Serbian Campaign (World War I)
Encyclopedia
The Serbian Campaign was fought from late July 1914, when Austria-Hungary
invaded Serbia
at the outset of the First World War
, until late 1915, when the Macedonian Front
was formed. The front ranged from the Danube
to southern Macedonia
and back north again, involving forces from almost all combatants of the war.
The Serbian Army
declined severely towards the end of the war, falling from about 420,000 at its peak to about 100,000 at the moment of liberation. The Kingdom of Serbia lost 1,100,000 inhabitants during the war (both army and civilian losses), which represented over 27% of its overall population. According to the Yugoslav government in 1924: Serbia lost 265,164 soldiers, or 25%, of all mobilized people. By comparison, France lost 16.8%, Germany 15.4%, Russia 11.5%, and Italy 10.3%.
. In its response, Serbia accepted all the points except point #6, which demanded a criminal investigation against those participants in the conspiracy that were present in Serbia, and to allow an Austrian delegation to participate in the investigation. The Austro-Hungarian ambassador rejected the response on the spot and returned to Vienna. The Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. World War I
had begun.
For complex reasons
, the dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia escalated into what is now known as World War I, which involved Russia
, Germany
, France
, and the United Kingdom
. Within a week, Austria-Hungary had to face a war with Russia, which had the largest army in the world at the time. The result was that Serbia became just another front to the massive fight that started to unfold along Austria-Hungary's border with Russia. Serbia had an experienced army, having fought two wars in the last two years, but it was also exhausted and poorly equipped, and the Austro-Hungarians thought that it would fall in less than a month. Serbia's strategy was to hold on as long as it could and hope the Russians could defeat the main Austro-Hungarian Army
. Serbia constantly had to worry about its hostile neighbor to the east, Bulgaria, with which it had fought several wars, most recently in 1913
.
The Serbian army at the start of the war was some 180,000 strong, commanded by Marshal (Vojvoda) Radomir Putnik
. However, he was an old man (67) and in poor health. When the war broke out, he was undergoing medical treatment in Budapest
. The Austro-Hungarian government arrested him at the hospital, but then released him after the personal intervention of the Austro-Hungarian Chief of General Staff Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf
, partly as an act of chivalry
, and partly due to assuming that the ailing general would be an easy opponent. They were proven wrong as Putnik would brilliantly handle the Serbian Army even though he could not travel to the front and had to conduct the war from his hospital bed in Belgrade
.
the following day. On August 12 the Austro-Hungarian armies crossed the border, the Drina
River (see map).
Initially, three out of six Austro-Hungarian armies were mobilized at the Serbian frontier, but due to Russian intervention, the II Army was redirected east to the Galician theatre. But still, the Austro-Hungarians had available two armies (the Fifth and the Sixth) for an attack over the Bosnian border.
The V and VI Austro-Hungarian armies comprised about 270,000 men which were much better equipped than the Serbians. Overall, Austro-Hungarian command was in the hands of general Potiorek
. In addition, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had the third largest population in Europe in 1914, behind Russia and Germany, and almost twelve times the population of the Kingdom of Serbia, giving it an enormous manpower advantage.
. The Second Army was due to be transported to Galicia to face the Russians at the end of August, but he made use of it until then. The Sixth was positioning itself in southern Bosnia and was not yet able to commence offensive operations. Potiorek's desire was to win a victory before Emperor Franz Joseph's birthday and to knock Serbia out as soon as possible. Thus he made two grave strategic errors, attacking with only just over half of his strength, and attacking hilly western Serbia instead of the open plains of the north. This move surprised Marshal Putnik, who expected attack from the north and initially believed that it was a feint. Once it became clear that it was the main thrust, the strong Second Army under the command of General Stepa Stepanović
was sent to join the small Third under Pavle Jurišić Šturm
already facing the Austro-Hungarians and expel the invaders. After a fierce four day battle, the Austro-Hungarians were forced to retreat, marking the first Allied victory of the war. Casualties numbered 23,000 for Austro-Hungarians (of whom 4,500 were captured) and 16,500 for the Serbians.
with its Serbian First Army. Meanwhile the Timok division I of the Serbian Second Army suffered a heavy defeat in a diversionary crossing, suffering around 6,000 casualties while inflicting only 2,000.
With most of his forces in Bosnia
, Potiorek decided that the best way to stop the Serbian offensive was to launch another invasion into Serbia to force the Serbs to recall their troops to defend their much smaller homeland.
September 7 brought a renewed Austro-Hungarian attack from the west, across the river Drina, this time with both the Fifth Army in Mačva
, and the Sixth further south. The initial attack by the Fifth Army was repelled by the Serbian Second Army, with 4,000 Austro-Hungarian casualties, but the stronger Sixth Army managed to surprise the Serbian Third Army and gain a foothold. After some units from the Serbian Second Army were sent to bolster the Third, the Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army also managed to establish a bridgehead with a renewed attack. At that time, Marshal Putnik withdrew the First Army from Syrmia (against much popular opposition) and used it to deliver a fierce counterattack against the Sixth Army that initially went well, but finally bogged down in a bloody four-day fight for a peak of the Jagodnja mountain called Mačkov Kamen, in which both sides suffered horrendous losses in successive frontal attacks and counterattacks. Two Serbian divisions lost around 11,000 men, while Austro-Hungarian losses were probably comparable.
