Dragutin Gavrilović
(Čačak, May 25, 1882 – Belgrade, July 19, 1945)

Dragutin Gavrilović was the most famous Serbian major while he rose to the rank of colonel in the Yugoslav Army. His father, Petar Gavrilović, an abbot by profession, was a guild leader, a councilor of the Čačak municipality and a participant in the Serbian-Turkish Wars of 1876-1878. Dragutin Gavrilović graduated from the Military Academy in Belgrade in 1901. He participated in almost all the battles of the Serbian Army in World War I. Colonel Dragutin Gavrilović graduated from the Military Academy in Belgrade. He received his first officer position in the Tenth Cadre Regiment, where he was appointed platoon commander. In the First Balkan War, with his company, he participated in the Šumadija Division of the First Conscription in the liberation of Kosovo and Metohija.
He was then promoted to the rank of Captain First Class. In the Second Balkan War, he showed exceptional bravery in the Battle of Bregalnica. In the same year, he was promoted to the rank of Major. In World War I, he commanded a battalion in the Tenth Personnel Regiment, which was in the last reserve of the Defense of Belgrade. On his own initiative, he gathered the remaining defenders of the Second and Third Battalions, the Tenth Regiment and parts of the Srem Volunteer Detachment and on October 7th issued an order that entered the legend: “Heroes! At exactly 3 p.m., the enemy must be defeated by your powerful attack, blown up by your bombs and bayonets. The image of Belgrade, our capital, must be bright. Soldiers! Heroes! The Supreme Command has wiped out our regiment from its numerical strength, our regiment was sacrificed for the honor of Belgrade and the Fatherland. Therefore, you do not have to worry about your lives, they no longer exist.”

So forward to glory! For the King and the Fatherland! Long live the King! Long live Belgrade!…” During the assault, he was wounded and transferred to the Military Hospital. On October 14, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel by decree. He participated in the retreat through Albania, on the Salonika Front. After the breakthrough of the Salonika Front, he was the commander of the positions in Novi Szeged, Velika Kikinda and Vršac. He achieved the rank of infantry colonel in 1920. Until the outbreak of World War II, he was the head of the Administrative Department of the General Staff Department of the Ministry of the Army and Navy and a professor at the Military Academy. In World War II, in 1941, during the retreat from Sarajevo, he was captured and taken to a camp in Germany. Upon his return from captivity, seriously ill, he soon died. He was decorated with the Karađorđe Star, the orders of St. Sava, the White Eagle, Yugoslav Crown, French War Cross, Legion of Honor, Miloš Obilić Medal, War Memorial of 1914, etc. He died in his apartment in Slavija, on July 19, 1945, in poverty. He was buried in the old uniform of a colonel of the Yugoslav Royal Army, in the tomb of his relative at the New Cemetery in Belgrade. Plot 11, Tomb 19 – III