July 29th 2014, I’m looking at a clock. On today’s date, exactly one hundred years ago the great Austr-Hungary declared war to small Serbia. I decide to remember this day well. Because when you say for years, to some that isn’t much. Today, fit years later, on November 11th, it appears like eternity. I’m trying to imagine myself as one of the soldiers. But that’s impossible. That bravery, determination, patriotism. The waving flag. Serbia, the only fighting country in WW1 that didn’t lose a single flag, because as long as Serbian flag is waving, Serbia still lives.
“We came with little respect for Serbian soldiers, but we are coming back full of admiration. We came across people who are peaceful, confident, patriotic. We found the best soldiers in the world, brave, obedient, focused, persistent, willing to sacrifice lives for homeland and national idea.”
Karsten Angel, Norwegian colonel
“Only in 1914 in Serbia I realised that the freedom of small nations is stronger force than violence of big and powerful ones. Only here I understood Chateaubriand when he said that inexplicable force – will saves everything, and that the weakness of force is that it believes only in force.”
Ervin Kish, kaplar from the 1st regiment of the 9th Austro-Hungarian division and participant in Battle of Kolubara
From generation to generation, a story from Macedonian Front has been told. When the attack for breakthrough of the front, on September 15th, Serbian infantry was advancing so fast, that allied cavalry couldn’t catch up. Serbian prince Aleksandar during the breakthrough called Serbian Field Marshal Živojin Mišić to tell him to slow down, so that the allies would catch up and the world would see who stands next to Serbia. Serbian spite then woke up in great Marshal’s chests. He orders the troups: “Onwards, faster and stronger! Attack! Serbia is waiting for your return!”
Two weeks later, Bulgaria surrenders. Thirteen days later (October 12th), Serbian army liberates City of Nish. On November 1st, Belgrade has been liberated. Ten days later, war was over.
“Over a million and three hundred, my dears. Million and three hundred, in a nation of 4 million.
I’m imagining proportions of this loss. I’m imagining myself walking through empty Belgrade, and he was a lot smaller than today, only a small town in which almost everybody new everyone. I’m imagining seeing only a half of people I used to see in one street. In other, only a third. In third – nobody. Struck down by bullets, blown up by grenades, put to sleep by typhus or swallowed by Prokletije.
I’m imagining silence. Both external and internal. I’m imagining myself saying once “Good morning, neighbor.”, and then be silent for two, three or five greetings like that.
The city was full of horses – now they’re gone. The city was full of kids, youth: next to Russians, it was the toughest nation in Europe of that time. Now the youth is gone. All of young by age that survived all of the adversity, young by spirit is no more, nor it can be.
I’m imagining empty park. I’m siting on the bench quiet, and inside of me is mixing up from noises and laugh of people who are no longer there. Man across me is sitting and equally empty looking in front of himself also pushed by sounds from deep inside, which he can not make equal with the silence that surround him. I’m hearing birds, though. Sparrows. Here and there a cat appears. They are skilled and tricky, they survived somehow. Dogs are gone. They are more naive and gone after people, and came after worse destiny than them.”
Andrej Pipović, actor
If we would have a minute of silence for each Serbian casualty in First World War, we would be silent for 2 years and 172 days.
Mickey chats 
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