Marshal Putnik ordered a retreat into the surrounding hills and the front settled into a month and a half of trench warfare, which was highly unfavourable to the Serbs, who had little in the way of an industrial base and were deficient in heavy artillery, ammunition stocks, shell production (having only a single factory producing around 100 shells a day) and also footwear, since the vast majority of infantry wore the traditional (though state-issued) opanak
s, while the Austro-Hungarians had waterproof leather boots. Most of their war material was supplied by the Allies, who were short themselves. In such a situation, Serbian artillery quickly became almost silent, while the Austro-Hungarians steadily increased their fire. Serbian casualties reached 100 soldiers a day from all causes in some divisions (notably in Combined division).
During the first weeks of trench warfare, the Serbian Užice Army (one strengthened division) and the Montenegrin Sanjak Army (roughly a division) conducted an abortive offensive into Bosnia. In addition, both sides conducted a few local attacks, most of which were soundly defeated. In one such attack, the Serbian Army used mine warfare
for the first time: the Combined Division dug tunnels beneath the Austro-Hungarian trenches (that were only 20-30m away from the Serbian ones on this sector), planted mines and set them off just before an infantry charge.
was made commander of the battered First Army, replacing the wounded Petar Bojović
. He insisted on a deep withdrawal in order to give the troops some much-needed rest and to shorten the front. Marshal Putnik finally relented, but the consequence was the abandonment of the capital city of Belgrade
. The Austro-Hungarian Army entered the city on December 2. This move led Potiorek to move the whole Fifth Army to the Belgrade area and use it to crush the Serbian right flank. This, however, left the Sixth alone for a few days to face the whole Serbian army.
At this point, artillery ammunition finally arrived from France and Greece. In addition, some replacements were sent to the units and Marshal Putnik correctly sensed that the Austro-Hungarian forces were dangerously overstretched and weakened in the previous offensives, so he ordered a full-scale counterattack with the entire Serbian Army on December 3 against the Sixth Army. The Fifth hurried its flanking maneuver, but it was already too late - with the Sixth Army broken, the Second and Third Serbian Armies overwhelmed the Fifth. Finally, Potiorek lost his nerve and ordered yet another retreat back across the rivers into Austria-Hungary's territory. (See second map.) The Serbian Army recaptured Belgrade on December 15.
The first phase of the war against Serbia had ended with no change in the border, but casualties were enormous compared to earlier wars, though sadly, not out of keeping with other campaigns of this war. The Serbian army lost around 170,000 men killed, wounded captured or missing. Austro-Hungarian losses were approaching 215,000. Austro-Hungarian General Potiorek was removed from command and replaced by Archduke Eugen of Austria
(C. Falls p. 54). On the Serbian side, a deadly typhus
epidemic killed hundreds of thousands of Serbian civilians during the winter.
Early in 1915, with the Ottoman defeats at the Battle of Sarikamis
and in the First Suez Offensive
, German Chief of the General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn
tried to convince the Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff, Conrad von Hötzendorf
, of the importance of conquering Serbia. If Serbia were taken, then the Germans would have a rail link from Germany, through Austria-Hungary and down to Constantinople
(and beyond). This would allow the Germans to send military supplies and even troops to help the Ottoman Empire
. While this was hardly in Austria-Hungary's interests, the Austro-Hungarians did want to defeat Serbia. However, Russia was the more dangerous enemy, and furthermore, with the entry of Italy into the war on the Allied side, the Austro-Hungarians had their hands full (see the Italian Campaign (World War I)
).
Both the Allies and the Central Powers
tried to get Bulgaria to pick a side in the Great War. Bulgaria and Serbia had fought two wars in the last 30 years: the Serbo-Bulgarian War
in 1885, and the Second Balkan War
in 1913. The result was that the Bulgarian government and people felt that Serbia was in possession of lands to which Bulgaria was entitled, and when the Central Powers offered to give them what they claimed, the Bulgarians entered the war on their side. With the Allied loss in the Battle of Gallipoli
and the Russian defeat at Gorlice
, King Ferdinand signed a treaty with Germany and on September 23, 1915, began mobilizing for war.
During the preceding nine months, the Serbians had tried, and failed, to rebuild their battered armies and improve their supply situation. Despite their efforts, the Serbian army was only about 30,000 men stronger than at the start of the war (around 225,000) and was still badly equipped. Although Britain and France had talked about sending serious military forces to Serbia, nothing was done until it was too late. When Bulgaria began mobilizing, the French and British sent two divisions, but they arrived late in the Greek
town of Salonika. Part of the reason for the delay was the Greek government's conflicted views about the war.
