End of the Battle of Cer. Austrians withdraw from Serbia
- Category:
- Military operations
- Front:
- Balkan Front
- Date:
- 21 August 1914
- Author:
- Łukasz Skowroń
- Battle:
- Battle of Cer
Around 21 August 1914 the battle on Cer mountain and on the river Jadar was decided. The Austro-Hungarian troops that had entered Serbia on 12 August were beaten and began to retreat across the border rivers, the Drina and the Sava.
The invasion collapses
General Oskar Potiorek, commanding the Austro-Hungarian forces in the Balkans, had counted on a swift punitive expedition against Serbia. His armies, however, dispersed their strength, advancing from several directions across difficult, mountainous terrain. The Serbian commander-in-chief, Vojvoda Radomir Putnik, concentrated his troops against the most dangerous thrust. In night and day fighting on the ridge of Cer mountain, which had gone on since 15 August, the Serbs smashed the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps.
From 19 August the morale of the Austro-Hungarian soldiers began to crack. Columns fell back in disorder towards the Drina, abandoning equipment, and many soldiers drowned during the crossing. Potiorek had to order a retreat. The Austrians held out longest at Šabac on the Sava, which the Serbs recaptured on 24 August.
Crimes against civilians
The retreat revealed the scale of the violence committed by Austro-Hungarian troops against Serbian civilians, especially in the Mačva region. Villagers, including women and children, were shot and hanged on charges of partisan warfare. These crimes were investigated and described, at the invitation of the Serbian government, by the Swiss criminologist Archibald Reiss.
The first Allied victory
The Battle of Cer was the first Allied victory of the First World War. A small state, weakened by the Balkan Wars, defeated the army of a great power. The commander of the Serbian Second Army, Stepa Stepanović, was promoted to the rank of vojvoda for it. Austria-Hungary suffered heavy losses and lost prestige, and the war that was to have been a short reckoning with Serbia was only beginning. As early as September Potiorek renewed the attack, which led to the Battle of the Drina.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 21 August 1914 · Western FrontGermans attack the fortress of NamurOn 21 August 1914 German siege artillery began shelling the forts of Namur. The fortress, held by the Belgian 4th Division, fell after five days.
- 21 August 1914 · MilitaryKitchener's first New Army is formedOn 21 August 1914 the British War Office ordered the formation of the first New Army, six divisions strong, from volunteers.
- 22 August 1914 · Western FrontAustria-Hungary declares war on BelgiumContemporary chronicles date Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Belgium to 22 August 1914, but the Belgians received the note only on 28 August.
- 22 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of the Ardennes beginsOn 22 August 1914 French armies advancing through the Ardennes ran into strong German forces. It was the bloodiest day in the history of the French army.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 17 August 1914 · Balkan FrontBattle of Cer and the Jadar beginsIn mid-August 1914 the Serbian army struck the invaders on Cer mountain and in the Jadar valley. A battle began that brought the Allies their first victory.
- 8 September 1914 · Balkan FrontBattle of the Drina beginsOn 8 September 1914 Austro-Hungarian troops crossed the Drina. In the mountains of western Serbia a battle began that turned into trench warfare.
- 30 October 1914 · Balkan FrontSerbs withdraw from the DrinaOn the night of 30–31 October 1914 the Serbian Second Army left its trenches in Mačva on the lower Drina. A retreat began that took the Serbs to the Kolubara.
- 25 August 1914 · Balkan FrontEnd of the first invasion of SerbiaAt the end of August 1914 the Serbs recaptured Šabac and the last Austro-Hungarian units withdrew across the Drina and Sava. The first invasion ended in defeat.