Montenegrin government orders mobilisation

On 26 July 1914 the government of the Kingdom of Montenegro ordered the mobilisation of the army. The decision came a day after Austria-Hungary broke off diplomatic relations with Serbia. In this way the small mountain state, with its capital at Cetinje, declared itself on the side of its Serbian neighbour.

Montenegro and Serbia had much in common: a shared language, Orthodoxy and a sense of belonging to the Serbian nation. The two states had fought together in the Balkan League during the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. They were also bound by dynastic ties: King Peter I of Serbia was the widower of Zorka, daughter of the Montenegrin ruler, and the regent Alexander was his grandson.

King Nicholas I Petrović-Njegoš was not set on war from the start. As late as mid-July he assured a Russian envoy that the Montenegrins would not attack unless the Austrians entered their territory. The country was exhausted by the recent wars, and its army was more of a levy in mass than a modern force. Public feeling, however, was unequivocally pro-Serbian, and staying on the sidelines proved politically impossible.

The mobilisation is estimated to have covered between 45,000 and 50,000 men. The army suffered from shortages of artillery, ammunition and supplies, and so depended heavily on help from Serbia and Russia. The Serbian general Božidar Janković soon became chief of staff of the Montenegrin army, and one of its principal commanders was Janko Vukotić. The two states were to fight in close agreement.

Montenegro bordered Austria-Hungary, and its mountains rose above the Bay of Kotor, home to an important base of the Austro-Hungarian fleet. At the beginning of August 1914 the country formally declared war on the monarchy. The mobilisation of 26 July was the first step on that road. For Montenegro it ended tragically: in January 1916 the country was occupied by Austro-Hungarian troops.