Serbian Campaign (World War I)

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The Serbian Campaign was fought from August 1914 until the end of the war in 1918 with a nearly two-year break in the middle as Serbia was conquered. Serbian army was decimated towards the end of the war falling from about 500,000 at its peak to less than 100,000 at the moment of liberation. Kingdom of Serbia has lost 1,3 million inhabitants during the war, (both army and civilian losses), which represented 33% of its overall population and 60% of its male population- a demographic disaster that is still obvious today.

Setting the Stage

For complex reasons, the dispute between Austria and Serbia blew up into a war which involved Russia, Germany, France, and Great Britain. Within a week Austria had to face a war with Russia, and Russia had the largest army in the world at the time. The result was that Serbia became a side-show to the massive fight that started to unfold along Austria's border with Russia. Given that Serbia did not have the military power to threaten Austria's territory, the Austrians might well have ignored Serbia entirely until the war with Russia was concluded. However, Austrian pride prevented such a clear-eyed analysis of the military situation and so the attack on Serbia went ahead anyway.

Serbia's strategy was to hold on as long as they could and hope the Russians would defeat the main Austrian army. Serbia constantly had to worry about their hostile neighbor to the east, Bulgaria, with whom they had fought several wars, most recently in 1913.

The Serbian army at the start of the war was some 200,000 strong. Their general was Marshal (Vojvoda) Radomir Putnik. He was in bad health and in a hospital in Austria at the start of the war. The Austrian government arrested him at the hospital but then, stupidly, put him on a train back to Serbia just before the war began (C. Falls p. 38). Putnik brilliantly handled the Serbian army even though he almost never left his special hospital room in Serbia.

1914

The war against Serbia started on August 12 when Austrian armies crossed the border, the Drina river (see map).

First Attack on Serbia, August 1914

Fighting on Ada Ciganlija

While the entire Austrian army was very large, due to the Russian declaration of war, the Austrians could only attack with two small armies (the Sixth and the Fifth) over the Bosnian border. They had around 180,000 men, though much better equipped than the Serbian army. Overall Austrian command was in the hands of the ineffective General Potiorek.

Later Operations in Serbia, 1914

September 7 brought a renewed attack across the rivers by the Austrian army. Marshall Putnik ordered a retreat into the surrounding hills as the Serbian army was running very low on artillery shells (which had to be supplied by the Allies, and they were short themselves).

The Austrian army, having pushed up to the new Serbian positions, launched another attack on November 5. The Serbians withdrew under pressure and finally evacuated their, essentially indefensible, capital, Belgrade on November 30. The Austrian army entered the city on December 2.

The first phase of the war against Serbia had ended with no change in the border but the casualties were incredible compared to earlier wars, though sadly, not out of keeping with other campaigns of this war. The Austrian army lost around 227,000 (total forces used in the campaign were 450,000 men). Serbian losses were 170,000. Austrian General Potiorek was removed from command and replaced by Archduke Eugen (C. Falls p. 54). On the Serbian side, a deadly typhus epidemic killed thousands of Serbian civilians during the winter months.

1915

Serbian artillery

Early in 1915, with the Ottoman government's defeats at the Battle of Sarikamis and in the First Suez Offensive, the German Chief of the General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn tried to convince the Austrian Chief of Staff, Conrad von Hotzendorf, of the importance of conquering Serbia. If Serbia was taken, then the Germans would have a rail link from Germany, through Austria and down to Constantinople (and beyond). Such a rail link would allow the Germans to send military supplies and even troops to help the Ottoman Empire. While helping the Ottoman Empire was hardly in Austria's interests, the Austrians did want to defeat Serbia. However, Russia was much more dangerous and with the entry of Italy into the war on the Allied side, the Austrians had their hands full (see the Italian Campaign (World War I) for details).

