Native name Milutin Nediћ Years of service 1901–1941 Name Milutin Nedic | Died 1945 (aged 63)
Austria Rank General | |
 | ||
Allegiance Serbia (1901–18)
Yugoslavia (1918–41) Service/branch Serbian Army
Royal Yugoslav Army | ||
Ljutica Raduna Markovic
Milutin D. Nedic (Serbian Cyrillic: Milutin Nediћ; 26 October 1882 – 1945) was a general and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army prior to the outbreak of World War II. He was replaced in late 1938, and later commanded the 2nd Army Group during the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia of April 1941 during World War II. Nedic's command consisted of General Milan Radenkovic's 1st Army, responsible for the area between the Danube and the Tisza, and the 2nd Army of General Dragoslav Miljkovic, responsible for the border from Slatina to the Danube. Nedic had no Army Group reserve, but the 2nd Army was to constitute a reserve of one infantry division deployed south of Slavonski Brod.
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Personal life
Milutin Nedic was born in the Belgrade suburb of Sopot on 26 October 1882, to Dorde and Pelagia Nedic (nee Ilic). Nedic was descended from an old revolutionary family. He had one brother, Milan.
Nedic's father was a local district chief and his mother was a schoolteacher. She was the granddaughter of Nikola Mihailovic, who was mentioned in the writings of poet Sima Milutinovic Sarajlija and was an ally of Serbian revolutionary leader Karadorde. The Nedic family was originally from the village of Zaoka, near Lazarevac. It traced its origins to two brothers, Damjan and Gligorije, who defended the Cokesina Monastery from the Turks during the Serbian Revolution. The family received its name from Nedic's great-grandmother, Neda, who was a member of the Vasojevici tribe in Montenegro.
In 1920 Nedic married Anastasia Krsmanovic, the daughter of a successful Belgrade merchant. The marriage did not last, and he later married Jelica Hristic. The couple had one child, a son named Nastas.
Military career
During the late 19th century, Nedic attended the Military Academy in Belgrade and finished first in his class. He began his military service in 1901, and participated in both the Balkan Wars and World War I.
On 17 September 1938, Nedic approved a VKJ war plan which had to be revised following the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany (the Anschluss). In October, he was replaced as Chief of the General Staff by General Dusan Simovic. Nedic commanded the 2nd Army Group during the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia of April 1941 during World War II. Nedic's command consisted of General Milan Radenkovic's 1st Army, responsible for the area between the Danube and the Tisza, and the 2nd Army of General Dragoslav Miljkovic, responsible for the border from Slatina to the Danube. Nedic had no Army Group reserve, but the 2nd Army was to constitute a reserve of one infantry division deployed south of Slavonski Brod. During the invasion, he was taken into captivity by the Germans and detained in a German prisoner-of-war camp in Germany. The Germans allowed Nedic to return to Belgrade in 1942. He left Serbia in 1944 and retreated to Austria, where he committed suicide in 1945.