World War I

 World War I is one of the most famous events in history of the world. It was also very important in Serbian history, since Kingdom of Serbia was the first attacked country. World war in Serbia in short: Autria-Hungrary declared war on Serbia on 28th July 1914 because of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. After successful defenses during 1914 battles on Drina river, Kolubara river and Cer mountain, Central powers broke Serbian defense during 1915. Serbian army was forced to retreat with the king Petar Karađorđević and prince-regent Aleksandar Karđorđević. They had to leave the country for Great retreat over Albania (1915-1916, Albanian golgotha), on their way to Greece. Serbia was occupied and divided in two parts: Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian occupation zone. The army was evacuated on Greek island Corfy and Tunisian city of Bizerta. Many soldiers died during the Great retreat and of typhus and relapsing fever epidemic. After the recovery, the army with allies made breakthrough of the Macedonian front and started liberation of Serbian cities. The consequences of the war in Serbia: 450.000 military deaths, 600.000 civilian deaths, lost 16-27% of total population; thousands of wounded citizens, war invalids and infants.

Since 2014, Serbian post issued a few commemorative editions dedicated to the World War I. In this post, we will sort them in several subtopics.

THE GENERAL ISSUE

Cenentary of the First World War (2014)

This issue is contained of four stamps. All of them depict paintings about important events of Serbian history during World War 1, with some historical items. We can say this is a general issue about Serbia in World War I.

23 RSD stamp. Painting "Crossing of the Serbian Army Through Albania", 1915, by Miloš Golubović and Serbian regimental flag.

35 RSD stamp. Painting "Another View", 1915/1916, by Miloš Golubović with the Medal for the war for liberation and unification and sabres of Serbian army.

46 RSD stamp. Painting "Arriving of the Serbian Army to the Sea", 1916, by Vasa Eškićević and Serbian regimental flag and Serbian helmet type Adrian.

70 RSD stamp. Painting "Through Albania 1915", 1920, by Miloš Golubović and Order of the star with swords of Karađorđe of the III degree and infranty officer's sword. 

IMPORTANT EVENTS

There were several editions depicting some events that were important for Serbian army during the war.

Cenentary of the great defence of Belgrade in the First World War (2015)

Defence of Serbia in 1914 was successful. But the economy colapsed and typhus epidemic was spreading the country, causeing many deaths. The Central forces prepared new attack on Serbia. The attack has begun with Belgrade bombing on 5th October 1915. Two days after, after a few attempts, enemy foces passed over Danube river. The capital was defended by soldiers, women, children and old men. Due to the lack of weapon, ammunition, equipment and food, Serbian army had to leave Belgrade and retreat to the south of the country with a strong resistance. Belgrade fall on 14th October 1915. After that the army was forced to retreat to Greece. However, the defence of Belgrade is remembered as great resistance of brave people.

The stamp depicts Regent Aleksandar and British admiral Thrubridge on the position of the defense of Belgrade.

Cenentary of the Battle of Kaymakchalan (2016)

Kaymakchalan is one of the peaks of a large mountain range called Nidze. This mountain is in the far south of today's North Macedonia, then Kingdom of Serbia, and it practically represents the border with Greece. The Battle of Kaymakchalan is considered to be one of the greatest battles of the Serbian Army in the First World War. It lasted from 12thto 30th September 1916. Conflicts occurred between the units of the First Serbian Army led by General Petar Bojović and excellently fortified units of the Bulgarian Army. By liberating Kaymakchalan, the Serbian Army stepped on the territory of its fatherland, again, after almost a year. In these bloody battles, the Serbian Army lost almost 4,500 people. But the position at Kaymakchalan made it possible for the Serbian First Army and Allied troops to prolong the operations which resulted in the final liberation of the city of Bitola. This victory regained soldiers’ self-confidence and gave them hope in the final victory. Later, by the order of the king Alexander I Karađorđević, on the very top of the mountain, was built a monumental complex, with a small church dedicated to St. Ilija, which is at the same time a memorial chapel dedicated to the soldiers perished in the Battle of Kaymakchalan. Built in a nontraditional Christian spirit, this building resembles towers from the Gothic period.

