23.09.2018.
Cyclists of “Friends of the 72nd Special Brigade” Association mark the century of breakthrough of the Salonika Front returning to Belgrade
After ten days and about 1,000 kilometres of bicycle crossing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the breakthrough of the Salonika Front, members of the “Friends of the 72nd Special Brigade” Association returned to Belgrade, the final point of the marathon “On the Paths of Thessalonians - Free Sons”. And here, mentioning one of the most famous battles of the First World War – for Dobro Polje, whose central part was focused on the mountain massif of Nidža and the peak Kaimaktsalan – each of them laid a stone from Kaimaktsalan on the observatory at Pionirski Park.
The retired colonel and leader of this 14-member expedition, Miodrag Kapor, said, welcoming the participants, that during the 1,000 kilometres long trip, which started in Pančevo, they visited 19 memorials, including monuments and cemeteries, and they rebuilt or marked some of them so that the travellers could know what they represent.
- In every war, soldiers are killed, but if there is the state, the family and the descendants then they did not die. Crossing every millimetre of this route, we felt more and more respect for those heroes, and everywhere we tried to remind of the events, but also of all those little, unknown people who actually did those heroic deeds. We ask the state to save from the oblivion all those 1,200,000 persons who died in that war, who gave their lives so that we could live freely today. I thank the Serbian Ministry of Defence, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Military Intelligence Agency, the Minister of Interior of Republika Srpska, ambassadors of Serbia to Macedonia and the Consul General in Thessaloniki, as well as all those who helped this marathon, Kapor said.
Those present were greeted by Colonel Dragan Milković, Head of the Department for Traditions and Veterans of the Department for Tradition, Standard and Veterans of the Serbian Ministry of Defence.- The Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces recognized this project as a project of great importance for valuation and preservation of traditions. By evoking memories of brave ancestors, their suffering, and feats, you have demonstrated how tradition should be preserved and valued. The Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces will continue to work on preserving memories of ancestors, especially those who have given the most – their lives, Colonel Milković said.
During their trip, 14 members of the expedition visited Polikastro, Zejtinlik, Kaimaktsalan, the villages of Bač, Dobroveni and Skočivir, Bitola, Prilep, Štip, Zebrnjak near Kumanovo, Vranje, Niš, Ražanj, Paraćin, Lapovo, Topola and Oplenac.
