16.09.2016.
A Tribute to the Heroes of Kaimaktsalan
"This hill on the mountain Nidze, scene of glory and suffering, could not prevent the Serbian Army, which was especially motivated, from making an unstoppable breakthrough and liberate its fatherland", Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said at the celebration of the centenary of the Battle of Kaimaktsalan.At the central ceremony, in the Memorial complex on the same mountaintop, the Serbian president said that since then "there stand on guard the Serbian soldiers whom we have never forgotten."
Nikolic said that nowadays we are building good relations with all the countries of the world and that the message is sent from Kaimaktsalan that freedom is our permanent endeavour.
"We are proud of victories, we do not forget the sacrifice on the altar of freedom, and we see the present and the future in friendship and cooperation also with those countries against whom we fought – never conquering other people’s property, always defending our own", Nikolic said.
As he said, Serbia stands tall today, it is progressing and building good relations with all the countries of the world, not giving up its libertarian ideas.He added that Kaimaktsalan has been a symbol of the end of suffering and the beginning of the final victory for several hundred years.
"We are standing grateful on behalf of hundreds of generations in Serbia, whose existence our ancestors fought for with their lives. We are developing deep respect for the shadows of the giant heroes", the President stressed.
Nikolic recalled that the battle on Kaimaktsalan got a mythic dimension and that the Serbian command fought battle for it along with allies for several months even before it started on the battlefield.
The Serbian Army, he added, saved its national capacity, preserving its own integrity, its autonomy and dignity.
He pointed out that the Kaimaktsalan battle, which took place for weeks, is one of the most important battles that the Serbian Army waged in its history and among the decisive ones in the First World War. He also said that this battle was the most ruthless offensive of the entire military campaign of Thessalonica which ended in the Serbian victory with a very high price.
On the bloody theatre of war, he said, we lost 4,438 people in 24 days, from 30th August to 23rd September. However, the news of the glory and heroism of the Serbian Army spread throughout the libertarian world.
"Special admiration was dedicated to the breakthrough of Drina Division which began on this day a hundred years ago and finished with the final victorious battles on 30th September", Nikolic said, adding that this famous division lost over 3,800 people.
Today, these historical facts about the glory are a glittering contribution of Serbia to the world history, the victory that makes us stand tall with pride and honour, Nikolic concluded.
The central celebration of paying tribute to the fallen Serbian warriors, which was attended by numerous citizens, was held in the Memorial complex on the same mountaintop in Macedonia.
President Nikolic will sign the memorial book in the chapel of St. Elijah, lay a wreath at the charnel of Serbian soldiers, and after commemoration on the Kaimaktsalan, he will meet with Macedonian President Djordje Ivanov in Bitola.
The celebration of the centenary of the Battle of Kaimaktsalan was attended by Defence Minister Zoran Djordjevic and Serbian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff, General Ljubisa Dikovic.