The stamp depicts photo by the military priest Risto Šuković "Below the Ploče at Kaymakchalan, 105 mm cannon, Drina Division in action, аrtillery battery commander Captain Garalović (with beard)". Other war photos by this priest you can see here.

Italian Navy for the Serbian Army in the Great War (2020)

In the middle of the winter of 1915/1916 the Serbian Army, in the jaws of the army of the Central Powers, was forced to retreat followed by masses of people. On the Albanian coastline of the Adriatic they were all saved thanks to the magnificent humanitarian-military operation of the Italian Royal Navy. From 12th December 1915 to 29th February 1916, the Italian Navy evacuated from Albania: 260,895 Serbian soldiers and refugees, 24,000 Austrian soldiers – prisoners of war of the Serbian Army, 10,153 horses, 68 cannons and 300,000 tons of food and supplies. Along with the Serbian Army and people, the Serbian Parliament, Government, Church, head of the Military, King, archives and treasures were evacuated. A total of 248 water crossings were conducted utilizing 350 ships. After long years of grueling trench warfare, only the Serbian Army was able to break through the Salonika Front and with continuous progress it determined the victory of the Allies in the Great War.

The edition is consisted of four stamps depicting photos of these events. The first stamp show picture from Albanina town Medua. The rest of stamps show phots from Italian port city Brindisi.
27 RSD. "Medua: Italian ships were waiting for them".
40 RSD. "Brindisi: His Royal Highness Prince Aleksandar of Serbia and His Excellency Slobodan Jovanovic unloading. Accompanying them His Excellency Vice Admiral Emanuele Cutinelli Rendina, Commander of Operations for the transport of the Serbian Army".
54 RSD. "Brindisi: Serbian Field Marshal Radomir Putnik disembarking from an Italian antitorpedo boat".
70 RSD. "Brindisi: Serbian officers disembarking".

100th Anniversary of Toplica Uprising (2017)

Toplica Uprising was the only uprising in one territory occupied by the Army of Central Powers in World War I. iI affected Toplica and Jablanica districts in Serbia, spreading to other parts of country as well.
During the occupation, Autria-Hungraian and Bulgarian foces were exploating Serbia. Bulgarian forces abused Serbs, trying to bulgarize them. At the end of 1916, the Bulgarian occupation forces announced the recruitment of all males 19 to 40 years old to fight for Bulgaria. In Prokuplje and Toplica, the recruitment was planned for 20-27th February 1917. Those who failed to appear were faced with the death penalty. To this the Serbian population responded with the Uprising. The Uprising began in town Kuršumlija, on 26th February 1917 and on 3rd March town Prokuplje was freed as well. The Uprising spread to the entire area of Toplica and Jablanica, Pusta Reka, Kopaonik, Ibar Valley, all the way to Rudnik and Ozren in the east. The Serbian Army, commanded by the Dukes Kosta Pećanac and Kosta Vojinović consisted of 12,762 privates and 364 horsemen. After two weeks, the liberated territory was attacked by three occupying divisions that were withdrawn from the fronts. Kuršumlija was once again occupied by the Bulgarians on 17th March and the Uprising was finally crushed between 4th and 7th of April. The Toplica Uprising prevented the bulgarization of those parts occupied by the Bulgarian army, which, during the occupation of Serbia and crushing of the Toplica Uprising, violated all military laws and rules, by vandalistically destroying the culture of a nation and by trying to strip an entire nation of its national identity. According to the historical sources retrieved from the archives of the Historical Department of the main Headquarters, 8,767 people were killed during the Uprising, out of which 5,383 only in Toplica, and 43,484 buildings were burned.
In the front, the stamp depicts iliustration of fighters in Toplica Uprising. In the back is depicted the Monument to the fallen people from Toplica in 1912-1918 Wars in town Prokuplje.

