In the Leshnitza similar scenes were taking place. From the ridges above the Serbian guns roared and poured hurtling steel messages of death down into the throngs of retreating Austrians. Some few regiments, not so demoralized as the others, did indeed make several attempts to fight rear-guard actions, to protect their fleeing comrades, but they again were overwhelmed by the disorganized masses in the rear pouring over them.
In the Jadar valley another disorganized mob of Austrians was fleeing before the Serbians up on the Iverak ridges, who also were pouring a hot artillery fire into their midst. Presently the Third Army joined in the mad chase. And now the whole Austrian army was wildly fleeing for the Drina River.
There remained only one exception during the early part of the day, August 20, 1914. This was the Austrian forces on Kik, to the northwest of Zavlaka. The Serbian reenforcements which, it will be remembered, had originally been directed toward Marianovitche, had been afterward sent westward, and at dawn on August 20 they approached Kik in two columns. The left column occupied Osoye without resistance, but in descending from that position, the Austrian artillery opened fire on it.
An hour later the right column came up and opened an artillery fire, and under cover of this bombardment a Serbian regiment reached the foot of the mountain. As was afterward learned, the Austrians at this point had had their machine guns destroyed by the Serbian artillery fire, and by this time their own artillery had been sent back, in preparation for the retreat. Consequently they were only able to receive the Serbian attack with rifle fire.
At the height of this skirmish the extreme left of the Serbians on Iverak, which had remained to guard against attack from this quarter, moved over against the Austrians. The cross-fire was too much for them; they turned and fled, leaving behind over six hundred dead, the Serbians in this affair losing only seven killed. Jarebitze was now occupied; the rest of the Serbians joined in the general pursuit.
That night, August 20, 1914, the Austrians swarmed across the Drina, fleeing for their lives. By the next day the whole river bank was cleared of them. Serbian soldiers lined the whole length of the frontier in this section. There remained now only the Austrians in Shabatz to deal with. The whole Serbian army was now able to concentrate on this remaining force of the enemy left in Serbian territory.
Early on August 21, 1914, the attack began, and the Austrians here fought stoutly. Indeed, all that day they held the Serbians off from behind their intrenchments. On August 22, 1914, the Serbians made a general assault. Fortunately they found a weakness in the fortifications on the western side of the town. To create a diversion, the Austrians delivered a counterattack along the road toward Varna.
By the morning of August 24, 1914, the Serbians had brought up a number of heavy siege guns. But when the general bombardment had already commenced, it was found that the Austrians had evacuated the town during the night, and retreated across the river. And so the first Austrian invasion of Serbia came to its disastrous end.