Conquest of Serbia, 1915

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 first war in 1885 (see Serbo-Bulgarian War for details), the second in 1913 (see the Second Balkan War for details). The result was, the Bulgarian government felt that Serbia had stolen land which rightfully belonged to them and when the Central Powers offered to give them most of the land they claimed, the Bulgarian government was convinced. With the Allied loss at 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 last nine months, the Serbians had done what they could to rebuild their weakened armies and improve their state of supplies. Despite great effort, the Serbian army was only about 30,000 men stronger than at the start of the war (around 225,000) and it still was not well equipped. Although the Allies (Britain and France) had talked about sending serious military forces to Serbia, nothing was done until it was too late. When Bulgaria began mobilization, the French and British sent two divisions to help Serbia 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 was marshalled the Bulgarian army, a German army, and an Austrian army all under the command of Field Marshall Mackensen totalling more than 300,000 soldiers. The Germans and Austrians began their attack on October 7 with a massive artillery barrage followed by attacks across the rivers. Then, on the 11th, the Bulgarian army attacked from two directions, one from the north of Bulgaria towards Niš, the other from the south towards Skopje (see the map). The Bulgarian army was large, tough, and rapidly broke through the weaker Serbian forces that tried to block their path of advance. With the Bulgarian break-through, the Serbian position was hopeless, either their main army in the north would be surrounded and forced to surrender, or it could try to retreat.

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. All told, some 125,000 Serbian soldiers reached the coast of the Adriatic sea and embarked on French transport ships that carried the army to various Greek islands (many went to Corfu) before being sent to Salonika. Marshall 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 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 larger forces on their southern flank to deal with the threat. By mid-December 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, the railroad from Berlin to Constantinople was finally opened and as a result Germany was able to prop-up their weak partner, the Ottoman Empire. The only flaw in the victory was the remarkable retreat of the Serbians army which stayed organized and was able to fight again just six months later.

1916

The Austrian army attacked Serbia's ally Montenegro and on January 25 the small army of Montenegro surrendered. The Austrians continued advancing down the Adriatic coast, attacking into Italian controlled Albania. By the end of the winter, the small Italian army had been forced out of nearly the whole country.

At this point, with the war in the Balkans effectively lost, the British General Staff wanted to withdraw all their troops from Greece but the French government protested strongly. Since the French divisions were staying, the British stayed also, with undisguised antipathy. The Serbian army (now under the command of Marshal Bojovic) after rest and refit on Corfu, was transported by the French to the Greek front.

Fighting along the Greek border, 1916

The political situation in Greece was confused. Officially Greece was neutral but the king Constantine I was pro-German while the prime minister, Venizelos was pro-French. At first Greece supported the French-British military support of Serbia, then they opposed it, finally they settled for officially opposing it but not fighting the superior Allied armies that landed in Salonika. The Germans, trying to win Greece to their side in the war, were careful not to cross the Greek border.

In May of 1916, General Sarrail demanded that the Greek army de-mobilize (reduce its strength) and the Greek government complied with this demand. However this action further pushed the Greek government to side with the Central Powers.

With certain knowledge that Romania was about to join the Allied side, General Sarrail began preparations for an attack on the Bulgarian armies facing his forces. The Germans, with excellent intelligence from Greek supporters, made plans of their own for a spoiling attack. The German offensive was launched on August 17, just three days before the French offensive was scheduled to start. In reality this was a Bulgarian offensive, the Austrian army was in Albania and only a single German division was on the Greek border. The attack achieved early success thanks to surprise but the Serbian forces held a defensive line after two weeks. Having halted the Bulgarian offensive, the Serbian army staged a counter-attack starting on September 12. The terrain was rough and the Bulgarians were on the defensive but the Serbian army made steady gains. Slow advances by the Serbians continued throughout October and on into November even as the weather turned very cold and snow fell on the hills. The Germans sent two more divisions help bolster the Bulgarian army but by November 19 the French and Serbian army captured Monastir.

Losses in this campaign were at least 50,000 on the Allied side and likely more than 60,000 killed and captured Bulgarians and Germans (Falls, p. 240). The front had been advanced just 25 miles.

