A Forgotten Chapter of Shared Serbian–Tunisian History: Serbian Soldiers in Bizerte (1916)

Sorry for the photo, but this is a small and often forgotten piece of shared Serbian–Tunisian history.

Anonymous vernacular photograph of Serbian soldiers arriving in Bizerte (Tunisia), at the military hospital of Bizerte, after their retreat from Serbia. 1916.

During World War Iafter the devastating retreat of the Serbian army across Albania in the winter of 1915–1916, thousands of exhausted and wounded soldiers were evacuated by Allied ships. Several thousand were brought to Bizerte, Tunisiathen under French protectorate.

Bizerte became a place of care and recovery:

• Serbian soldiers were treated in military hospitals
• Camps were set up for rest and rehabilitation
• A Serbian military cemetery was established
• Many soldiers never returned home and are still buried there today

This episode created a lasting historical bond between Serbia and Tunisiastill remembered through memorials and annual commemorations in Bizerte.

I previously wrote a full post detailing this story and its context. This photo is just a reminder of that longer human history.

🔗 Original post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/serbia/comments/1ilnji1/the_untold_story_of_serbian_soldiers_in_bizerte/

History sometimes survives only through fragile images like this.