Sava Grujić (, ; 25 November 1840 – 3 November 1913) was a Serbian politician, statesman, general, army officer, and author, serving five times as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia under two different monarchs from 1887 to 1906.
As an officer Grujić participated in both Serbian-Ottoman Wars (1876–77; 1877–78) which lead to Serbia's full independence from the Ottoman Empire; a military strategist he drafted the war plan before becoming Minister of War carrying out reforms of the military strengthening Serbia's national army before her victory against the Ottomans. Brave and resourceful on the battlefield, he was also a gifted diplomat, advocating the interests of his country in the courtyards of Europe, Russia, and Turkey. During his diplomatic career he was Serbia's representative to the Russian Empire, Serbian Deputy in Constantinople, Serbia's representative to Bulgaria and Serbian Deputy in Athens before serving as minister for foreign affairs. During the conflict between Russia, Turkey, and Austria, Grujić was sent as a special envoy to Constantinople to negotiate with the Turks on behalf of the Russian Empire.
A skilled politician, Grujić was one of the leaders of the People's Radical Party serving as prime minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs several times between 1876 and 1910 in the Governments of both Karađorđević and Obrenović. As chairman of the first radical Council of Ministers, he oversaw the introduction of a new constitution, redefining a more democratic and liberal Serbian society. He headed the Serbian delegation at the Second Peace Conference which led to the signing of the Hague Convention 1907. An honorary member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, he wrote many books about diplomacy military organisation and war, some of them still in use today. Grujić was considered one of the builders of Yugoslavia and played an instrumental role in its creation. He was an able negotiator and diplomat and with some of his contemporaries put together ideas for the formation of a south Slav state working together with prominent liberals of his day.
Early life and education Sava Grujić was born on 25 November 1840 in Kolari, a village in the district of Smederevo, just ten years after Serbia became a semi-independent principality after three and a half centuries of Turkish occupation. His paternal grandfather was Gruja Ilić, brother and aide-de-camp of Vule Ilić, a well-known Vojvoda (military commander) who distinguished himself at the battle of Suvobor and at the siege of Belgrade during the First Serbian Uprising.
Sava's childhood was full of stories in which the best and boldest men were relentlessly carrying the guerrilla war against the nation's oppressor dreaming of freeing the Serb lands from Turkish rule once and for all. Once he finished his elementary education at the local school, an Orthodox priest and a local public official recognising Grujić's potential, arranged for him to go to Belgrade for secondary education.
Early military career
Officer cadet and lieutenant In 1856 Grujić attended the Serbian Military Academy in Belgrade, the academy known at that time as the Artillery School had been established only 6 years before, was the first military educational institution in Serbia, it contained a military high school, offering secondary level education, and a school of national defence, which conducted officer training, the main military subjects at the Artillery School, and later at the Military Academy, were taught by Prussian instructorship education lasted until 1861.
Upon graduation, he was commissioned as second lieutenant of artillery and as top graduate entered the Kriegsakademie (also known as the Prussian War College) in Berlin to continue his military education and for the practical study of artillery; at the time the academy was the highest military facility of the Kingdom of Prussia to educate, train, and develop general staff officers. Grujić graduated in December 1864, wanting to get a higher theoretical artillery formation, Grujić left Prussia to serve in the Imperial Russian Army, he entered service with the 23rd Artillery Brigade in St Petersburg. While serving with the 23rd Brigade, wishing to achieve a high-level specialisation, Grujić applied then was admitted at the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy in 1865, the academy prepared officers to become battery commanders, at the time Russian artillerists were the first in the world to develop methods of gunfire from closed fire position.
At the time Russia was going through reforms in the artillery under Minister of War General-Adjutant Dmitrii Miliutin, one of the chief tasks set for the Main Artillery Administration was to organise the production of all kinds of artillery armament, ammunition, artillery instruments and other things for artillery provision. General Adjutant Aleksandr Barantsov, first Chief of the Main Artillery Administration, was responsible for the technical improvement of the artillery materiel, arrangement of artillery education and all measures in the artillery organisation. This would be a very valuable experience for Grujić when, a few years later, he would start reforming the Serbian Army.
Grujić spent the last two years of his training in Russia at St. Petersburg's arsenal. Grujić returned to Serbia in 1870 after graduation, he was promoted to captain and appointed first Director of the state arsenal in Kragujevac as an expert in artillery and armaments and then later chief of artillery control. Kragujevac was Serbia's main centre for arms production and modernisation of armaments, the Kragujevac arms factory was the largest industrial establishment in the principality.
