Dragutin Gavrilović
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| Dragutin Gavrilović | |
|---|---|
| 1882 – 1945 (age 62) | |
 Dragutin Gavrilović |
|
| Place of birth | Čačak, Serbia |
| Place of death | Belgrade, Yugoslavia |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Serbia |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Defenders of Belgrade (World War 1) |
| Battles/wars | First Balkan War, Second Balkan War, World War 1 |
| Awards | Karadjordje's star, Croix de guerre |
Dragutin Gavrilović was born in 1882, in Čačak, Serbia. He graduated from military academy in Belgrade in 1901 and took part in every war Serbian army fought until World War II. He finished his military career in the rank of colonel and died in 1945 in Belgrade.
He was awarded Serbian war medal Karadjordje's star, French Croix de guerre and many other medals. In Serbian history he will be remembered for his speech he gave to his soldiers - defenders of Belgrade in October 1915, just before the infantry charge in which he was heavily wounded:
"Soldiers! Heroes! The supreme command has erased our regiment from its records. Our regiment has been sacrificed for the honor of Belgrade and the Fatherland. Therefore, you no longer have to worry for your lives - they do not exist anymore. So, forward to glory! For King and Homeland! Long live the king! Long live Belgrade!"
The men major Gavrilović commanded were mainly boys between 17 and 19 years of age, most having been sent for a three month's worth of military training in today's Macedonian capital of Skopje. It is believed that from the 1300 corporals less than 200 survived, they all went into a certain death and they knew it. A street at the heart of Belgrade, near the University of Belgrade's School of Philosophy is named after them "1300 kaplara". Some of the surviving members of this unit are Dimitrije Ljotić, poet Stanislav Vinaver, architect and artist Aleksandar Deroko (first Serbian military pilot in later years), future professor of hydro-technical engineering Miladin Pećinar, future geography researcher Prof. Dr. Vojislav S. Radovanović and future art teacher and influential educator Hristifor Crnilović. A street stretching along the Danube riverbank in the Dorćol area of Belgrade (where Gavrilović and his men fought) bears the name Major Gavrilović's riverbank, in memory of him. There are also streets bearing his name in cities of Niš, Čačak, Valjevo, and Užice.
