French rendering of Serbian WWI female volunteer Sofia Jovanovic
Source of image unknown at this time.
Believe it to be "Le Petit Journal"
Aleksandra's Note:
As soon as WWI began in the summer of 1914 with
Austria's attack on Serbia, Sofia Jovanovic, a brave
Serb woman, joined the war effort as a volunteer in the military forces. She joined under the male name of "Sofronije Jovanovic". Among other things, she was one of the courageous defenders of Belgrade in October of 1915 when Belgrade was brutally attacked by the combined Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Following the attack and enemy occupation of Belgrade, Sofia embarked on and survived the brutal Serbian Great Retreat through the unforgiving mountains of Albania in the winter of 1915/16, and later, along with the resurrected Serbian Army, participated in the brilliant Allied breakthrough on the Salonika Front in September of 1918 which precipitated the end of the First World War. She survived the entire Great War, which was so hard on the Serbs, to be part of the liberation of Belgrade
in November of 1918.
The story of Sofia Jovanovic is little known.
It is my hope it will become better known
as we mark the Centennial of World War One.
Memory Eternal
to one of the courageous female heroines
of the Great War.
Sincerely,
Aleksandra Rebic
*****
If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra,
please feel free to contact me at heroesofserbia@yahoo.com
*****