FOR SERBS, NOVEMBER 11 IS VICTORY DAY

BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 11 /SRNA/ - The President of the Association of War Volunteers 1912-1918. Nikola Filipović told SRNA that November 11 - Armistice Day in the First World War is a day of victory for Serbs, because it brought them freedom after centuries of occupation and unification, which gives it a special place in national history.

"The Serbs already lived in a single country after January 1, 1919. If the Second World War was the Great Patriotic War for the Russians, the First World War was certainly the Great Patriotic and Liberation War for the Serbs," he said. Filipović stated that the Association gave an order to all local committees in Serbia, Republika Srpska and Montenegro and beyond to honor their famous ancestors at local cemeteries today at 11:00 a.m. when the armistice was signed, and at the same time to express the unity that was confirmed at the All-Serb Assembly on June 8 and which is the basis of the declaration that was adopted at that time. "Victory Day celebrations will be held in Banja Luka, Istočno Sarajevo, Trebinje, Nevesinje, Gacko, Herceg Novi, Berane, Andrijevica, Nikšić, Bitola, Kumanovo, Valjevo, Novi Sad, Zrenjani, but also in Zejtinlik, the island of Vido, Jindrichovice and all the places where the army of the Kingdom of Serbia suffered," he said. Filipović reminded that the Great Patriotic War for Serbs lasted from July 28, 1914 until November 3, 1918, and that the Kingdom of Serbia had about 1,300,000 victims and lost about 60 percent of its male population. "We couldn't recover from that, and we can't even now. And on top of all that came the Second World War, as well as the Ustasha crime and genocide against the Serbs, primarily at Kozara, Jasenovac and other execution sites," he said. Filipović recalled that in the First World War, Serbia won victories at Cer and Kolubara in 1914, that at the end of 1915, the army and civilians retreated through Albania to Greece, and "the Serbian state and army resurrected on the Kajmakčalan and Thessaloniki fronts". "From September 30 to November 3, 1918, the Serbian army liberated Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia," he reminded. The central state ceremony marking the Armistice Day in the First World War will be held today in Belgrade. The beginning of the ceremony is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the New Cemetery. Armistice Day in the First World War is commemorated on November 11, 1918, when the Entente powers signed an armistice with Germany in the wagon of French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, in the Compiègne forest, which ended the fighting in the First World War. Armistice Day in Serbia has been celebrated as a national holiday since 2012.