Liberation of Serbia in the Great War by the joint French-Serbian army (2018)

From 15th September to 1st November 1918, the Serbian and French army broke through the Macedonian front and forced the Bulgarian and Austro-Hungarian army to capitulate. Joint forces of the Serbs and the French took over Štip on 25 September, Veles on 26th September, Skopje on 29th September, liberated Vranje on 5th October, Leskovac on 7th October, Niš on 12th October, Jagodina on 25th October, Kragujevac on 26th October, Požarevac on 29th October, Smederevo on 30th October, and finally Belgrade on 1st November 2018. This military operation of the joint armies of France and Serbia was also very significant for the break of the Central Forces at the western front. Bulgaria signed the truce on 29th September while the Austro-Hungarian did the same on 3rd November, and the capitulation of the German Empire on 11th November marked the end of the First World War. In the liberation of Serbia in 1918, the French army was commanded by the generals Franchet d’Esperey, Prosper Henrys and Juino-Gambetta and the Serbian generals were Mišić, Stepanović and Vasić.Today these events are considered to be one of the fundamental elements which represents the basis of the traditional friendship between Serbia and France.

The stamps depict Serbian and French military leaders in the front, with pictures from the war on the back:

- Comandeer Stepa Stepanović. At the Salonika front, before the liberation of Bitola, in autumn 1916.

- General Franchet d’Espèrey. Prince Regent Alexander Karađorđević with General Franchet d’Espèrey, Comandeer Živojin Mišić and General Petar Bojović at Jelak, the Macedonian front, 1918.

- Comandeer Živojin Mišić. Danube division marching after Grunište, 1917, photo by photographer Dragomir Glišić.

- General Auguste Charles Tranier. Entrance of the joint foces into the liberated Prokuplje, October 1918, photo by Dragomir Pavlović, photographer.

- Comandeer Petar Bojović. Prince Regent Alexander Karađorđević with General Petar Bojović and the Serbian Officers on Patron Saint Day at the Macedonian front.

- General Paul Prosper Henrys. Comandeer Živojin Mišić awarding the Order of the White Eagle to the French General Prosper Henrys, 1918.

The life and work of Duke Živojin Mišić (2021)

Živojin Mišić (1855-1921) was one of the most important military strategists of the 20th century, the most famous military leader of the First World War and Serbian war history He began his education in Ribnica, Kragujevac and Belgrade, where, in 1874, he was admitted to the 11th class of the Artillery School (Military Academy). After two years of schooling, he gained his first war experiences as a cadet sergeant, later a lieutenant, in the Serbian-Turkish wars. He also graduated from the Austro-Hungarian School of Shooting in Bruck on Leitha and completed two years of preparation for the General Staff profession, and he also taught strategy at the Military Academy. 

He published the book “Strategy”. He retired for the first time in 1903, but was reactivated in 1909, at the personal request of General Radomir Putnik, the Chief of the Supreme Command. In the Balkan wars, Mišić was the assistant chief of staff of the Supreme Command of General Putnik, and after the Battle of Kumanovo, he was promoted to the rank of general. After the end of the Second Balkan War, Mišić retired for the second time.

He was reactivated on the eve of the very beginning of the First World War and was appointed assistant chief of staff of the Supreme Command. During the Battle of Kolubara, General Mišić took command of the First Army and, thanks to his brilliant strategy, won the decisive battle. After that he was promoted to the rank of duke.

After retreating through Albania, Duke Mišić was removed from the position of army commander and sent to France for treatment. However, in the middle of 1916, he again took command of the First Army, and in June 1918 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Supreme Command. He commanded the Serbian army during the breakthrough of the Thessaloniki front. 

During his forty-year military career, he was awarded 39 times, including the French Legion of Honour the First and Second Order for services in the liberation of Bitola, and King George V of England awarded him the Order of St. Michael and George, one of the highest British decorations.

