ABSTRACT
In a ravine outside of Salonika, Greek Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, nicknamed Apis, awaited execution at the hands of the exiled Serbian government for deeds he had neither committed nor even envisioned. Bidding farewell to the goalers who had accompanied him to the execution site and holding a half smoked cigarette, Apis leaped straight into his open grave. Apis’ first major political action was his organisation and leadership of an officer conspiracy against the last rulers of the Serbian Obrenovic dynasty: King Aleksandar and Queen Draga Mašin. Apis knew the coup could only succeed if the King and Queen were killed quickly, the government seized, and a new multiparty regime proclaimed. The King was guarded by his adjutant, General Lazar Petrovic and a palace guard of three officers, forty-five cavalry men, and a police detachment. Seeing someone fleeing in the right-hand corridor, Apis rushed down the steps in pursuit with his revolver.