Against Serbia were marshalled the Bulgarian First Army, the German Eleventh Army
and the Austro-Hungarian Third Army, all under the command of Field Marshal Mackensen
. In addition the Bulgarian Second Army
, which remained under the direct control of the Bulgarian high command, was deployed against Macedonia
.
The Austro-Hungarians and Germans began their attack on October 7 with a massive artillery barrage, followed by attacks across the rivers. Then, on the 14th, the Bulgarian Army attacked from two directions, from the north of Bulgaria towards Niš
and from the south towards Skopje
(see map). The First Army defeated the Serbian Second Army at the Battle of Morava
, while the Bulgarian Second broke through the less trained and equipped Troops of New Areas and cut the vital railroad to Salonika (Battle of Ovche Pole
). With the Bulgarian breakthrough, the Serbian position was hopeless; the main army in the north could try to retreat, or be surrounded and forced to surrender. In the Battle of Kosovo
the Serbs made a last and desperate attempt to join the two incomplete Allied divisions that made a limited advance from the south, but were unable to gather enough forces, due to the pressure from north and east and were stopped by the Bulgarians under General Georgi Todorov
and had to pull back.
Marshal Putnik ordered a full retreat, south and west through Montenegro
and into Albania
. The weather was terrible, the roads poor, and the army had to help the tens of thousands of civilians who retreated with them with almost no supplies or food left. But the bad weather and poor roads worked for the refugees as well, as the Central Powers forces could not press them hard enough, and so they evaded capture. Many of the fleeing soldiers and civilians did not make it to the coast, though - they were lost to hunger, disease, attacks by enemy forces and Albanian tribal bands. The circumstances of the retreat were disastrous, and all told, some 155,000 Serbs, mostly soldiers, reached the coast of the Adriatic Sea
, and embarked on Allied transport ships that carried the army to various Greek islands (many to Corfu
) before being sent to Salonika. The survivors were so weakened that thousands of them died from sheer exhaustion in the weeks after their rescue. Marshal Putnik had to be carried during the whole retreat and he died a bit more than a year later in a hospital in France.
The French and British divisions marched north from Salonika in late November under the command of French General Maurice Sarrail
. However, the British divisions were ordered by the War Office in London not to cross the Greek frontier. So the French divisions advanced on their own up the Vardar
River. This advance was of some limited help to the retreating Serbian Army as the Bulgarian Army had to concentrate some forces on their southern flank to deal with the threat. By mid-November, General Sarrail concluded retreat was necessary in the face of determined Bulgarian assaults on his positions.
This was a nearly complete victory for the Central Powers at a cost of around 67,000 casualties as compared to around 90,000 Serbs killed or wounded and 174,000 captured. The railroad from Berlin
to Constantinople was finally opened. The only flaw in the victory was the remarkable retreat of the Serbian Army, which was however almost completely disorganized and had to be rebuilt almost from scratch. However, they took part in the fighting throughout the rest of the war on various fronts and performed well.
For subsequent events, see Macedonian front (World War I)
.
Once Bulgaria attacked in coordination with Austria-Hungary, the smaller Serbian Army could not withstand the attack alone, so the order was given for the temporary withdrawal to Greek islands. Greece was not a major power, nor friendly to the Allies, and the northern border of Greece offered superior defensive positions for the Bulgarians to defend.
The ramifications of the war were manifold. When World War I ended, the Treaty of Neuilly
gave Greece Western Thrace
, and Serbia some minor territorial concessions from Bulgaria. Austria-Hungary was broken apart and Hungary lost much land to both Yugoslavia and Romania in the Treaty of Trianon
. Serbia assumed the lead position in the new state of Yugoslavia
, joined by its old ally, Montenegro
. Meanwhile, Italy established a quasi-protectorate over Albania and Greece reoccupied the country's southern part, which was autonomous under a local Greek provisional Government (see Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus
).
n army committed numerous atrocities, particularly in Niš
and the town of Surdulica
.
Before the war, the Kingdom of Serbia had 4.5 million inhabitants. According to the New York Times, in 1915 alone 150,000 people are estimated to have died during the worst typhus epidemic
in world history. With the aid of the American Red Cross
and 44 foreign governments, the outbreak was brought under control by the end of the year. The number of civilian deaths is estimated by some sources at 650,000, primarily due to the typhus outbreak and famine
, but also direct clashes with the occupiers. Serbia's casualties accounted for 8% of the total Entente military deaths. 58% of the regular Serbian Army (420,000 strong) perished during the conflict. The total number of casualties is placed around 1,000,000: 25% of Serbia's prewar size, and an absolute majority (57%) of its overall male population. L.A. Times and N.Y. Times also cited over 1,000,000 victims in their respective articles.
The extent of the Serbian demographic disaster can be illustrated by the statement of the Bulgarian Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov
: "Serbia ceased to exist" (New York Times, summer 1917). In July 1918 the US Secretary of State
Robert Lansing
urged the Americans
of all religions to pray for Serbia in their respective churches.