100th Anniversary of the Albanian Commemorative Medal (2021)

After the armies of the Central Powers surrounded Serbia in the fall of 1915, Prince Regent Aleksandar, with the state leadership and commanders of his armies, decided to cross Albania. The withdrawal of the Serbian army and civilians over the snow-capped mountains of Albania and Montenegro, from November 1915 to January 1916, has been recorded as the Albanian Golgotha or The Great Retreat. Thanks to the allies, the tortured Serbian soldiers who reached the Albanian coast, were transferred to the Greek island of Corfu.

King Aleksandar I Karađorđević, who as well participated in the Albanian Golgotha, established the Commemorative Medal of the Great Serbian Retreat i.e. the Albanian Commemorative Medal in memory of the retreat through Albania, with which he decorated 142,148 officers, non-commissioned officers, corporals, privates, military chaplains, and priests - all those who were on military duty during the crossing of Albania, as well as members of foreign military missions who retreated through Albania together with the Serbian Army. The day of official decoration of Serbian heroes with the Medal, was set for 23 November 1921. The Medal was awarded at the suggestion of the Minister of the Army and Navy, with a decree made according to the draft of Đorđe Čarapić, and reproduced at the Military Geographical Institute in Belgrade. The Medal is in the shape of a double-headed eagle with a Serbian shield on its chest and a royal crown on the upper part. On the obverse side, under the eagle, there is a medallion framed with a laurel wreath with the head profile of Aleksandar Karađorđević, framed with the inscription: TO HIS COMRADES IN ARMS – ALEKSANDAR. On the reverse side, there is an inscription in three lines: FOR LOYALTY TO THE HOMELAND. The medals were made by the Parisian company “Arthus-Bertrand“.

The stamp depicts the front side of the medal with two examples of awarding decrees.

MEDICAL HELP IN WAR

During the War, medical help were required to help wounded soldiers and civilians. But, situation during the First World War was complicated because of the typhus and relapsing fever epidemic, brought to Serbia in 1914 by enemy soldiers. Numeber of Serbian war victms was big because of the epidemic.

The British heroins of the First World War in Serbia (2015)

More than 600 women from Great Britain were helping Serbian people during the War. Many of them were doctors and nurses. This issue is dedicated to six British heroins.

Flora Sandes (1876-1956). She came to Serbia as nurse in the Infirmary of Saint John. She joined to Red Cross and worked as nurse in Serbian army. She was fighting for Serbian army in "Iron regiment". She was the only female officer of Serbian army during the war and the only woman from Great Britain in the active military service.

Dr. Katherine Stewart McPhail (1887-1974). She came to Serbia in 1915 with the Scottish Women's Hospital and worked in Belgrade with patients suffering from replasing fever, while she was ill too. After convalescence in spring 1916, she returned to humanitarian work and worked in France, in hospitals where Serbian soldiers were also treated. After the war she remained in Serbia and in 1921 she founded English-Serbian hospital, the first hospital for childern in Serbia. In 1934 she founded the English-Yugoslavian hopital for treatment of osteoarticular tuberculosis in Sremska Kamenica, which she ran until 1947.

Elsie Maud Inglis (1864-1917). After the outbreak of the First World War she founded an organization called “Scottish Women’s Hospitals”. In early 1915 she goes to Serbia and establishes the first war hospital. During the retreat of the Serbian army, She refuses to leave behind the hospital equipment and to retreat with the army, so she gets imprisoned in November 1915 in Kruševac, and afterwards repatriated. She died and was buried in Scotland, and her funeral was attended by the representatives of the Serbian and the Brittish royal families.

Dr. Isabel Emslie Galloway Hutton (1887 – 1960). She was a volunteer since 1915, as a psychiatrist and a member of the Scottish Women’s Hospital. From France, she was transferred to Gevgelija and than to Thessaloniki, Macedonian Front. In summer 1918 she was appointed the Chief Hospital Officer and was transferred to Vranje. She arrived with another 11 physicians and 40 nurses, treating soldiers and civilians in the town where the epidemic typhus and Spanish influenza raged. She remained in Vranje till October 1919 and helped found the local civilian hospital for which she bestowed medical equipment and surgical instruments. Medical highschool in Vranje is named after her.

