milan kalabić was born in 1886 in the village of podnovlje, near derventa. his father, nikola, fought in the russo-turkish war of 1876–78 and was involved in the liberation of bulgaria from the ottoman empire. in 1912, with the start of the first balkan war, milan fled to the kingdom of serbia and joined the serbian army as a volunteer. he became an officer and fought in the first balkan war, the second balkan war and the first world war.