Milunka Savić - Serbia’s Mulan, by Sofija N.

Many people would have heard of Disney’s Mulan. It’s about a girl in China fighting enemies in her father’s place. Many people might not have heard of Milunka Savić, but she is very famous in her home country of Serbia. Back in 1888, on June 28, Milunka Savić was born in a small little village of only 20 people called Koprivnica. She also had a brother named Milun. When the First Balkan War began in 1912, the government began calling people to fight in the war. Milun couldn’t fight, as he had tuberculosis. So Milunka went for him. She dressed up in men’s clothes, cut her hair and went to the military. She left for the war at 24 years of age.

The First Balkan War was where Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece fought the Ottoman Empire and made them lose their European territory.

After fighting in the Battle of Bregalnica, she was promoted to the title of corporal. However, she was once injured by a grenade, and taken to the hospital. She survived, thankfully, but her true gender was discovered. However, even though it was very uncommon at the time, Milunka wasn’t punished. She was allowed to stay in the military and fight for Serbia.

The First Balkan War lasted from 1912-13. The Second Balkan War started in 1913. It was against Serbia and Bulgaria, who fought because of territory disputes. Bulgaria wanted territory Serbia wanted, so the war started.

Throughout her time in the army, Milunka received many awards, such as the Order of Karađorđe Star from Serbia, the Legion d’Honneur from France, which she received twice, the Order of the Holy George from Russia, and the Croix de Guerre from France, which she was the only woman in WWI to receive.

When the wars were over, she moved to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, got married, had a daughter, divorced, and adopted three more daughters. She died in 1973. Some of the tributes to her are a statue and a song made by Swedish band Sabaton.