Serbian army begins moving to Salonika

The British chronology of the war records under 15 April 1916 that the headquarters of the Serbian army landed at Salonika, arriving from Corfu. This date could not be confirmed in other sources. They do agree, however, that in mid-April the shipment of the rebuilt Serbian army from the island to the Salonika front began. The British official history of the operations in Macedonia states that it started on 11 April; Serbian works speak of 12 or 13 April. According to Serbian accounts, the chief of staff of the high command, General Petar Bojović, arrived at Salonika with part of his staff only at the end of May, when the shipment was nearing its end. The chronology may be recording the arrival of the first officers who were to prepare for the troops’ reception, but the transfer of the whole command took weeks.

An army ready to move

After their defeat in the autumn of 1915 and the retreat through Albania, the Serbs rested on Corfu for more than two months. According to the British official history, 5,400 men died there between the end of January and the end of April, but most quickly recovered their strength. The army was reorganised into six infantry divisions and a cavalry division, armed mainly by France and clothed by Britain. In January Bojović replaced the ailing Vojvoda Radomir Putnik as chief of staff. British observers noted that the Serbs, largely men over thirty, still bore the marks of hunger and gave an impression of slowness. They would soon find that in mountain fighting the Serbs were second to none.

The shipment was difficult. Greece refused to allow the troops to travel by rail from Patras to Salonika, so they had to be carried by sea: according to some accounts around the Peloponnese, according to others through the Corinth Canal. The transports were also exposed to submarine attack. Ships were short, and they were loaded not only with men but also with horses and supplies. According to Serbian works, the soldiers embarked at several places on the island and were carried to camps on the Chalkidiki peninsula. According to the British official history, the six divisional camps were laid out in the Vasilika valley, about 16 kilometres south-east of Salonika. There the Serbs were to complete their training and receive the rest of their equipment, as they still lacked transport and artillery.

The regent on Corfu

The regent, Alexander, formally commander-in-chief of the Serbian army, was at this time touring the Allied capitals. He visited, among others, London and Rome, and according to Reuters’ correspondent he returned to Corfu on the afternoon of 17 April. He was received by ministers, diplomats and representatives of the Allied armies, and then Serbian troops marched past the regent on the esplanade. Reuters wrote that they looked like a young army full of enthusiasm, completely recovered from the recent campaign.

A long move

The shipment lasted until the end of May, without losses. According to the British official history, about 120,000 Serbs in all were assembled in Macedonia, counting 3,000 who had been there before. The regent and the Serbian war ministry moved to Salonika in July, while Prime Minister Nikola Pašić and most of the government remained on Corfu. According to the British chronology, on 25 July the rebuilt Serbian army went into action on the Salonika front, and in the autumn it took part in the offensive that in November retook Bitola, the first Serbian town liberated from occupation.