Serbia suffered enormous casualties. The Serbian Army
had been decimated towards the end of the war, falling from about 420,000 at its peak to about 100,000 at the moment of liberation.
The Kingdom of Serbia lost 1,100,000 inhabitants during the war (both army and civilian losses: of 4.5 million people, 275,000 were military deaths, while 450,000 were civilian - mostly due to food shortages, epidemics and the Spanish flu
—and there were 133,148 wounded), which represented over 15% of its overall population—a demographic disaster that is still obvious today. According to the Yugoslav government in 1924, Serbia lost 365,164 soldiers, or 26%, of all mobilized personnel, while France suffered 16.8%, Germany 15.4%, Russia 11.5%, and Italy 10.3%.
At the end of the war, there were 114,000 disabled soldiers and 500,000 orphaned children. (cit. Serbian History : Duško M. Kovačević, Dejan Mikavica, Branko Bešlin, Biljana Šimunović-Bešlin)
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
invaded Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
at the outset of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, until late 1915, when the Macedonian Front
Macedonian front (World War I)
The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...
was formed. The front ranged from the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
to southern Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
and back north again, involving forces from almost all combatants of the war.
The Serbian Army
Serbian Army
-Objectives:The Serbian Army is responsible for:* deterring armed threats* defending Serbia's territory* participation in peacekeeping operations* providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief-Personnel:...
declined severely towards the end of the war, falling from about 420,000 at its peak to about 100,000 at the moment of liberation. The Kingdom of Serbia lost 1,100,000 inhabitants during the war (both army and civilian losses), which represented over 27% of its overall population. According to the Yugoslav government in 1924: Serbia lost 265,164 soldiers, or 25%, of all mobilized people. By comparison, France lost 16.8%, Germany 15.4%, Russia 11.5%, and Italy 10.3%.
Background
On July 23, Austria-Hungary demanded Serbia comply with its March 1909 declaration to the Great Powers to maintain good neighborly relations with Austria-Hungary and issued the July UltimatumJuly Ultimatum
The July Crisis was a diplomatic crisis among the major powers of Europe in the summer of 1914 that led to the First World War...
. In its response, Serbia accepted all the points except point #6, which demanded a criminal investigation against those participants in the conspiracy that were present in Serbia, and to allow an Austrian delegation to participate in the investigation. The Austro-Hungarian ambassador rejected the response on the spot and returned to Vienna. The Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
had begun.
Causes of World War I
The causes of World War I, which began in central Europe in July 1914, included many intertwined factors, such as the conflicts and hostility of the four decades leading up to the war. Militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism played major roles in the conflict as well...
, the dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia escalated into what is now known as World War I, which involved Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. Within a week, Austria-Hungary had to face a war with Russia, which had the largest army in the world at the time. The result was that Serbia became just another front to the massive fight that started to unfold along Austria-Hungary's border with Russia. Serbia had an experienced army, having fought two wars in the last two years, but it was also exhausted and poorly equipped, and the Austro-Hungarians thought that it would fall in less than a month. Serbia's strategy was to hold on as long as it could and hope the Russians could defeat the main Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
. Serbia constantly had to worry about its hostile neighbor to the east, Bulgaria, with which it had fought several wars, most recently in 1913
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 29 June 1913. Bulgaria had a prewar agreement about the division of region of Macedonia...
.
The Serbian army at the start of the war was some 180,000 strong, commanded by Marshal (Vojvoda) Radomir Putnik
Radomir Putnik
Radomir Putnik, also known as Vojvoda Putnik, OSS OCT OKS GCMG was a Serbian Field Marshal and Chief of General Staff in the Balkan Wars and World War I, and took part in all wars that Serbia waged from 1876 to 1917.-Biography:...
. However, he was an old man (67) and in poor health. When the war broke out, he was undergoing medical treatment in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. The Austro-Hungarian government arrested him at the hospital, but then released him after the personal intervention of the Austro-Hungarian Chief of General Staff Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf
Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf
Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf was an Austrian soldier and Chief of the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army at the outbreak of World War I.-Early life and military career:...
, partly as an act of chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
, and partly due to assuming that the ailing general would be an easy opponent. They were proven wrong as Putnik would brilliantly handle the Serbian Army even though he could not travel to the front and had to conduct the war from his hospital bed in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
.
1914
The war against Serbia started on July 28 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and her artillery shelled BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
the following day. On August 12 the Austro-Hungarian armies crossed the border, the Drina
Drina
The Drina is a 346 kilometer long river, which forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed...
River (see map).
The V and VI Austro-Hungarian armies comprised about 270,000 men which were much better equipped than the Serbians. Overall, Austro-Hungarian command was in the hands of general Potiorek
Oskar Potiorek
Oskar Potiorek was an Austrian general who served as the Austro-Hungarian governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1911 and 1914...
