Ilija Gojković

Ilija Gojković (Serbian Cyrillic: Илија Гојковић^{[needs IPA]}; 2 August 1854 – 15 February 1917) was a Serbian military commander and Minister of Defence.^[1]

General Ilija Gojković
38th Minister of the Army of the Kingdom of Serbia
In office 4 March 1910 – 11 February 1911
Monarch	Peter I
Prime Minister	Stojan Novaković Nikola Pašić
Preceded by	Milutin Marinović
Succeeded by	Stepa Stepanović
Personal details
Born	(1854-08-02)2 August 1854 Drenovac, Principality of Serbia
Died	15 February 1917(1917-02-15) (aged 62) Ionian Sea, near Sicily, Kingdom of Italy
Military service
Allegiance	Principality of Serbia  Kingdom of Serbia
Branch/service	Royal Serbian Army
Years of service	1870–1917
Rank	General
Unit	1st Morava Infantry Division Timok Army
Battles/wars	Balkan Wars Battle of Prilep Battle of Kumanovo Battle of Monastir Battle of Bregalnica World War I Battle of Cer Battle of Kolubara

He served during the Serbian–Turkish Wars, the Balkan Wars and during the Serbian Campaign (part of the larger Balkans Campaign) during World War I. He became well-known for commanding the Serbs in the east around Timok.

Career

Gojković was the Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Serbia from 4 March 1910 to 24 February 1911. He commanded Morava division 1st ban during the Battle of Cer and was criticized by the commander of the 2nd army, general Stepa Stepanović for lackluster performance on the first day of the battle, but performed well thereafter and contributed significantly to the Serbian victory.

Death

While traveling to the Salonica front, his boat was hit by a German torpedo boat near Sicily. Gojković refused to surrender and was killed while shooting back at the torpedo boat. He drowned in the Ionian Sea.^[2]

Gojković was the highest ranking member of the Serbian Army that died in combat during the First World War.^[3]

References

1. Sević, Jelena (6 May 2014). "Čovek koji je pucao na nemačku podmornicu" (in Serbian). RTS. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
2. Đeneral Božanović, Politika, issue 4931, 15 January 1922, pg. 2
3. Knežević, Kosta (5 February 2017). "Zaboravljeni pomorski vojvoda" (in Serbian). Politika. Retrieved 20 May 2024.

Government offices
Preceded by Milutin Marinović	Minister of Defence 1910–1911	Succeeded by Stepa Stepanović