ХЕРЦЕГОВАЧКИ БАТАЉОН ЦРНОГОРСКЕ ВОЈСКЕ У ИТАЛИЈИ ПРЕМА СВЈЕДОЧЕЊИМА ПОВРАТНИКА ИЗ ГАЕТЕ
Herzegovinian Battalion of the Montenegrin Army in Italy According to the Testimonies of the Returnees from Gaeta

Summary/Abstract: In the extensive researches on Montenegrin Outlaw Movement after the First World War, and on Montenegrin army in Italy, the scholar analysis of the participation of Herzegovinians and Bosnians in the army is, accidentally or deliberately, left out. To be more precise, there is no data on so called Herzegovinian Battalion in Gaeta. Out of the statements of some members of the battalion, reported to the Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities on their return, we can see their ways of arriving to Gaeta, and their status in Montenegro Outlaw Movement. It can be concluded that (apart from some Herzegovinians who were ex Montenegrin officers) they were brought to Gaeta by deception and promises about returning home soon. Since they were forced to pledge the loyalty to Montenegrin King Nicholas, they were treated equally as the Montenegrin soldiers. However, their attempts to escape were severely punished, and in some cases the escape implied the execution by firing squad. Their wish to escape the Montenegrin camp in Gaeta might be realized after the death of King Nicholas, when the Montenegrin officers released them and approved their return to the native country.

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