text: marija bursać marija bursać ( serbian cyrillic : ; 2 august 1920 – 23 september 1943 ) was a bosnian serb member of the yugoslav partisans during world war ii in yugoslavia and the first woman proclaimed a people 's hero of yugoslavia . bursać was born to a farming family in the village of kamenica , near drvar . after the invasion of yugoslavia by the axis powers and their creation of the independent state of croatia in april 1941 , bursać supported the partisan resistance movement led by the communist party of yugoslavia ( kpj ) . like other women in her village , she collected food , clothing , and other supplies for the partisan war effort . bursać became a member of the league of communist youth of yugoslavia in september 1941 . the following august she was appointed political commissar of a company of the 1st krajina agricultural shock brigade , which harvested crops in the river valley , and was admitted to the kpj at the end of that summer . bursać became a partisan in february 1943 , joining the newly formed 10th krajina brigade . with the brigade , she fought in the grahovo , knin , vrlika and livno areas and served as a nurse . in september 1943 , bursać was wounded in the leg while throwing hand grenades during an attack on the german base at prkosi in northwestern bosnia . as she was being transported to a field hospital at vidovo selo , she sang partisan songs . bursać 's wound soon developed gangrene , and she died at the hospital on 23 september 1943 . she was proclaimed a people 's hero of yugoslavia the following month . schools , streets and organisations were named in her memory following the war , commemorating her service to the partisan cause . early life bursać was born on 2 august 1920 in the village of kamenica , near drvar in the region of bosanska krajina , the north - western sector of bosnia and herzegovina ( then part of the kingdom of serbs , croats and slovenes , renamed as yugoslavia in 1929 ) . the drvar area was inhabited primarily by ethnic serbs , with bosnian muslims and croats forming less than four percent of the population . bursać was the oldest of five children of stonemason nikola bursać and his wife , , who mostly raised sheep and cattle on their family farm . like other village girls , bursać did not go to school — only the boys attended elementary school in drvar . a shepherdess until age fourteen , she later helped her mother with housekeeping and agricultural work . bursać became skilled at weaving , spinning , knitting and embroidery before completing a six - month tailoring course in drvar . in 1938 , an elementary school opened in kamenica at which velimir stojnić was a trainee teacher . stojnić , a member of the communist party of yugoslavia ( serbo - croatian : komunistička partija jugoslavije or kpj , outlawed since 1921 ) , organised a public library , reading and sports clubs and a cultural - artistic group . he established a secret kpj cell in kamenica in 1939 , the first communist organisation in the area . his ideological convictions earned him a following among the village youth , including marija 's brother dušan . the authorities soon became aware of stojnić 's activities , and he was removed from kamenica in february 1940 . world war ii on 6 april 1941 yugoslavia was invaded from all sides by the axis powers , led by nazi germany . the royal yugoslav army ( serbo - croatian : vojska kraljevine jugoslavije or vkj ) capitulated on 17 april , and the germans , italians and hungarians dismembered the country . a fascist puppet state , the independent state of croatia ( serbo - croatian : nezavisna država hrvatska or ndh , including almost all of modern - day croatia , all of modern - day bosnia - herzegovina and parts of modern - day serbia ) was proclaimed on 10 april . the ndh was an " italian - german quasi - protectorate " , controlled by the croatian nationalist ustaše movement under ante pavelić . one of the ndh 's policies was to eliminate the state 's ethnic serb population with mass killings , expulsions and forced assimilation . the first drvar serbs were killed on 18 june 1941 . the atrocities accelerated the formation of two large resistance movements in occupied yugoslavia . royalists and serbian nationalists led by vkj colonel draža mihailović founded the ravna gora movement , whose members were known as chetniks . the kpj , led by josip broz tito , decided in belgrade on 4 july to launch a nationwide armed uprising and the members of the kpj - led forces became known as partisans . pro - partisan activity between 20 and 26 july 1941 local kpj leaders organised three partisan detachments , armed with about 200 rifles and seven light machine guns , in the immediate vicinity of drvar ; one was the kamenica detachment . men from kamenica had previously established a camp in a nearby forest for weapons and supplies . bursać was one of the village 's most active women , collecting food and clothing for the insurgents and serving as a courier for the kamenica camp . on 27 july the partisans liberated drvar , beginning the uprising in bosnia - herzegovina . over the next few days , other parts of bosanska krajina were also liberated , although at this stage the kpj had little control of the serb villagers who took up arms . the liberated area around drvar and grahovo , under constant attack by the ustaše , was defended by the partisans from their surrounding positions . bursać and other women from kamenica joined ( the funds committee ) , collecting food , clothing and other supplies for the partisans , and she made clothes for them from wool and cloth . she joined the league of communist youth of yugoslavia ( serbo - croatian : savez komunističke omladine jugoslavije , or skoj ) in september 1941 . on 25 september 1941 italian troops captured drvar and grahovo , but the partisans retained control of most of the area 's villages . by the end of 1941 , skoj 's kamenica branch had 23 members ; the men served in partisan units and the women , including bursać , joined labour companies to support the war effort . a literacy course was organised for female members , which bursać attended . some villagers gave agricultural products such as milk , cream and eggs to the italians , receiving salt , kerosene and rice in return . this practice was strongly condemned by the kpj , which gathered people from several villages in the hall of the kamenica school in january 1942 to dissuade them from trading with the enemy . after several kpj members spoke , bursać began her speech , but was interrupted by disparaging comments and threats from a young man in the audience . at that moment , a group of men stormed into the hall with wooden poles and pitchforks . in the ensuing chaos bursać shouted , " you can do nothing to us , you will not hinder us ! " as the other women fled through the windows . in early 1942 she joined the village committee of the women 's anti - fascist front ( serbo - croatian : front or ) , a major kpj - affiliated women 's organisation . on 13 june 1942 drvar was retaken by the partisans , with bursać 's labour company clearing rubble and repairing houses in the town . the company also helped in working the land of families whose men were away fighting with the partisans . in july , partisan units composed of fighters from serbia and montenegro came to drvar , and bursać helped carry their wounded to field hospitals in the mountains . she was one of the most active members of kamenica 's skoj organisation , which sometimes met at her house . the partisan - held territory around drvar expanded significantly , and included the river valley in late july 1942 . the valley 's primarily non - serb population had fled before the advancing partisans , whom they feared because of ustaše propaganda . the partisan command engaged young people from western bosanska krajina to harvest wheat and other crops from the valley , transporting them to storage facilities on mount grmeč . the workers ( mostly young women ) were organised into military - style units , which were merged in mid - august into the four - battalion 1st krajina agricultural shock brigade . bursać was appointed political commissar of the 3rd company of the brigade 's 2nd battalion . guarded by partisan units , the brigade completed its work despite attacks by enemy planes . bursać was admitted to the kpj at the end of summer 1942 ; at the beginning of 1943 , she was president of the village committee of the united federation of anti - fascist youth of yugoslavia ( serbo - croatian : savez omladine jugoslavije , or ) . yugoslav partisan tito came to drvar at the end of january 1943 , during a major axis offensive against the partisans ( code - named fall weiss in german ) . after consulting with đuro pucar , the head of the kpj regional committee for bosanska krajina , tito decided to form a partisan brigade around a battalion of experienced fighters from drvar . additional manpower would consist of recovered partisans who had been wounded or ill , older men not previously in combat units and young male and female volunteers . the four - battalion 10th krajina brigade , intended to play a primarily - defensive role at this stage , was established on 4 february 1943 ; its 800 members included about 120 women . bursać , one of the volunteers , was assigned to the 2nd battalion and was transferred to the 3rd battalion 's 3rd company the following month . until september 1943 , she fought the ustaše , germans , italians , and anti - communist chetniks around grahovo , knin , vrlika , livno and mount dinara , was commended for her courage and skill in combat , and served as a nurse . in february and march 1943 , during the axis offensive , the brigade experienced constant enemy attacks , food shortages , cold , deep snow and outbreaks of typhus . , bursać was transferred to the military kitchen at brigade headquarters at the beginning of spring ; after a month , she was returned to her company at her insistence . when she became ill some time later , bursać was sent home to recover . the germans had a fortified base , stützpunkt podglavica , near podglavica in the village of prkosi ( between vrtoče and kulen vakuf ) . the base , with about 500 members of the 373rd ( croatian ) infantry division and an artillery battery , secured the roads from petrovac to bihać and kulen vakuf . in september 1943 , the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 10th krajina brigade and a battalion of the drvar – petrovac partisan detachment were directed to attack it . bursać volunteered to throw hand grenades at the pillboxes and machine - gun nests protecting the base . although her company commander objected because she still appeared ill , bursać insisted on throwing the grenades . the three partisan battalions attacked the base from three directions on 18 september at 11 pm . bursać and her group of grenade throwers destroyed several pillboxes before they came under fire from another . they destroyed the pillbox , but bursać received a serious leg wound and was carried to a less exposed area . the partisans overran portions of the base , retreating before daybreak after the arrival of german reinforcements from vrtoče and kulen vakuf . the brigade reportedly captured four howitzers , two mortars , a heavy machine gun , ten light machine guns , five rifles , a mobile radio and 29 enemy soldiers , and stützpunkt podglavica reported 31 german soldiers missing after the attack . the germans described the night attack as eerie , with female partisans ' shrill shouts of " forward ! " ( serbo - croatian : ! ) . the battle at prkosi was the first major offensive action by the 10th krajina brigade ; in 1944 , they participated in the liberation of belgrade . after the battle , bursać and other heavily - wounded partisans were carried on stretchers to the field hospital in the village of vidovo selo , about 40 kilometres ( 25 mi ) away over rugged terrain . during the arduous journey ( which took over three days ) , she sang partisan songs such as : bursać had lost much blood and her wound developed gangrene , which the field hospital was poorly equipped to treat . she died in vidovo selo on 23 september 1943 , and was buried with military honours at kamenica ; deputy commissar veljko ražnatović spoke on behalf of the 10th krajina brigade . bursać 's final eulogy was delivered by her brother dušan , leader of the skoj district committee for drvar . legacy bursać became a people 's hero of yugoslavia on 15 october 1943 , the first woman to receive the honour . her proclamation was published in the october 1943 issue of the bulletin of the supreme headquarters of the national liberation army and partisan detachments of yugoslavia : и југославије , a на v југославије , , - iii x . је у и на за на с . . " by decision of the supreme headquarters of the national liberation army and partisan detachments of yugoslavia , and at the proposal of the 5th corps of the national liberation army of yugoslavia , the order of the people 's hero has been conferred on comrade marija bursać , a hand - grenade thrower of the 3rd battalion of the 10th krajina brigade . comrade marija was an example of heroism in all fights and ultimately gave her life for the freedom of her people charging enemy trenches at the village of prkosi . " yugoslav writer branko ćopić wrote a poem , marija na ( " marija at prkosi " ) , about bursać . its title , which may also be interpreted as " marija defiant " , is a play on words . bursać " entered the triptych of history , legend , and poetry in the yugoslav lands " , according to author jelena . after the war , schools , streets , and organisations in yugoslavia were named after her ; a belgrade neighborhood bears her name . a 2013 comic strip , marija na , was published in the serbian daily newspaper as part of its odbrana ( " defense of utopia " ) comic - strip project . graphic artist lazar 's strip combines events from bursać ’ s life with verses of ćopić 's poem and left - wing visual symbolism .