Serbian Campaigns

By the 24th the first invasion of Serbia was ended, with a loss of about 5o,000 men to the Austrians. The Austrian commander in-chief had greatly underestimated the military value of the forces opposed to him, while, on the Serbian side, Putnik's man agement of his forces and his choice of the moment and place of counter-attack were masterly.

Syrmian Operation, and Drina Battle.

Meanwhile, no events had taken place on the northern front east of Obrenovac other than the evident withdrawal of the Austrian II. Army.

Putnik decided to throw his I. Army across the Sava into Syrmia in order to secure the line Mitrovica-Frugka range—Danube to Semlin and Belgrade. This would enable the Serbs to invade Bosnia without fear of a sudden attack on their north flank and rear.

After making good crossings on the night of Sept. 5-6, the I. Army occupied Semlin and was progressing towards its objec tive when the situation on the Drina front caused its recall. For, on the Austrian side, Potiorek was reorganizing his forces for a new thrust across the Drina. His VIII., XIII., XV. and the major part of his XVI. Corps bordered the Drina from the Sava to Ljubovija.

Potiorek's second offensive opened on the night of Sept. 7-8. In the north the VIII. Corps only succeeded in securing a bridge head at Paragnica, but in the south the IV. and the right of the XIII. Corps crossed in force between Zvornik and Ljubovija, Xiii. Corps crossed in force between Zvornik and Ljubovija, driving back the Serbian left. By the nth, the situation was serious enough to compel Serbian G.H.Q. to order the transfer of the I. Army from Syrmia to Valjevo-Pecka. On the 13th, the Austrian XIII. Corps threatened to cut the Serbian line in two, but, on Sept. 16, a strong counter-attack was launched by the I.

Army against the Austrian right. Even so, the Serbs barely suc ceeded in holding up the invaders, whom they failed to drive back over the rivers. Meanwhile the Uiice Army and the Montenegrins had successfully undertaken a series of operations designed to pre pare the way for the offensive over the Drina, but, being f ore stalled by the Austrian attack, they had no practical results.

Kolubara and Rudnik Operations.

The Serbs suffered severely from the unfamiliar conditions of trench warfare and a shortage of ammunition, and Potiorek decided to make a third attack, although winter was near at hand. The new offensive opened with an attack in the Ma'eva, which drove back the Serbs to the line Dobrava-Cer ridge. The main Austrian attack, how ever, again took place in the Zvornik area, where the Serbian centre had to be withdrawn. Putnik, after attempting to cover Valjevo, decided to try and hold up the Austrian advance on the so-called "Kolubara line." The weather was terrible, but the Aus trians, pushing along the Maljen ridge, attacked on the 17th, and drove the Serbs off that ridge. The Austrian left made good the passage of the Lower Kolubara by the 25th.

Putnik now resolved to give up Belgrade and to fight for time so as to last out until the arrival of ammunition enabled him to launch a counter-offensive. He therefore withdrew his forces during the night of Nov. 29-30 to a line with its flanks resting at Obrenovac and on the Lower Morava, its centre on the Rudnik Massif. The Austrians entered Belgrade on Dec. 1.

On the arrival of munitions Putnik undertook a counter-offen sive; it opened on Dec. 3 with an attack of the I. Army under Migic, which drove a deep wedge in the enemy lines. Further north the II. and III. Armies made little progress at first, the Serbian right being seriously threatened by a counter-attack (Dec. 6-9) effected by Krauss's and VIII. Corps. In the south, however, Migic's Army swept the Austrians back towards Valjevo and Uiice with such success that, on the 9th, Potiorek ordered a general retreat on Belgrade, Sabac and Loznica. All the Serbian armies then took up the pursuit, but mud and exhaustion pre vented them from turning the Austrian retreat into a rout. By Dec. 16, Belgrade had been re-occupied, while Sabac, Loznica and Bajina Bagta had been retaken. Putnik's decisive victory gave Serbia peace for a few months, but her losses had been very heavy-69,000 killed or died of sickness, 18,000 wounded and some 15,000 prisoners.