THE BATTLE OF THE SERBIAN RIDGES.
During some hundreds of pages I have told you nothing about the part which gallant little Serbia was playing in the great struggle. On page 76 of our second volume I briefly summed up the situation at the end of August 1914. At that time the first Austrian invasion had failed, and the country was almost clear of the enemy. The Austrians had suffered a serious set-back.
Early in September they prepared a second army of invasion. Before I follow its fortunes, I want you to look closely at the little map on the opposite page. You notice that from the railway uniting the Lower Drina with Shabatz on the Save, right away to the southern frontier, the country is criss-crossed in all directions by great uplands, almost as difficult for an army to traverse as those of Georgia. The river valleys alone give access to the interior, and afford railway routes. There are a few good government highways, but most of the roads are mere tracks, which in wet weather become quagmires. When once the autumn rains set in, the work of transport in Serbia is greatly hampered.
All the lowland parts of Serbia lie along the right bank of the Save and the Danube. This district is open, though hilly. East of Shabatz the lowlands form a rough triangle, with the course of the river Save as its base, and the highland town of Valjevo, on the river Kolubara, as its apex. It was across this triangle of easy country that the Austrians made their second invasion.
The Serbians did not wait for the Austrian attack, but pushed over the plain, and in the darkness of night on 6th September crossed the Save at several points, and made a dash on the Hungarian town of Semlin, opposite Belgrade. They occupied the place on the 10th, but were unable to hold it, and were driven back with heavy losses into the Tser Mountains, which you see marked on the map.
The Austrian commander-in-chief proposed to turn the Serbian left, and at the same time hurry forward mountain troops to Valjevo, and thus cut off the retreat of the Serbian army. During September and October attacks and counter-attacks were constant, but neither side made much headway. The Austrians could not drive the Serbians off the crests of the mountains, and the Serbians could not drive back the Austrians, who were advancing up the Drina to turn the Serbian left. At length, however, the Serbian ammunition began to fail, and the Austrian numbers began to tell. On 6th November the enemy won the summits of the Tser Mountains, and the Serbians, in order to avoid being enveloped, were forced to retreat eastwards. This they did in perfect order.
Map to illustrate the Campaign of November and December 1914.
The Austrians pushed on, and occupied Valjevo on 14th November. While the Serbians retired to the summit of a range south of Valjevo, the invaders pillaged the whole Kolubara valley and their line of march was marked by fire and massacre. Belgrade was abandoned, and on 2nd December the Austrians made a state entry into the undefended capital. Telegrams of congratulation were sent to old Franz Josef, and Vienna was full of rejoicing. The Austrians boldly declared that the campaign was over, that the Serbians were finally defeated, and that the fruits of victory were about to be reaped. So certain of success was the Austrian general that he sent back three of his corps to help his fellow-countrymen, who were now about to begin their attack on the Carpathian passes from the south.
For a whole fortnight the Austrians dallied in Valjevo and on the skirts of the ridges occupied by the enemy. During this period the Serbians were by no means idle. Every available man was brought up, gun positions were prepared, and trenches were dug and strengthened. Best of all, the Western Allies sent them ammunition for big guns and small arms, and these supplies now reached the hard-pressed Serbians, despite the efforts of Turkish and Bulgarian bands to capture them.
Serbia was about to make her last stand. Everything had to be staked on the issue of the coming battle. If the Serbians should be driven back they would be almost certain to lose Kragujevatz,[179] their arsenal and chief industrial centre, and without it they could scarcely continue the struggle. They would also lose Nish, the old capital, now the sojourning place of the government. The Serbians, however, held a very strong position on the Maljen ridge, to the west of the main road leading from Valjevo to Kragujevatz, and were also posted on the still higher Rudnik ridge to the east of this road.
The plan of the enemy was to advance its centre against the Rudnik ridge along the single-line railway which runs up the valley of the Lig, a tributary of the Kolubara. At the same time the right was to move up the head waters of the Kolubara and attack the Maljen ridge, while the left was to swing round in a wide sweep, and thus enclose the Serbian army. By 3rd December the Austrian centre had gained the western part of the Rudnik ridge, and the wings were making good progress.
The critical hour has struck; the fate of Serbia hangs in the balance. Old King Peter rises from a sick-bed and joins his soldiers, to die, if need be, with them. He addresses them in burning words which recall the speech of King Henry before Agincourt[180] and that of Robert Bruce before Bannockburn. He recalls the bitter struggles of their forefathers, recounts the ancient glories of their race, and paints the bright future which waits upon victory. Thus nobly he concludes:—
"Heroes, you have taken two oaths—one to me, your King, and the other to your country. I am an old, broken man, on the edge of the grave,[181] and I release you from your oath to me. From your other oath no one can release you. If you feel you cannot go on, go to your homes, and I pledge my word that after the war, if we come out of it, nothing shall happen to you. But I and my sons stay here."
Every Serbian feels himself uplifted by the noble words of his leader; not a man leaves the ranks; all are ready to do and die with their king. The weary and ragged soldiers pledge their faith anew, and steel their hearts to sweep the cruel hordes of invaders from the soil which they have profaned.
At sunrise on 3rd December the two centre divisions of the Serbian army begin to advance across the bare, sharp ridges, now thinly powdered with snow. Fog hides them from the Austrian battalions which are descending from the plateau which they occupy to attack the Rudnik ridge. The sun shines out and dissipates the fog. Suddenly the Serbian guns, which have been dumb for many days, begin to speak, and the soldiers, fired with new courage, dash forward. So fierce is the onset that the Austrians, unable to deploy, fall into confusion. Panic seizes them, and they fly back a terrified mob to the plateau from which they advanced a few minutes ago full of confidence.
Fresh Austrian troops are hurried up, and for three days the battle rages fiercely. On the afternoon of 5th December the left centre breaks, and crowds of discomfited men stream northward down the Lig valley. The fugitives think only of their own safety; they fling away arms and equipment, and on the mountain roads and in the deep ravines abandon their artillery and baggage. Then the Austrian centre suffers the same fate, and the road to Valjevo is crowded with beaten troops hurrying into safety. There is good news, too, from the Serbian left, where a great victory has been won, and the enemy is in full retreat along the head waters of the Kolubara. By the dawn of the 6th the Austrian centre and right have everywhere given way, and the routed enemy is a mere panic-stricken mob, hot-foot for the frontier.
The Serbians follow up the pursuit with great vigour, and sweep the Austrians over the Drina and the Save with fearful slaughter and the capture of thousands of prisoners and many guns. The Austrian left tries to make a stand, but all to no purpose. It is thrust back to a position already prepared on the crescent of hills to the south of Belgrade. Here it holds out till the 13th, when it, too, is broken, and its remnants strew the streets of Belgrade with rifles and equipment, and stampede wildly over the Danube bridges whipped by the merciless flail of the Serbian guns. A rearguard sacrifices itself in the northern suburbs to cover the retreat, but all is over; and on the 15th old King Peter is on his knees in the cathedral, giving thanks for the great victory vouchsafed to his arms. A few days later, and the Serbians are able to boast that not a single armed Austrian remains on their soil.
