Milunka Savic (1892 – 1973) was one of the most extraordinary female combatants of the twentieth century. Surprisingly little known beyond her homeland of Serbia, she was arguably the most decorated female soldier in history.

A Woman in an Army, Disguised as a Man

Milunka Savic was born in the village of Koprivnica in southwestern Serbia, and was raised in a rural, impoverished setting. Hard physical labor was normal where she grew up, and a deep sense of patriotic duty was widely cultivated. When the Balkan Wars broke out in 1912, her brother, who was ill with tuberculosis, received his draft papers into the army. That was when Savic made a life-altering decision. She cut her hair, disguised herself as a man, and enlisted in the Serbian Army under her brother’s name, “Milun Savic”. Her motives were personal as well as patriotic: aside from helping her brother, she wanted to serve her country.

Savic’s abilities became evident almost immediately. During the First Balkan War, she joined an elite assault unit that often led frontal attacks. Her bravery during the Battle of Bregalnica in 1913 earned her Serbia’s highest military honor, the Karadjordje’s Star with Swords. It also earned her a promotion to corporal. It was only after she was severely wounded and sent to a military hospital that her true identity as a woman was discovered. Rather than punish or dismiss her, the Serbian High Command offered her a nursing position. Savic refused. She had joined to fight, she insisted, and would remain a combat soldier or nothing at all. Impressed by her determination and aware of her proven skill, they allowed her to return to frontline service.

Extraordinary Heroism

Milunka Savic’s reputation was further enhanced in World War I. When Serbia faced the Austro-Hungarian invasion in 1914, Savic fought in some of the war’s most desperate battles. She led charges, threw herself into the thickest combat, and rescued wounded comrades under fire. At the Battle of Kolubara, one of Serbia’s defining victories, she distinguished herself repeatedly. Her exploits became legendary. In one instance, she charged an Austrian position on her own, hurling grenades, and ended up capturing twenty enemy soldiers. She would repeat the same feat again, this time against entrenched Bulgarians, capturing twenty three of them this time. Her gallantry earned her a second Karadjordje’s Star, an unprecedented honor for a woman soldier.

In the winter of 1915 – 1916, Serbia was forced into a harrowing retreat across the mountains of Albania. Savic endured the same suffering as her male comrades as they crossed icy peaks without adequate food or shelter. After reaching the island of Corfu, she rejoined the reorganized Serbian forces that were then transferred to the Salonika Front. There, as part of the Serbian division integrated into the larger Allied Army of the Orient, she continued to serve with distinction. At some point, a French officer doubted that a woman could actually be as formidable as Savic was reported to be. So he set up a bottle of 1880 cognac at forty meters, and told Savic that if she could it shoot it, she could have the other nineteen bottles in the case. She hit it with the first shot.

Legacy of Milunka Savic

Milunka Savic participated in the pivotal 1918 breakthrough of the Macedonian Front. It helped knock Bulgaria out of the war, and set the stage for the liberation of Serbia. Her decorations from the war were remarkable. In addition to Serbian honours, she received the French Croix de Guerre twice, the French Legion d’Honour, France’s highest order of merit, Chevalier class, the Russian St. George Medal, and a British medal for bravery. Few soldiers of any gender, from any nation, amassed such a record. Savic is the most decorated woman in history. It did not come cheap: during the course of the Balkan Wars and WWI, Savic was wounded nine times.

Despite her wartime heroism, Savic lived in relative obscurity afterward. Upon her return to Belgrade, she worked modestly as a postal employee, and later as a janitor. She married, had a daughter, divorced, and adopted three orphaned girls whom she supported on her meager salary. Savic embodied in peace the same quiet strength she had shown in war. The Yugoslav state never fully recognized her service, and she lived her later years in poverty. It was only near the end of her life that public awareness of her achievements began to revive.

At WWI’s fiftieth anniversary, she showed up in her uniform, and people couldn’t help but notice a woman had more medals and decorations than anybody else. Milunka Savic passed away in 1973, aged eighty one. Today, she is celebrated in Serbia as a national heroine, and is gradually becoming recognized internationally as a remarkable figure. She was a woman who defied convention, excelled in combat, and displayed unwavering courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Her story remains a powerful reminder of both the invisibility and the indispensability of women in the history of warfare.

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Some Sources & Further Reading

History Halls – Fighting Women: Eta Wrobel Led an Anti-Nazi Partisan Unit in WWII

Rice, Emily – Women Forgotten in History (2023)

Tomic, Alex – The Legacy of Serbia’s Great War: Politics and Remembrance (2024)