Postcard depicting a Serbian soldier on top of a fallen Austro-Hungarian soldier, 1914

Postcard depicting a Serbian soldier on top of a fallen Austro-Hungarian soldier, 1914.

Today 108 years ago, on August 15, 1914, the Battle of the Cer began on the Serbian Front, resulting in the first major Allied victory in the First World War.

On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The following day, the Austro-Hungarians began launching several artillery strikes into Serbia.

The Serbs, vastly outnumbered in terms of rifles, artillery, ammunitions and troops, withdrew from the borders to Šumadija where they could rapidly move their forces either north or west depending on where the Austro-Hungarians attacked.

On August 12, the Austro-Hungarians invaded Serbia from the western border, crossing the Drina river and quickly seizing the the peak of the Cer mountain. 

Then at 11 PM on August 15, the Serbs assembled a larger force and counter-attacked the Cer mountain. The mountain was lightly defended and the Serbs quickly conquered it, but fierce and bloody fighting for the peak broke out throughout the night.

The Austro-Hungarians suffered heavy losses and were eventually forced to retreat from the Cer. On August 17, the Serbs further north attempted to retake the city of Šabac but were repulsed. Here on August 18, the Austro-Hungarians launched an attack of their own, but were repulsed as they failed to cross the Dobrava river.

To the west the Serbs kept attacking, liberating several villages and forcing the Austro-Hungarians into a full-scale retreat west towards the Drina on August 20. The Austro-Hungarian soldiers were demoralized and unorganized, and many drowned trying to cross the Drina.

The Serbs now attacked north at Šabac, where fierce fighting took place on August 21. By August 23, the Serbs had surrounded the city and entered it the next day, only to find the Austro-Hungarians had abandoned it.

BONUS 

The Serbs quickly reached the Sava river, concluding the Battle of the Cer and the first Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia.

In the Battle of the Cer, the Austro-Hungarians had suffered some 37,000 casualties, including 6,000 - 10,000 deaths and 4,500 prisoners. The disastrous invasion humiliated the Austro-Hungarians, who were now more determined than ever to conquer Serbia.

Serbia had suffered some 20,000 casualties, of whom 3,000 - 5,000 were deaths. Although a significant Serbian victory, the Serbs could not afford the high losses and, perhaps more importantly, the excessive amount of artillery and ammunition used in the battle.

The Battle of Cer is considered the first major Allied victory in the First World War, which also achieved international sympathy for the Serbs as the underdogs who had managed to repulse the big, strong Austrian bully.