Evelina Haverfield (1867-1920). She was women’s rights activist. She came to Serbia in 1915. Together with Elsie Inglis and other members of of the Scottish Women’s Hospital in Kruševac, she was imprisioned by the occupier together with the wounded. After the repatriation in 1916 she took part in the organization of the Serbian Relief Fund. In the spring of 1917 she unites with Flora Sands, Emily Simonds and Anna McGlade and establishes the Sands – Haverfield Soup Kitchens which were opened in the Macedonian front. After the liberation she raised a Home for the War Orphans in Bajina Bašta and she helped the tuberculosis patients to be accomodated. She died of pneumonia and was buried in the church yard in Bajina Bašta where, in the memory of her, “The Home – Hospital of Evelina Haverfield” was opened in 1930. Somewhat later, the “Home of Evelina Haverfield” was opened in the curch building.

Dr. Elizabeth Ness MacBean Ross (1878-1915). She is one of the first women with the doctor diploma in Great Britain who came to Serbia as a volunteer. First she went to Niš, then to Kragujevac, which was called the Dead City because of the raging typhus. At the First Reserve Military Hospital at the time of her arrival, there was about 200 patients, and all the doctors and nurses either had already died or were lying among the patients. As Dr. Ross fell down with typhus herself, she worked alone in hard conditions. At the beginning of January 1915 the first unit of the Scottish Women’s Hospital came to Kragujevac, so the staff of the Scottish Women’s Hospital helped their compatriot. After 13 days of fighting typhus fever Dr. Elizabeth Ross died on 14 February 1915 on her 37th birthday. Dr. Elizabeth Ross was buried with full military honours at the cemetery in Kragujevac.

100 years since the end of the Great War - Great doctors of the Great War (2018)

Immense contribution in treating of patients and civilians, development of medical science and practice during the First World War, along with 409 doctors and 203 medical workers of the Serbian ambulance team, gave the foreign medical missions – the English, the French and the Russian one. The Red Cross teams of doctors, as well as individuals – the volunteers, were helping their Serbian colleagues. The greatest merit for the control of epidemics of three types of typhus, which cut down 58% of the Serbian doctors and medical staff (paramedics, nurses volunteers) had the English mission led by Dr. William Hunter. Without the help of the foreign doctors, the typhus epidemics would have hardly been controlled, and the number of the deceased (about 135,000) would have been greater by far.

Professor Dr. Vojislav Ј. Subotić (1859–1923). A founder and dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, chief of the surgical department ODB in Belgrade, father of the Serbian surgery. In the First World War he operated the wounded in Belgrade and Niš. After the retreat through Albania, he went to Paris and London where he was a Serbian delegate in the allied commission. At the beginning of 1918 he left for the Macedonian front and worked at the First Field Surgical Hospital in Dragomanci. He constructed femoral brace in 1916, and his method of reparation of blood vessels injuries was used until the end of the Korean War (1954). He recieved the most important awards, medals and recognitions. He was the president of the Serbian Medical Society.

Dr. William Hunter (1861–1937). A commander of the English military mission in Serbia during the typhus epidemics in 1915, he suggested measures which prevented the spreading of the epidemics. As of 16th March all suggested measures were undertaken throughout Serbia, both in military and among citizens. On 25th March, a movable railway disinfector was set in Kragujevac, and on 6th April the same was done in Niš; in the meantime, on 2nd April, the first English ambulance train for vaccinations was formed. With the railway traffic interruption and abolition of military leaves, depediculation was initiated with the help of the Serbian barrel. The result of all those activities was a radical turnover in the battle against typhus and pediculosis, so that the epidemic was supressed as early as 17 th May. The work of Hunter’s mission showed what the effect of the preventive measures was when they were applied on the entire endangered territory.