. In addition, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had the third largest population in Europe in 1914, behind Russia and Germany, and almost twelve times the population of the Kingdom of Serbia, giving it an enormous manpower advantage.
Battle of Cer
Potiorek rushed the attack against Serbia from northern Bosnia with his Fifth Army, supported by elements of the Second Army from SyrmiaSyrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
. The Second Army was due to be transported to Galicia to face the Russians at the end of August, but he made use of it until then. The Sixth was positioning itself in southern Bosnia and was not yet able to commence offensive operations. Potiorek's desire was to win a victory before Emperor Franz Joseph's birthday and to knock Serbia out as soon as possible. Thus he made two grave strategic errors, attacking with only just over half of his strength, and attacking hilly western Serbia instead of the open plains of the north. This move surprised Marshal Putnik, who expected attack from the north and initially believed that it was a feint. Once it became clear that it was the main thrust, the strong Second Army under the command of General Stepa Stepanović
Stepa Stepanovic
Stepa Stepanović OSS OCT GCMG was a field marshal of the Serbian Army who distinguished himself in Serbia's wars from 1876 to 1918.Stepa Stepanović was born in the village of Kumodraž outside of Belgrade on...
was sent to join the small Third under Pavle Jurišić Šturm
Pavle Jurišic Šturm
Pavle Jurišić Šturm was a Serbian general of Sorbian origin who commanded the Serbian 3rd Army in the First World War....
already facing the Austro-Hungarians and expel the invaders. After a fierce four day battle, the Austro-Hungarians were forced to retreat, marking the first Allied victory of the war. Casualties numbered 23,000 for Austro-Hungarians (of whom 4,500 were captured) and 16,500 for the Serbians.
Battle of Drina
Under pressure from its allies, Serbia conducted a limited offensive across the Sava river into the Austro-Hungarian SyrmiaSyrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
with its Serbian First Army. Meanwhile the Timok division I of the Serbian Second Army suffered a heavy defeat in a diversionary crossing, suffering around 6,000 casualties while inflicting only 2,000.
With most of his forces in Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
, Potiorek decided that the best way to stop the Serbian offensive was to launch another invasion into Serbia to force the Serbs to recall their troops to defend their much smaller homeland.
September 7 brought a renewed Austro-Hungarian attack from the west, across the river Drina, this time with both the Fifth Army in Mačva
Macva
Mačva is a geographical region in Serbia, mostly situated in the northwest of Central Serbia. It is located in a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town of this region is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is named after the region, although the region of Mačva...
, and the Sixth further south. The initial attack by the Fifth Army was repelled by the Serbian Second Army, with 4,000 Austro-Hungarian casualties, but the stronger Sixth Army managed to surprise the Serbian Third Army and gain a foothold. After some units from the Serbian Second Army were sent to bolster the Third, the Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army also managed to establish a bridgehead with a renewed attack. At that time, Marshal Putnik withdrew the First Army from Syrmia (against much popular opposition) and used it to deliver a fierce counterattack against the Sixth Army that initially went well, but finally bogged down in a bloody four-day fight for a peak of the Jagodnja mountain called Mačkov Kamen, in which both sides suffered horrendous losses in successive frontal attacks and counterattacks. Two Serbian divisions lost around 11,000 men, while Austro-Hungarian losses were probably comparable.
Marshal Putnik ordered a retreat into the surrounding hills and the front settled into a month and a half of trench warfare, which was highly unfavourable to the Serbs, who had little in the way of an industrial base and were deficient in heavy artillery, ammunition stocks, shell production (having only a single factory producing around 100 shells a day) and also footwear, since the vast majority of infantry wore the traditional (though state-issued) opanak
Opanak
Opanak are traditional peasant shoes worn in Southeastern Europe . The attributes of the Opanci are: a construction of leather, lack of laces, durable, and various ending on toes. In Serbia, the design of the horn-like ending on toes indicates the region of origin...
s, while the Austro-Hungarians had waterproof leather boots. Most of their war material was supplied by the Allies, who were short themselves. In such a situation, Serbian artillery quickly became almost silent, while the Austro-Hungarians steadily increased their fire. Serbian casualties reached 100 soldiers a day from all causes in some divisions (notably in Combined division).
During the first weeks of trench warfare, the Serbian Užice Army (one strengthened division) and the Montenegrin Sanjak Army (roughly a division) conducted an abortive offensive into Bosnia. In addition, both sides conducted a few local attacks, most of which were soundly defeated. In one such attack, the Serbian Army used mine warfare
Mine warfare
Mine warfare refers to the use of different types of explosive devices:*Land mine, a weight-triggered explosive device intended to maim or kill people or to destroy vehicles...
for the first time: the Combined Division dug tunnels beneath the Austro-Hungarian trenches (that were only 20-30m away from the Serbian ones on this sector), planted mines and set them off just before an infantry charge.
