František Zach
| František Aleksandr Zach | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | Франтишек Александр Зах |
| Nickname | Franja |
| Born |
May 1, 1807 Brno, Austrian Empire |
| Died |
January 14, 1892 (aged 84) Brno, Austro-Hungarian Empire |
| Allegiance | Principality of Serbia |
| Rank | General |
František Aleksandr Zach (Czech pronunciation: [ˈfrancɪʃɛk ˈzax]; Serbian: Франтишек Александр Зах; May 1, 1807 – January 14, 1892) was a Czech-born soldier and military theorist, best known for being the first acting General and Chief of the General Staff to the Principality of Serbia from 1876 to 1877.
Zach was known for being a flamboyant freedom fighter and Pan-Slavist, fighting in both the November Uprising in Poland of 1830, as well as in Serbia during the latter half of the 19th century. He played a vital role in the formation of the Načertanije in 1844, which later served as a guideline for the unification of Serbs divided by Ottoman and Austria-Hungary rule.
Biography
Zach was born in Brno, in the Margraviate of Moravia, then part of the Austrian Empire. In 1824 he graduated from the German gymnasium in Brno and studied law in Vienna, which he later graduated and subsequently worked as a clerk in numerous locations across Moravia.
He fought on the side of the Polish insurgents during the uprising against the Russians in 1830. Following the uprising, he spent some time in France practicing military theory, afterwords leaving for Serbia to fight in the independence wars. He was present on the 1848 all-Slavic convocation in Prague as a member of the Czech and Slovak delegation.
Upon returning to Belgrade in 1849, Zach founded the Belgrade Military Academy and worked there for an extensive amount of time. He was also the supervisor, as well as a tutor at the Belgrade artillery school. Later on, he became the military advisor for prince Mihailo Obrenović, who later gave Zach the commission of General. Zach was historically the first modern Serbian general to have a full military commission, and the first Czech ever to reach such a high commission whilst serving abroad. He was heavily wounded and lost his leg in 1876 while leading the Army of the Ibar (river), fighting against the Turks. (The other two commanders of the armies of the Drina and Timok were General Ranko Alimpić and General Milojko Lešjanin respectively.)
Zach died in Brno in 1892 after retiring from a long military career. A street in Brno was named after him in his honor.
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