President Milanović Receives Authors of “The Great Biographical Lexicon of Croatian Generals and Admirals from 1804 to 1918”
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović today received retired Colonels Boris Trnski and Dario Matika, the author and reviewer of the book “Veliki biografski leksikon hrvatskih generala i admirala od 1804. do 1918.” (“The Great Biographical Lexicon of Croatian Generals and Admirals from 1804 to 1918”).
This biographical lexicon is dedicated to Croatian generals and admirals of the Austrian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The book’s author, retired Colonel Boris Trnski, and its reviewer, retired Colonel Dario Matika, explained at the meeting that the lexicon contains 401 biographies of Croatian officers who, due to their success on the battlefield and their reputation, earned the ranks of general and admiral, as well as high decorations. Croatian officers made up almost ten percent of the total number of generals and admirals in the Austrian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, they said. The generals and admirals featured in the book were either born in the territory of the former Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia, the Kingdom of Dalmatia, and Rijeka and its surroundings, or they originated from these areas.
The author of the book emphasized that, in order to write the lexicon, he researched materials from the Austrian State Archives, as well as numerous other Croatian, Austrian, and German sources and lexicons, along with documents from the Austrian National Library. Since there is still no comprehensive and scientifically processed body of work on Croatian military history and tradition, the book is an important contribution to preserving this aspect of Croatian military heritage, it was noted at the meeting.
President Milanović was accompanied at the meeting by the Adviser to the President of the Republic for Defense Ivica Olujić and the Head of the Military Office in the Cabinet for Defense and National Security Colonel Franjo Hrala.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan