Stepan "Stepa" Stepanović (, ; – 27 April 1929) was a Serbian military commander who fought in the Serbo-Turkish War, the Serbo-Bulgarian War, the First Balkan War, the Second Balkan War and World War I. Having joined the Serbian military in 1874, he fought against the forces of the Ottoman Empire in 1876. Over the following years, he climbed up the ranks of the Serbian Army and fought against Bulgarian forces in 1885. He eventually became the Serbian Minister of War in April 1908 and was responsible for instituting changes in the Serbian Army.
Stepanović commanded Serbian forces during the two Balkan Wars and led the Serbian Second Army during World War I. After Battle of Cer he was promoted to second Field Marshal. He died in Čačak on 27 April 1929.
Early childhood and education
Stepan "Stepa" Stepanović was born on 28 February 1856 in the village of Kumodraž, near Belgrade. He was the fourth child and third son of Ivan and Radojka Stepanović (née Nikolić). Stepanović was named after his grandfather Stepan, from whom his family's surname originated. There are two theories of his family origins. The first states that Stepanovic's ancestors, who were known as Živanović, came from the regions of Bosnia and Lika. The second theory is that his ancestors came from the vicinity of Leskovac and Pirot during the Great Serb Migrations.
Due to housework, Stepanović's mother had little time for him and often left him in the care of her mother-in-law. Prior to attending primary school, he looked after cattle and was once hurt badly by a bull. Stepanović finished triennial primary school in Kumodraž and attended gymnasium in Captain Miša's Mansion. To finish his schooling, he often served wealthier Belgrade families. He finished his first year of school with good grades and continued receiving good grades throughout the rest of his education. In September 1874, Stepanović enlisted in the XI class of the Belgrade artillery school instead of attending his sixth year of gymnasium. He did not have to write an entrance exam because he had completed five years of gymnasium. His class had twenty-nine cadets.
At the time, the Belgrade artillery school possessed a technical character and paid much attention to knowledge of mathematics, a subject in which Stepanović always performed poorly. Stepanović was also not very good in foreign languages, although he read Russian and French literature. After Herzegovina Uprising broke out, the Principality of Serbia began preparing for war with the Ottoman Empire and the Belgrade artillery school initiated a program of practical martial training. In September 1875, Stepanović and his classmates all received the rank of corporal. After passing an exam, Stepanović became junior sergeant in May 1876. In June 1876, war erupted between Serbia and Ottoman Turkish forces in the Balkans, most of whom were Albanians from Kosovo. Stepanović and the entire XI class quickly received the ranks of sergeant and were sent to the frontline.
Serbo-Turkish Wars Stepanović arrived in Kragujevac on 14 May 1876. Here, he was assigned to orderly officer duty in the headquarters of the Šumadija Division, commanded by Colonel Ljubomir Uzun-Mirković, whose orders were carried by Stepanović. The Šumadija division was the main part of the Moravian Army, but after a change of battle plans, it was divided in several squadrons. Stepanović was assigned to Uzun-Mirković's squadron, which had orders to help the Knjaževac Army take Babina Glava and Bela Palanka in order to stop the arrival of Ottoman reinforcements to Niš. Eventually, Babina Glava was taken and Stepanović was noted by Uzun-Mirković for "being very agile and for good riding." Soon after, the Ottomans launched a counter-offensive against Uzun-Mirković's squadron, which retreated to Pandrilo. The Ottomans attacked Pandrilo on 19 July, beginning a battle in which Stepanović actively participated. Stepanović's participation alongside regular Serbian soldiers raised moral and helped turn the tide of the battle. This experience affected Stepanović greatly and he often resorted to fighting alongside other Serbian soldiers to raise their moral.
After the fall of Knjaževac, Stepanović and his squadron moved from Deligrad to Sokobanja in order to prevent the Ottomans from reaching the Morava Valley. In Sokobanja, Serb forces regrouped and formed the IV Army Corps, under the command of Colonel Đura Horvatović. Stepanović subsequently joined this unit.
The IV Army Corps marched across Kurilovo and reached Vinik where it attacked Ottoman positions. It then moved on to Deligrad, where it arrived on 7 September. The IV Army Corps clashed with the Turks on 11 September near Krevet, in a battle which ended indecisively.
An armistice between Serb and Ottoman Turkish forces was declared 1 November 1876. On 1 December, Stepanović was awarded the gold medal for Bravery and was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. On 13 February 1877, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Company of the 3rd Battalion of the Serbian Army. Later, Stepanović participated in the capture of Pirot. Under the overall command of General Jovan Belimarković, Stepanović and his 300-strong force attacked the left flank of Nišor, one of two locations that the Ottomans had fortified in the town. Between 26 and 27 September, Stepanović's unit passed unnoticed around Nišor and took Mali vrh. On the morning of 27 September, when the main Serbian attack began, his squad opened fire on Nišor, confusing the Ottomans stationed there. Afterwards, Pirot was captured. One soldier from Stepanović's unit said: "I find that, if I’m not wrong, our action struck the main blow to the Turkish position on Nišor and had resolved the fate of Pirot." Stepanović was later awarded the Order of St. Svetislav III Class with Swords and Ribbon, his favourite of all awards he had received throughout his career because he considered himself "[the] first to have entered the Turkish trench."
