in the right thigh in this battle, he did not want to leave the company, he begged the squad doctor to visit him from time to time and bandage his wound.

Later, on 14 January 1918, in Thessaloniki, he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle with swords.

In the last battle of the Salonika front, Dragoljub Džilić was wounded once again. With his wound bandaged but not yet healed, another attack was ordered on the fortified Bulgarian position of Siva Stena, where Džilić received his third wound, this time in the chest. Unable to sustain the pain much longer, he was hospitalized in Thessaloniki. Later, he was sent overseas in a French hospital ship to Bizerte for treatment, where he died of influenza on 18 February 1918.

He was buried in a Serbian cemetery in Bizerte, Africa.

See also

• List of Chetnik voivodes

References

• Translated and adopted from a biography posted by the digital Narodna Biblioteka "Jefimija" Trstenik (Digital National Library "Jefimija" in Trstenik, Serbia).