Battle of Kolubara
Having thus weakened the Serbian Army, the Austro-Hungarian Army launched another massive attack on November 5. The Serbians withdrew step by step, offering strong resistance at the Kolubara River, but to no avail, due to the lack of artillery ammunition. It was at that time that General Živojin MišićŽivojin Mišic
Živojin Mišić OKS GCMG was a Vojvoda and the most successful Serbian commander who participated in all Serbia's wars from 1876 to 1918.-Early years:Misic's grandfather was born in Struganik near Mionica...
was made commander of the battered First Army, replacing the wounded Petar Bojović
Petar Bojovic
Petar Bojović OKS GCMG was one of four Serbian vojvodas in Balkan Wars and World War I.-Early:Petar was born on July 16, 1858 in Miševići, Nova Varoš. He had distant ancestry from the Vasojevići....
. He insisted on a deep withdrawal in order to give the troops some much-needed rest and to shorten the front. Marshal Putnik finally relented, but the consequence was the abandonment of the capital city of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. The Austro-Hungarian Army entered the city on December 2. This move led Potiorek to move the whole Fifth Army to the Belgrade area and use it to crush the Serbian right flank. This, however, left the Sixth alone for a few days to face the whole Serbian army.
At this point, artillery ammunition finally arrived from France and Greece. In addition, some replacements were sent to the units and Marshal Putnik correctly sensed that the Austro-Hungarian forces were dangerously overstretched and weakened in the previous offensives, so he ordered a full-scale counterattack with the entire Serbian Army on December 3 against the Sixth Army. The Fifth hurried its flanking maneuver, but it was already too late - with the Sixth Army broken, the Second and Third Serbian Armies overwhelmed the Fifth. Finally, Potiorek lost his nerve and ordered yet another retreat back across the rivers into Austria-Hungary's territory. (See second map.) The Serbian Army recaptured Belgrade on December 15.
The first phase of the war against Serbia had ended with no change in the border, but casualties were enormous compared to earlier wars, though sadly, not out of keeping with other campaigns of this war. The Serbian army lost around 170,000 men killed, wounded captured or missing. Austro-Hungarian losses were approaching 215,000. Austro-Hungarian General Potiorek was removed from command and replaced by Archduke Eugen of Austria
Archduke Eugen of Austria
Archduke Eugen Ferdinand Pius Bernhard Felix Maria of Austria-Teschen was an Archduke of Austria and a Prince of Hungary and Bohemia...
(C. Falls p. 54). On the Serbian side, a deadly typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
epidemic killed hundreds of thousands of Serbian civilians during the winter.
1915
Battle of Sarikamis
The Battle of Sarikamish was an engagement between the Russian and Ottoman empires during World War I. It took place from December 22, 1914 to January 17, 1915 as part of the Caucasus Campaign. The outcome was a Russian victory. The Ottomans employed a strategy which demanded that their troops be...
and in the First Suez Offensive
First Suez Offensive
The First Suez Offensive took place between the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I...
, German Chief of the General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn
Erich von Falkenhayn
Erich von Falkenhayn was a German soldier and Chief of the General Staff during World War I. He became a military writer after World War I.-Early life:...
tried to convince the Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff, Conrad von Hötzendorf
Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf
Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf was an Austrian soldier and Chief of the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army at the outbreak of World War I.-Early life and military career:...
, of the importance of conquering Serbia. If Serbia were taken, then the Germans would have a rail link from Germany, through Austria-Hungary and down to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
(and beyond). This would allow the Germans to send military supplies and even troops to help the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. While this was hardly in Austria-Hungary's interests, the Austro-Hungarians did want to defeat Serbia. However, Russia was the more dangerous enemy, and furthermore, with the entry of Italy into the war on the Allied side, the Austro-Hungarians had their hands full (see the Italian Campaign (World War I)
Italian Campaign (World War I)
The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol , the...
).
Both the Allies and the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
tried to get Bulgaria to pick a side in the Great War. Bulgaria and Serbia had fought two wars in the last 30 years: the Serbo-Bulgarian War
Serbo-Bulgarian War
The Serbo-Bulgarian War was a war between Serbia and Bulgaria that erupted on 14 November 1885 and lasted until 28 November the same year. Final peace was signed on 19 February 1886 in Bucharest...
in 1885, and the Second Balkan War
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 29 June 1913. Bulgaria had a prewar agreement about the division of region of Macedonia...
in 1913. The result was that the Bulgarian government and people felt that Serbia was in possession of lands to which Bulgaria was entitled, and when the Central Powers offered to give them what they claimed, the Bulgarians entered the war on their side. With the Allied loss in the Battle of Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
and the Russian defeat at Gorlice
Gorlice
Gorlice is a city and an urban municipality in south eastern Poland with around 29,500 inhabitants . It is situated south east of Kraków and south of Tarnów between Jasło and Nowy Sącz in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship , previously in Nowy Sącz Voivodeship...
, King Ferdinand signed a treaty with Germany and on September 23, 1915, began mobilizing for war.