Political education Liberal nationalism and Slavic unity In 1861, Grujić was in Prussia studying at the Military Academy when the January Uprising broke out in the Russian sector of partitioned Poland. Inspired by romantic and revolutionary nationalism that was sweeping across Europe at the time, Sava Grujić traveled to Poland and joined the rebellion. Grujić fought alongside fellow Serbian volunteer Jevrem Marković, another graduate from the Belgrade Military Academy who had also been sent to Prussia to study (training as a cavalry officer). After the failure of the Uprising, Grujić returned to St. Petersburg and was allowed to return to his studies while Jevrem Marković returned to Belgrade
Back in Russia, Grujić participated actively in the founding of ("Serbian Commune"). Dimitrije Đurić, another artillery officer, was president, Grujić was vice-president. and Jevrem Marković's older brother and notorious radical-socialist Svetozar Marković was secretary. The stated goal of the Commune was "the establishment of fraternal relations among all Serbs in Russia", with a view to cooperation for the "general progress" of the Serbian people and nation. They were also inspired by Omladina ("Youth"), a Serbian youth organisation whose members called for the formation of a Pan-Serb youth movement, a constitutional monarchy for Serbia, and even a Balkan Republic.
After seven years in Russia, Grujić returned to Serbia in 1871 to manage the Kragujevac arms factory. He joined a secret revolutionary society called the Main Board for Serb Liberation based in Kragujevac and founded by members of Omladina. The Main Board sought the liberation and unification of all Serb-inhabited territory in the Ottoman Empire. Grujić and his group started the Associated Printing Press of Kragujevac.
From Socialism to Radicalism
Under the chairmanship of Captain Sava Grujić and the editorship of Svetozar Marković who joined them, the group started a newspaper called Javnost ("The Public"). Marković was the "paid and responsible" editor and the Associated Printing Press of Kragujevac the publisher. In a very short time what was being advertised as Serbia's second socialist newspaper was out discussing current political issues Aa major theme of Javnost was the fight for freedom of the press.
The first issue of the newspaper appeared on 8 November 1873, discussing the multitude of political and economic problems which confronted Serbia: peasant indebtedness and bankruptcy, usury, bureaucratic corruption, and the strangling of the zadruga and opština by the oppressive police regime. Javnost promised to work for the elimination of such evils by "educating public opinion, giving it a scientific direction, and creating out of public opinion a force which will have a strong influence on the solution of all problems concerning our national life."
Frustrated by the state of Serbian politics, Javnost published an article openly criticising the government and stating that the Serbian people "have the right to overthrow a prince with whom they were dissatisfied." As a result, in December 1873 the Minister of War Kosta Protić ordered the dismissal of Captain Grujić from the service, citing his "treacherous" association with Javnost and the Associated Printing Press of Kragujevac. Svetozar Marković was arrested, charged with defaming the prince and sentenced to nine months in jail. Grujić was temporarily retired from the service.
Serbian Wars of Independence In July 1875, peasants in Herzegovina rebelled against their Turkish landlords and rulers. The insurrection quickly spread to Bosnia and aroused belligerent sentiment in Serbia, still an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire.Serbo-Turkish-War Prince Milan unable to resist the pressure, eventually decides to declare war. On 28 June 1876, the day of the Battle of Kosovo, Serbia declares war on the Ottoman Empire, at the time Serbia's armed force was an army of a militant type with outdated weapons and without proper military service, but it was, however, a regular military force, facing them the Turkish empire with over 50 million inhabitants had an experienced army equipped with modern weapons and equipment.
Major Grujić's War Plan The War Council gathered in the early stage had to decide on a strategy and where to engage the enemy first. Two courses of action were proposed one by Major Dimitrije Djurić and one by Major Sava Grujić, both officers having done their training in Russia together previously. Major Dimitrije Djurić proposed that the majority of the army should be engaged towards Bosnia and Raška while Grujić suggested towards the southeast and Niš, where the Turks were expected to be concentrating the bulk of their forces. The Council meeting took place on 15 May 1876, both proposals were considered.
Grujić's proposal was chosen, based on the strategic principle that by moving swiftly into position Serbia could concentrate the bulk of her forces and move offensively against the main Turkish contingent before it had a chance to organise its troops and this way win a decisive battle. The primary objective of this plan was the total destruction of the enemy's army.
To follow Grujić's plan it was thus decided to concentrate most of the army in the Moravian region, then make use of the superior mobilisation and motivation of the Serbian army given the known slowness in mobilisation and concentration of the Turkish army, its outdated tactics and the lack of motivation of Turkish soldiers. At the request of the Serbian government, the war operational plan of Major Grujić was changed at the last moment and Instead of the offensive on the Moravian border, it was decided to launch multiple attacks on all fronts. Orders were sent to redirect troops already in motion according to the previously adopted plan.
Artillery Commander