Cene Marković
19th-20th century Serbian Chetnik commander
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Aleksandar Marković (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Марковић, 1864–1918+), known by his nickname Cene (Цене Марковић), was a Serbian Chetnik commander (voivoda) in Macedonia, in the Balkan Wars and World War I.
1864
Kingdom of Serbia (1912–18)
Serbian Chetnik Organization (1905–12)
IMRO (?–1905)
Vojvoda Cene Marković | |
|---|---|
Cene Marković in Chetnik gear. | |
| Nickname | Cene |
| Born | Aleksandar Marković 1864 Jelošnik, Ottoman Empire (now North Macedonia) |
| Died | Unknown |
| Allegiance |
|
| Service years | 1905–18 |
| Rank | vojvoda |
Life
Marković was born in the village of Jelošnik near Tetovo (now in North Macedonia).[1] He lived in his village for his first 15 years, then sought work in the Principality of Bulgaria, then a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire.[2] He finished training at the NCO school and served as a soldier, then returned to Bulgaria,[2] as a cavalry officer of the Bulgarian Army.[1]
He joined the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) and quickly became a voivoda (commander). After the massacre of Serbs in Kokošinje and Rudar by IMRO in 1905 he left the organization and joined the Serbian Chetnik Organization. Identifying as a Serb, he could not forgive the cruelty of the massacres, and fled at once at night and joined the Serbian bands,[3] operating on the left side of the Vardar, with his band in Upper Poreč and in the Gostivar region. He mainly fought against Albanian kachaks.[2]
With the outbreak of the First Balkan War in 1912, he joined the Chetnik detachment of Vojislav Tankosić and participated in fighting in Merdare, destroying the Ottoman border stations.[2] In World War I he fought against the Austro-Hungarians in Belgrade, then was sent to his home region to monitor the IMRO.[2] In 1915, with the fall of Serbia, the Bulgarians attacked Tetovo, killing Marković's horse, but he survived and escaped into Albania.[2] He fought on the Macedonian front.[2] During this time he married in Bitola, then returned to fighting in the north.[2] When the war ended, he returned to his village, which was devastated, the houses having been burnt down by the Bulgarians.[2]