On the southern coast of Malta, 107 years after the sinking of a French transport ship carrying Serbian cadets and the legendary Milunka Savić, tribute was paid to heroes whose suffering united the Serbian and Maltese people in a friendship that lasts to this day.
Arno Gujon, Director of the Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Government of Serbia, unveiled a monument dedicated to the tragic shipwreck of Serbian soldiers on the French ship “Le Polynesien” in Maltese waters during World War I.
“It was August 10, 1918. A German torpedo, at exactly 11 AM, sank the French transport ship, which was carrying our youngest officers sailing from Bizerte toward the battlefields of the Salonika Front. The ship was carrying 500 Serbian officer cadets, accompanied by Second Lieutenant Tajsić and the famous war heroine, Sergeant Milunka Savić, the Serbian ‘Joan of Arc.’ At least 17 people died, including 11 members of the French crew, Second Lieutenant Tajsić, and two Serbian cadets, while most of the survivors, including Milunka Savić, were rescued and cared for in Malta. She and her comrades received the necessary assistance and survived largely thanks to the generosity of that generation of Maltese people,” Gujon emphasized.
He noted that Milunka Savić and the young officers, after recovering in a Maltese hospital, went on to fight with all their might in what was perhaps the key offensive of the entire Allied army: on the battlefields of the Salonika Front, in the decisive offensive that shortened and victoriously ended the Great War.
“There are no living witnesses from 1918, but there is a strong awareness of the heroic deeds forged by unity in the final months of the victorious end of World War I. This is why this day in August, exactly 107 years ago, is considered the cornerstone of the past and future friendly ties between the Serbian and Maltese people. This commemorative plaque was placed as an enduring testament to look out at the place where the ship sank and now rests at the bottom of the sea, at a depth of 65 meters,” said the Director of the Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy.
The solemn ceremony was held in the town of Marsaskala on the south of this island nation in the presence of Maltese Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, high representatives of the French embassy, local government, and the Serbian-Maltese community. The monument was erected under the patronage of the Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy in cooperation with the Serbian community in Malta, the Educational and Cultural Center “Saint Helen of Anjou,” the Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit “Heritage Malta,” and the local council of Marsaskala, according to a statement from the Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy.
MORE TOPICS:
JOKIĆ FROM ANOTHER PLANET: Serbia Defeats Greece Away, Best Player in the World Shines! (VIDEO)
THE GREAT SPANOULIS ADMITS: Serbia is the favorite for gold at the European Championship! (PHOTO)
Source: Kurir, Foto: Printscreen Instagram @arno.gujon