In the north the Serbians had made a better showing. Along the Kolubara River the fighting had been especially heavy. One Austrian division had even succeeded in penetrating as far as Progon, on November 24, 1914, but it was finally driven back by the cavalry division with heavy loss.
The result of this stage of the fighting was that the Serbians had again been compelled to lengthen their lines; their front now extended from Tchatchak to Belgrade, almost seventy miles.[Back to Contents]
CHAPTER LVI
CRISIS OF THE CAMPAIGN—AUSTRIAN DEFEAT
We have now arrived at the critical point, not only of the third Austrian invasion, but of all the military operations in the Serbian theatre. If the Austrians should now again be driven back, it would be practically impossible for them to make another invasion unaided, at least so long as they were engaged with Russia. And, on the other hand, if the Serbians lost now, the whole country was lost. The climax was at hand. For this reason it may be well to define again the position and the strength of the two opposing lines.
On November 28, 1914, the Serbian units were disposed as follows: The Second Army, from Vechani to Vagan; the Third Army, from Kalanjevchi to Kelja; the First Army, from Silopaj to Galich; the Uzitsha Army, from Kita to Markovitza.
The Austrians had four mountain brigades in the direction of the Western Morava Valley; about one and a half army corps on the road along Valievo to Milanovatz; an entire corps against Lazarevatz and two corps moving eastward against the Serbian line from Belgrade to Mladenovatz.
On the night of November 29, 1914, to shorten this long line the Serbians decided to withdraw from Belgrade. A redistribution of the Serbian forces was then made as follows: the troops from the Kolubara retired to the heights about Sibnitza and the Belgrade detachment was thrown astride the Belgrade-Nish Railroad along the summits of Varoonitza in the east and Kosmai in the west. Elsewhere the positions remained practically the same as before. Apparently General Putnik felt that the retreat of the First Army, which had caused the general retirement of the Serbian front, had not been absolutely necessary, for the commander of that force was now relieved and in his place was appointed General Mishitch, a member of the General Staff. How wise this change was may be judged from the later behavior of the First Army, which was destined yet to retrieve itself.
To the trained military observer, the strategic plan of the Austrians would by this time have become apparent. With the Suvobor Mountains as a central pivot, they had strengthened their wings and attempted to swing around in the north by Mladenovatz and south down the Western Morava Valley. Had this movement been safely accomplished the mass of the Serbian army, together with their arsenal at Kragujevatz, would have been rounded up, after which the new Serbian capital, Nish, would have followed easily and Serbia would have been completely in Austrian hands.
On December 2, 1914, this was the plan which the Austrians were putting into execution, in rather a leisurely way, when the Serbians, having drawn in their breath for a final effort, began their great counterattack. Nor can there be any doubt that the Austrians were completely surprised by this sudden renewal of the Serbian strength. It is only necessary to read the press dispatches from Vienna, issued during the few days previous, to be convinced that General Potiorek had reported the Serbians as completely defeated. Not only the Austrians, but the whole world was surprised by the startling change that now took place in the Serbian theatre.