Dr. Miloš Đ. Popović (1876–1954). He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Vienna in 1901. In 1904 he founded the first military dentist station at the General Military Hospital in Belgrade, and the other one in 1909 in Niš. He was the author of the first books on dentistry in Serbian language. He founded the Sobriety Society in 1901, the Union of the Sober Youth in 1907, the Union of Scouts and Women Mountaineers in 1911 and the Society of Doctors and Abstainers in 1911, as well. In Voden, at the Macedonian front, on 1st January 1917 at the Reconvalescent Ward he founded a dentist station which evolved into a dentist clinic. After the war, in 1919, he established the State Ward for Children’s Protection at the Ministry of Social Policy.

Dr. Edward Ryan (1883–1923). As chief of the American Red Cross mission in Serbia, he arrived in Belgrade in September 1914. In March 1915, Dr. Ryan organized a mission to fight against the typhus epidemic in Belgrade. During this epidemic Dr. Ryan came down with a difficult form of typhus fever. Dr. Ryan and his staff performed over 8,000 surgeries and coordinated the Red Cross help programme for thousands of Serbian refugees, scattered across the entire country. He died on 18 September 1923, having succumbed to malignant malaria.

Professor Dr. Mihailo Mika Petrović (1863–1934). A founder of the surgical ward of the Military Hospital in Niš and a surgeon consultant at the First Field Hospital in Dragomanci at the Macedonian front, where he stood out as a restless war surgeon. In the Balkan Wars and the First World War, he became an outstanding surgeon. He introduced many innovations into the war surgical doctrine, and one of them is the treatment of war wounds by all the principles of asepsis and antisepsis. He was a professor of surgery at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade and the president of the Serbian Medical Society. After his death, his heart was built in the wall of the surgical hall of the Main Military Hospital in Belgrade. On his urn the following was written: "My soul to God, my body to earth, and my heart to surgery".

Professor Dr. Ludwik Hirszfeld (1884–1954). He came to Serbia in February 1915 and at his own request he was sent to Valjevo where he organized systematic disinfection and depediculation of the entire town, thanks to which the typhus epidemic began to wane. After the retreat through Albania, he worked at the Macedonian front as a leading bacteriologist of the Serbian army. He isolated the causitive agent of paratyphus C, now called Salmonella hirszfeldi. He produced a pentavalent vaccine, which was used to vaccinate the whole army. At the Serbian hospital of Prince Regent Alexander, in 1918, he organized the first bacteriological course for the ambulance officers and medical staff. After the breakthrough of the Macedonian front, he was appointed as a chief of the bacteriological ward of the Military Hospital in Belgrade. 

100 years of the end of the Australian medical mission in Serbia (2024)

This issue is dedicated to volunteers from Australia who treated wounded and sick soldiers and civilians as part of medical and Red Cross missions.

James Blair Donaldson  (1888–1971) came to Serbia in 1915 as a member of the Allies War Relief organisation. In the hospital in Kragujevac, he was in charge of an X-ray unit. Later, he served in the French Army field hospital, Hospital d’Evacuation, No. 2, on the Greek border, where he also performed surgical procedures. In the years after World War I, he returned to Australia with his wife and son, where he worked as a medical doctor.

Ethel May Gillingham (1884–1952) came to Serbia with the Second British Red Cross Serbian Mission and, as a volunteer nursing sister, she served in Vrnjačka Banja from May 1915 to October 1915. She was detained during the Austro-Hungarian occupation offensive on Serbia, but was set free in February 1916, so she continued her mission as a nursing sister in Egypt. After the war, Ethel married captain Richard Ewans had three children.

Thomas Alexander Palmer Benbow (1886–1971) came to Serbia in November 1914 with the British Red Cross Number One Unit and with a valedictorian degree of the Jefferson College of Medicine in Philadelphia. Until June 1915, he worked in the Serbian Fourth Reserve Hospital in Skopje, treating the wounded and those sick with typhus, which he himself contracted during his service. He was awarded the Order of Saint Sava, Class IV. After the war, he returned to Australia where he establsihed a medical practice.

Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (1879–1954), Australian writer, voluntarily joined the Scottish Women's Hospitals in 1917 and reported for service at the "America" hospital near Ostrovo, performing the duties of hospital cook and taking care of the warehouse. After the War, she described her wartime experiences in the memoir "Ne mari ništa: Six months with the Serbs" and in the play "By far Kajmacktchalan: A Play of the Balkan Front Today".

Olive May Kelso King (1885–1958)  came to Serbia in 1915, with her own light truck converted into an ambulance, as a driver in the Scottish Women's Hospitals, and in 1916, she joined the Serbian army on the Salonika front. As an ambulance driver on the Salonika front, she was promoted to the rank of sergeant, and for her service was awarded the Medal for Zealous Service, the Cross of Mercy, the Silver Medal for Bravery and the Order of Saint Sava, Class V.

Mary Clementina De Garis (1881–1963) joined the Scottish Women's Hospitals after the death of her fiancé, who was killed in action on the Western Front. She began her service as a medical officer in the hospital "America" near Ostrovo, on the territory of Macedonia, which was supporting the Serbian army. She was appointed Chief Medical Officer of the hospital in 1917 after Dr Agnes Bennett, the CMO of this hospital, retired from her duties, and was at its head until 1918. For her selfless and self-sacrificing engagement in the organization of medical support for the Serbian army, she was awarded the Order of Saint Sava, Class III.

   

REMEMBERING THE HEROES

The Album of remembrance to our ancestors from the First World War (2018)

The project “The Album of Remembrance to Our Ancestors from the First World War” was initiated by the Association of Descendants of the Warriors from Serbia in 1912–1920, The aim of the project was to pay homage to an individual, a Serbian soldier, that little man involved in the Great War for civilization, his unselfish sacrifice for justice, freedom and truth. There was a public call launched for the citizens of Serbia and the Serbs in the region and the diaspora to deliver the photographs and other documents from the First World War and participate in creating the album. The album represents a part of collected historiographic material from the period of First World War, that the descendants had sent in honor of their ancestors, the participants of the Great War. There are over 4000 units in the gallery of the Commemorative Album. They are first-class testimonies of the War: photographs, war diaries, military letters, correspondence cards, memorials and other historiographic material of the First World War participants. These are unique testimonies of the war adventures and sufferings of the Serbian soldier in the war years, depressed from the pages of world history.

The stamps depicts some photos collected through this project. These are pictures of ordinary people, drawn into war to fight for the country.

- photo of Radenko Krivokuća
- photo of Pantelija Sparić, Katarina and unknown fellow fighter
- photo of Mako Ivković
- photo of Miloš Stanojević and unknown fellow fighter
- photo of Dragoljub Janković
- photo of Milan Spasojević with his mother Saveta, wife Kostadina and daughter Smiljana
- three vignette stamps in the middle: Krsta Pavlović, shoemaker, with his fellow fighters.

110 years of commemoration of the heroes of the First World War (2024)

This stamp was issued for 110 years since the beginning of the First World War. It depicts Momument to the Unknown Hero on Avala mountain near Belgrade. It is the First World War memorial, designed by the sculptor Ivan Meštrović. he monument was ordered by the King Aleksandar Karađorđević in order to commemorate victms of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and the First World War. The memorial was built in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, from 1934 to 1938. The monument has the form of sarcophagus made of black granite. The tomb is marked by the date 1912-1918. Tha sarcopagus is surrounded by eight caryatids (feminine statues) - they represent Bosnian, Montenegrian, Dalmatian, Croatian, Slovenian, Vojvodina's, Serbian and South Serbian women. They represent mothers of the falled soldiers. The whole monument is 14,5 meters high. The whole monument is placed on the five-step pyramid, which symbolizes five centuries of Ottoman rule over Serbia.