During the preceding nine months, the Serbians had tried, and failed, to rebuild their battered armies and improve their supply situation. Despite their efforts, the Serbian army was only about 30,000 men stronger than at the start of the war (around 225,000) and was still badly equipped. Although Britain and France had talked about sending serious military forces to Serbia, nothing was done until it was too late. When Bulgaria began mobilizing, the French and British sent two divisions, but they arrived late in the Greek
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
town of Salonika. Part of the reason for the delay was the Greek government's conflicted views about the war.
Against Serbia were marshalled the Bulgarian First Army, the German Eleventh Army
11th Army (Germany)
The 11th Army was a World War I and a World War II field army.-World War I:The 11th Army was formed in early 1915. It briefly fought on the Western Front during the Battle of Ypres, holding the line against the allied attack...
and the Austro-Hungarian Third Army, all under the command of Field Marshal Mackensen
August von Mackensen
Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen , born August Mackensen, was a German soldier and field marshal. He commanded with success during the First World War and became one of the German Empire's most prominent military leaders. After the Armistice, Mackensen was interned for a year...
. In addition the Bulgarian Second Army
Second Army (Bulgaria)
The Bulgarian Second Army was a Bulgarian field army during the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II.-History:After 1907, during times of peace, the territory of Bulgaria was divided in three army inspectorates , each one comprising three divisional district. During war they formed three...
, which remained under the direct control of the Bulgarian high command, was deployed against Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
.
The Austro-Hungarians and Germans began their attack on October 7 with a massive artillery barrage, followed by attacks across the rivers. Then, on the 14th, the Bulgarian Army attacked from two directions, from the north of Bulgaria towards Niš
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
and from the south towards Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
(see map). The First Army defeated the Serbian Second Army at the Battle of Morava
Battle of Morava
The Morava Offensive Operation was undertaken by the Bulgarian First Army between 14 October 1915 and 9 November 1915 as part of the strategic offensive operation of Army Group Mackensen against Serbia in 1915. Under the command of Lieutenant General Kliment Boyadzhiev the Bulgarians seized the...
, while the Bulgarian Second broke through the less trained and equipped Troops of New Areas and cut the vital railroad to Salonika (Battle of Ovche Pole
Battle of Ovche Pole
The Ovche Pole Offensive Operation was an operation of the Bulgarian Army that occurred between 14 October 1915 and 15 November 1915 as part of the Serbian Campaign...
). With the Bulgarian breakthrough, the Serbian position was hopeless; the main army in the north could try to retreat, or be surrounded and forced to surrender. In the Battle of Kosovo
Battle of Kosovo (1915)
The Kosovo Offensive Operation , the third major battle in history to have been fought there, occurred between 10 November 1915 and 4 December 1915.-Battle and Serbian defeat:...
the Serbs made a last and desperate attempt to join the two incomplete Allied divisions that made a limited advance from the south, but were unable to gather enough forces, due to the pressure from north and east and were stopped by the Bulgarians under General Georgi Todorov
Georgi Todorov (general)
Georgi Stoyanov Todorov was a Bulgarian General who fought in the Russo-Turkish War , Serbo-Bulgarian War , Balkan Wars and First World War .-Biography:At the age of 19 he volunteered in the Bulgarian Corps during the Russo-Turkish...
and had to pull back.
Kingdom of Montenegro
The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe during the tumultuous years on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Legally it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolutist in practice...
and into Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. The weather was terrible, the roads poor, and the army had to help the tens of thousands of civilians who retreated with them with almost no supplies or food left. But the bad weather and poor roads worked for the refugees as well, as the Central Powers forces could not press them hard enough, and so they evaded capture. Many of the fleeing soldiers and civilians did not make it to the coast, though - they were lost to hunger, disease, attacks by enemy forces and Albanian tribal bands. The circumstances of the retreat were disastrous, and all told, some 155,000 Serbs, mostly soldiers, reached the coast of the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
, and embarked on Allied transport ships that carried the army to various Greek islands (many to Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
) before being sent to Salonika. The survivors were so weakened that thousands of them died from sheer exhaustion in the weeks after their rescue. Marshal Putnik had to be carried during the whole retreat and he died a bit more than a year later in a hospital in France.
The French and British divisions marched north from Salonika in late November under the command of French General Maurice Sarrail
Maurice Sarrail
Maurice-Paul-Emmanuel Sarrail was a French general of the First World War. Sarrail endeared himself to the political elite of the Third Republic through his openly socialist views, all the more conspicuous in contrast to the Catholics, conservatives and monarchists who dominated the French Army...
. However, the British divisions were ordered by the War Office in London not to cross the Greek frontier. So the French divisions advanced on their own up the Vardar
Vardar
The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....
River. This advance was of some limited help to the retreating Serbian Army as the Bulgarian Army had to concentrate some forces on their southern flank to deal with the threat. By mid-November, General Sarrail concluded retreat was necessary in the face of determined Bulgarian assaults on his positions.
