Kosta Milovanović Pećanac (Serbian: Коста Пећанац, born 1879 in Dečani – 6 June 1944) was a Chetnik voivoda during the Second World War.
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Kosta Milovanović was born in 1879, the exact date is not known as his military paper only has the year of birth. His father was a guardian of the Visoki Dečani monastery. His parents both died during an attack by Albanians (remnants of the League of Prizren) on the monastery. He arrives in Serbia in 1892, at the age of 14. He worked as a mercenary, and in his 21s, he joined the compulsory army.
In 1895, war broke out in Macedonia against the Ottoman Empire. Serb, Greek, Bulgarian and Albanian groups also began to struggle against each other. Pećanac joined the struggle in the Serb organization, fighting in Šuplja Stena (near Pčinja) and Čelopek, near Matejče monastery.
The deacon of the Vladika of žiča, voivode Jovan Grković-Gapon, suggested giving Pećanac the title of voivode. In the great meeting on Christmas, 1904, Pećanac received the title, at the time 25 years old.
In 1910 the struggles in Macedonia intensified, he left his his children and pregnant wife, and returned to the battlefield.
In the First Balkan War, Pećanac was mobilised in the Third army, holding the title of sergeant (narednik) in the Morava division. He defeated the Albanians in Merdare. He took part in the battle of Kumanovo and the liberation of Metohija.
In the Second Balkan War, which Pećanac called the "Bulgarian War", he was at the front at Kitka, on the Osogovo mountain, along the Zletovska and Bregalnica rivers. His troops chases out the Bulgarians at Grljani.
During the First World War he escaped to Corfu along with the retreating Serbian army and government. After the Chetniks began an uprising in Toplica in 1917, Pećanac rejoined the battle.
Between the two World Wars he was the most prominent figure in the dormant Chetnik movement.
With the start of the Second World War in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Pećanac did not share the view of resisting the occupying forces, as did Chetnik Draža Mihailović.[1] The Chetniks were split in two, and when the quisling Serbian regime was formed, he made a deal with Nedić, the puppet Prime Minister of Serbia.[1]
During the war, his Chetnik movement struggled for recognition against the rival Chetniks led by Draža Mihailović.
During World War II, units of Kosta Pećanac committed numerous crimes against the Albanian population of border villages between Kosovo and Sandzak.[2][3][4]
Pećanac was assassinated on 6 June 1944 by Chetniks loyal to Mihailović.[5]
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