At the same time, the Italians had deployed more forces to Albania and these new troops managed to push the Austrian corps back through very hilly country south of Lake Ostrovo.

1917

1918

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Although d'Esperey urged an attack on the Bulgarian army, the French government refused to allow an offensive unless all the countries agreed. General Guillaumat, no longer needed in France, traveled from London to Rome trying to win approval for an attack. Finally in September, agreement was reached and d'Esperey was allowed to launch his grand offensive.

The Allied forces were now very large, not only did they have the Greek army fully on their side (9 divisions strong) but they also had some 6,000 men from the Czech Legion, who had evacuated from Russia and sailed around the world ready to fight the hated Austrians. However, the Bulgarians had also increased the size of their army during 1917 and in total man power the two sides were roughly equal (291 Allied battalions vs. 300 Bulgarian battallions, plus 10 German battalions). But in morale, the two sides were completely different. The Allied were certain of their impending victory while the Bulgarians could see the war was lost - the Ottoman Empire was near collapse, the Austrian government was in chaos, and the mighty German army was beaten on the all-important Western front. The Bulgarians were not willing to fight and die for a lost cause.

The attack started with the (now traditional) artillery bombardment of enemy positions on September 14. The next day the French and Serbians attacked and captured their objective. The next day some Bulgarians units started surrendering positions without a fight. The Allies then launched attacks all along their lines and the Bulgarian command ordered a retreat. Allied planes bombed the retreating Bulgarian troops and the retreat became a rout. On September 30, the Bulgarians were granted an armistice by General d'Esperey, their war was over. King Ferdinand of Bulgaria resigned his title as king and went into exile four days later.

At this point, the British army headed east towards the European side of the Ottoman Empire, while the French and Serbian forces continued north. With the war nearly over in Europe, the French and Serbian offensive was a sideshow which almost no one (except the Serbs) cared about. The British army neared Constantinople and with no serious Ottoman forces to stop it, the Ottoman government asked for an armistice on October 26 (Enver Pasha and his partners had fled just days ealier to Berlin).

With Desperate Frankie (as the British called d'Esperey) pushing ever onwards, the French-Serbian army re-captured Serbia and ran over several weak German divisions that tried to block their advance. On November 10, d'Esperey's army crossed the Danube river and was poised to enter the heartland of Hungary. But the war had finally come to an end. Count Karolyi, leading the revolutionary Hungarian government, came to Belgrade and asked for an armistice.

Summary

Serbian Army on parade in Paris

The remarkable story of the Serbian army fighting on for years after their country was conquered should not distract from the fact that from January 1916 till the end of the war, the fighting here was completely pointless. As General Esposito writes "This campaign is a glaring expample of unnecessary disperion of effort. For three years, half the Bulgarian army successfully pinned down from 300,000 to 600,000 Allied troops - troops that were urgently needed on the Western Front." (West Point Atlas of American Wars). Once Bulgaria entered the war as a German-Austrian ally, Serbia was doomed. Greece was not a major power, not friendly to the Allies, and the northern border of Greece offers superior defensive positions for a minor power, like Bulgaria, to defend.

The fact that the Allies, in the last months of the war, were finally able to shatter the Bulgarian army and advance like lightning north is a testemant to the war weariness felt by the losing side of World War I. General d'Esperey deserves some credit for the speed and depth of his advance but it is hardly great generalship to beat an enemy who has already been defeated.

The result of the war was: Greece got some territory along the Aegean sea from Bulgaria. Serbia was given the lead position in the new state of Yugoslavia. Austria-Hungary broke apart and Hungary lost a great deal of land to both Yugoslavia and Romania. Italy recaptured Albania. Montenegro joined their old ally Serbia in the new state of Yugoslavia.

Sources

• Falls, Cyril The Great War (1960).
• Esposito, Vincent (ed.) (1959). The West Point Atlas of American Wars - Vol. 2; maps 46-50. Frederick Praeger Press.

See also

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