This was a nearly complete victory for the Central Powers at a cost of around 67,000 casualties as compared to around 90,000 Serbs killed or wounded and 174,000 captured. The railroad from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to Constantinople was finally opened. The only flaw in the victory was the remarkable retreat of the Serbian Army, which was however almost completely disorganized and had to be rebuilt almost from scratch. However, they took part in the fighting throughout the rest of the war on various fronts and performed well.
For subsequent events, see Macedonian front (World War I)
Macedonian front (World War I)
The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...
.
Summary
The ramifications of the war were manifold. When World War I ended, the Treaty of Neuilly
Treaty of Neuilly
The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, dealing with Bulgaria for its role as one of the Central Powers in World War I, was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France....
gave Greece Western Thrace
Western Thrace
Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
, and Serbia some minor territorial concessions from Bulgaria. Austria-Hungary was broken apart and Hungary lost much land to both Yugoslavia and Romania in the Treaty of Trianon
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...
. Serbia assumed the lead position in the new state of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
, joined by its old ally, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. Meanwhile, Italy established a quasi-protectorate over Albania and Greece reoccupied the country's southern part, which was autonomous under a local Greek provisional Government (see Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus
Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus
The Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was a short-lived, self-governing entity founded on February 28, 1914, in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, by the Greeks living in southern Albania ....
).
Atrocities
Incited by anti-Serbian propaganda and ordered by the command of the Austro-Hungarian Army, soldiers committed numerous atrocities against the Serbian people on the territory of Serbia and Austria-Hungary. According to the German criminologist and observer R.A. Reiss, it was a "system of extermination". In addition to executions of prisoners of war, civilian populations were subjected to mass murder and rape. Villages and towns were burned and looted. Fruit trees were cut down and water wells were poisoned in an effort on the Austro-Hungarian part to get the Serb inhabitants to not return. Also, the invading BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n army committed numerous atrocities, particularly in Niš
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
and the town of Surdulica
Surdulica
Surdulica is a town and municipality situated in the southeast of Serbia . In 2011, the population of the town is 10,915, while population of the municipality is 20,265.-Geography:...
.
Casualties
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
in world history. With the aid of the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
and 44 foreign governments, the outbreak was brought under control by the end of the year. The number of civilian deaths is estimated by some sources at 650,000, primarily due to the typhus outbreak and famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
, but also direct clashes with the occupiers. Serbia's casualties accounted for 8% of the total Entente military deaths. 58% of the regular Serbian Army (420,000 strong) perished during the conflict. The total number of casualties is placed around 1,000,000: 25% of Serbia's prewar size, and an absolute majority (57%) of its overall male population. L.A. Times and N.Y. Times also cited over 1,000,000 victims in their respective articles.
The extent of the Serbian demographic disaster can be illustrated by the statement of the Bulgarian Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov
Vasil Radoslavov
Vasil Radoslavov was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician who twice served as Prime Minister. He was Premier of the country throughout most of World War I....
: "Serbia ceased to exist" (New York Times, summer 1917). In July 1918 the US Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing served in the position of Legal Advisor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I where he vigorously advocated against Britain's policy of blockade and in favor of the principles of freedom of the seas and the rights of neutral nations...
urged the Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of all religions to pray for Serbia in their respective churches.
Serbia suffered enormous casualties. The Serbian Army
Serbian Army
-Objectives:The Serbian Army is responsible for:* deterring armed threats* defending Serbia's territory* participation in peacekeeping operations* providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief-Personnel:...
had been decimated towards the end of the war, falling from about 420,000 at its peak to about 100,000 at the moment of liberation.
The Kingdom of Serbia lost 1,100,000 inhabitants during the war (both army and civilian losses: of 4.5 million people, 275,000 were military deaths, while 450,000 were civilian - mostly due to food shortages, epidemics and the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
—and there were 133,148 wounded), which represented over 15% of its overall population—a demographic disaster that is still obvious today. According to the Yugoslav government in 1924, Serbia lost 365,164 soldiers, or 26%, of all mobilized personnel, while France suffered 16.8%, Germany 15.4%, Russia 11.5%, and Italy 10.3%.
At the end of the war, there were 114,000 disabled soldiers and 500,000 orphaned children. (cit. Serbian History : Duško M. Kovačević, Dejan Mikavica, Branko Bešlin, Biljana Šimunović-Bešlin)
Sources
- Falls, Cyril, The Great War (1960)
- Esposito, Vincent (ed.), The West Point Atlas of American Wars - Vol. 2; maps 46-50. Frederick Praeger Press (1959)
See also
- Battle of Dobro PoleBattle of Dobro PoleThe Battle of Dobro Pole was a World War I battle, fought on 15 September 1918. The battle resulted in a decisive Entente victory, with a defeated Bulgaria left to sign an armistice, which removed it from World War I....
- World War I casualtiesWorld War I casualtiesThe total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I were over 35 million. There were over 15 million deaths and 20 million wounded ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history....