On 3 December, the Šumadija Corps began its march from Pirot to Niš in two echelon formations. During this march, Stepanović commanded a half-battalion of infantry and some cavalry that moved across the difficult terrain of Suva Planina. Nevertheless, all of his men survived the trek and appeared ready for battle. Stepanović later stated that the march across the mountain was his toughest assignment in the war.
On 23 January 1878, the Serbian high command ordered the Šumadija division to capture the town of Vranje. The Šumadija division then drove the Ottomans from Poljanica and defeated Grdelička klisura. On 25 January, Stepanović became commander of a volunteer squad which armed local Serbs in Poljanica. At the battle for Vranje several days later, Stepanović attacked the Ottomans from the north of the town at Devotin.
Peacetime Once the war ended, Stepanović took additional classes at the Belgrade Military Academy to finish his schooling, completing them all by 1880. In September of that year, he requested a transfer to Kragujevac. There, he gained command of the 2nd Company of 3rd Battalion of the Serbian Army. In October, he became commander of the 1st Company in the same battalion.
In Kragujevac, Stepanović met his future wife Jelena, the daughter of the city's chief, Velislav Milanović. The two married on 25 July 1881. Their first child, Milica, was born on 21 April 1882. The following year Jelena gave birth to the couple's second daughter, Danica. Both of Stepanović's daughters went on to marry officers, Milica marrying second lieutenant Krsta Dragomirović and Danica marrying 1st Class captain Jovica Jovičić, who later became a division general in the Serbian Army.
In his first official evaluation in the last quarter of 1880, a special military commission wrote described Stepanović as:
On 1 September 1882, Stepanović was promoted to the rank of infantry lieutenant and he became a commander in Užice, where he remained until 13 February 1883, when he returned to Kragujevac. Upon his arrival in Kragujevac, he was appointed as military adjutant in the Šumadija Infantry Regiment. That same year, Serbia listed made military exercises mandatory in gymnasium programs. Stepanović subsequently became a teacher of military exercises in the First Kragujevac Gymnasium. He remained in this position until 1886.
Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885) During the Battle of Slivnitsa, Stepanović commanded the 1st Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Šumadija division. His unit attacked the village of Vrapče and forced Bulgarian forces to retreat. In a report that Stepanović sent to the commander of the 12th Regiment a lack of coordination between divisions, regiments and battalions of the Serbian Army is perceptible.
Several days later, Stepanović became commander of the 1st Battalion in the 12th Regiment and together with troops from another unit attacked the weakened Bulgarian center on Slivnitsa. The Bulgarians began retreating, allowing Serb forces to take over region around the village of Aldomirovtsi. In his report, Stepanović wrote about his soldiers: "The behavior of the soldiers in this battles was excellent because they showed great curability despite moving over the open field during crossfire. The behavior of the officers was satisfactory in regard of courage and good command of the troops."
With Serbian forces being pushed out of Bulgaria, King Milan ordered a general retreat of the Serbian Army towards Pirot on 19 November. Three days later, Bulgarian forces marched towards the town and launched an attack on Neškov vis. Stepanović's 12th Regiment was forced to retreat. Stepanović later reported: "...I moved along to the hospital towards where bulks of our troops retreated. No effort of the elders could bring them back. More soldiers followed them and then that ridiculous mob pushed away officers who tried to stop them."
Rise With the end of the Serbo-Bulgarian war, Stepanović returned to Kragujevac, where he stayed until November 1886. In Kragujevac, he commanded a company of the 10th regiment. At the end of 1886, he was promoted to the rank of II class infantry captain. He was an aspirant in the Serbian General Staff from 22 November 1886 to 22 October 1888. At the meeting which was held at the end of 1888, the General Staff's commission stated ″that II class captain Mr. Stepanović showed enough qualification and proof for headquarters' service", concluding that "he should be approved to start an exam this winter for the rank of I class captain.″
In March 1889, Stepanović reported for this exam, and the commission gave him permission on 2 April to start. From 2–6 April, Stepanović completed the theoretic part of his exam in twelve subjects. He was released of doing practical part of exam, because he received very good grade on headquarters' journeys and missions. Shortly before the exam, he became the executive of Drina divisional area. After his exams he moved to Valjevo. On 17 April 1889, he became I Class captain.