Full Name Paulus Sturm | Succeeded by Petar Bojovic Preceded by Bozidar Terzic Name Pavle Sturm | |
 | ||
Spouse(s) Savka Jurisic (1881–1884; her death)Jelena Jurisic (?–1922; his death) | ||
Sportski susreti u kasarni „General Pavle Jurišić Šturm“
SRPSKI VOJSKOVOĐA- PAVLE JURIŠIĆ ŠTURM
Pavle Jurišić Šturm KCMG (Serbian Cyrillic: Павле Јуришић Штурм; August 8, 1848 – January 13, 1922) was a Serbian general most known for commanding the Serbian 3rd Army in World War I. Born in Prussian Silesia, of ethnic Sorb (Slavic) origin, he and his brother moved to Serbia and joined the Serbian army. Šturm was one of the most important commanders in the Serbian army in World War I, especially during its first two years, the time when his 3rd army was main support either for the 2nd army during the battle of Cer, or for the 1st army during the battle of Kolubara.
Contents
Paulus Sturm, an ethnic Sorb (a Slavic people also known as "Wends"), was born and raised in Görlitz (Upper Sorbian: Zhorjelc, Lower Sorbian: Zgórjelc), in Prussian Silesia.
He and his brother Eugene (Evgenije) finished the royal Prussian military academy in Breslau (Wrocław), and participated in the Franco-Prussian War. They later resigned their commissions and moved to the Principality of Serbia, prior to the Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–78), in order to lecture at the Serbian Military Academy in Belgrade. With the outbreak of the war, the two brothers joined the Serbian Army as volunteers. He also fought in the Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885) as commander of a regiment.
He fell in love with Serbia instantly, marrying a Serbian woman. In order to become naturalized, he changed his name into Pavle Jurišić-Šturm in 1876. Pavle being a cognate of Paulus, and Jurišić being derived from a modulated translation of the word "charge" (sturm in German, juriš in Serbian). He kept his German last name as an alias ("Šturm").
In the Balkan Wars (1912–13) he was the General of the Drina Division, which distinguished itself at the Battle of Kumanovo.
As commander of the Third Serbian Army, he participated in all major battles in the Serbian theater in World War I, from Cer and Kolubara, then retreated over frozen Albania, and the participation of the Serbian Army on the Salonika Front. Here, his army fought in the Battle of Kajmakcalan, suffering many casualties. After this battle Sturm was replaced at the head of the Third Army by Miloš Vasić in October 1916. He was sent to Russia to assist the commander of the Serbian Volunteer Corps. In early 1917, he returned over Japan to Thessaloniki, where he was appointed Chancellor of the Order of the Crown, a job he held until the end of the war.
After years of peace that followed, Šturm stayed in Serbia and remained in its army with the rank of general. He died in 1922 at his home in Belgrade.