Putnik, Radomir (1847–1917)

Serbian field marshal. He fought in the Serbo-Bulgar war 1885 and was commander-in-chief of the Serbian Army in the Balkan Wars 1912–13. Effectively in command of Serbian forces in World War I, in the first months his tactics outfought the Austrians at almost every turn. However, eventually the greater numerical strength of the Austro-German combination told and he was forced to retreat across the mountains of Montenegro and Albania to the Adriatic Oct–Nov 1915.