Medaile oslavy 60.výročí královské gardy

Serbian commemorative medal celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Royal Guard.
Commemorative medal of the 60th anniversary of the Royal Guard
Erinnerungsmedaille für des 60.Jahre Jubiläum der Königliche Garde
Commemorative Medal for the Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Royal Guard
Ing. Alexander V. Petříček
At the beginning of the 19th century, two important uprisings against Ottoman rule occurred in Serbia. The first broke out in 1804 as a result of long-standing unrest caused by the harsh assertion of waning Turkish power in its Balkan territories. The leader of the uprising was the legendary warrior Dorde Petrovich (1762-1817), who was called Kara Dorde (Black George) by the Turks and became the founder of the descendant ruling dynasty of the Karadordeviches. His rebel troops grew from a few hundred men to thousands, defeating the Turkish regulars who were increasingly confined to holding the city's fortresses. However, the successes of the rebellion were thwarted by the results of the Peace of Bucharest, and Karadjordes fled to Austria in 1813, returning to Serbia in 1817 to prepare another uprising with his former warlord from the first Serbian uprising, Milos Obrenovic. In the meantime, however, he had been pardoned by the Turks for his participation in the anti-Turkish movement and also had a different plan for the liberation of Serbia. which was to take a more peaceful course against Turkey. However, the charismatic and popular military leader Karadjord Petrovic did not fit into these new plans, and Obrenovic had him assassinated. This was done on 13 July 1817 by the insidious hand of the pandur Nikola Novakovic, who beheaded Karadjord Petrovic and sent his head to Istanbul as a sign of loyalty to the Ottoman Empire.
The Turks, however, continued to take cruel revenge for their recent shameful defeats and terrorized the Christian population more than before. In defiance of all international agreements, the Porte continued its previous bloody oppression of Christians and plunder of the land by the bestial methods of the medieval Asiatics.
In 1815 a second Serbian uprising broke out, which was not inferior in size and success to the first. The leader was Milos Obrenovic and his victorious actions led to peace negotiations with the Turks. The success of Russia in the war with Napoleon, which dashed Turkish hopes of weakening the age-old enemy, had a considerable influence on the favourable development of the Serbian situation. Obrenovic achieved his recognition as a Serbian prince by the Porte in 1830 and, despite being illiterate, began successfully to build the foundation of the Serbian principality. The process of independence of the former Turkish vassal was slow and subject to many restrictions, including the prohibition of the establishment of a Serbian army.
The Serbian Prince's Military Guard was established in May 1838 as the basis for the future army units. Its numbers were initially made up of only 12 of the best Serbian fighters, which gradually grew into the numbers of a regular military formation. Under Prince Mihajlo Obrenović in 1864, the Royal Guard was organised as a platoon, while under King Milan I Obrenović in 1885 the Royal Guard was already two squadrons strong. During the reign of King Alexander Obrenović, the Guard reached the size of a regiment.
On the occasion of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Guard, held in the Guard barracks in Belgrade on 12 May 1898, a commemorative medal called :
Spomenica na proslavu 60-godišnjice Kraljeve garde. ( see picture )
The medal was awarded to all current officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the Guard, all soldiers who had served their military service in the Guard and participants of the celebration of the King's personal choice.
The medal was one of the first decorations minted in Serbia, its production was commissioned to the arms factory in Kragujevac. The metal used was brass,there are also trial minted in nickel and iron, all in one variant with a sub-variant that has two small crossed laurel sprigs under the year in the reverse. The diameter of the medal is 35 mm and the number of pieces struck and awarded was 1000. The ribbon was triangular in the Serbian national colours of red, blue and white.
Literature:
Petr Damjanov,Miroslav Mladenovic-Letopis Garde 1830-2000.Beograd 2002
Pavel Car-Tomislav Muhič: Catalogue of decorations and emblems of Serbia and Yugoslavia 1858-1941
Notes:
This work by Ing. Petříček was published in the phallic magazine SIGNUM, issue 19, IV. series in September 2007.