Centenary of Battle of Cer

BELGRADE - The decisive stage of the Battle of Cer, which ended as the first major Allied victory in World War I - and one that was won by the Serbian forces - took place in the night between August 15 and 16, 1914.

The fact that tiny Serbia managed to defeat the Austro-Hungarian troops so comprehensively at Cer despite being at a great disadvantage in every sense was met with shock and disbelief in Vienna and Berlin, as well as with jubilation among the Allies, and Serbia's reputation grew unexpectedly.

Greatly exhausted by the Balkan Wars against Turkey and Bulgaria - which it won at the cost of many casualties - Serbia, a small country that was tired and in need of reconsolidation, was attacked by Austro-Hungary, which made no secret of its intention to destroy Serbia completely.

The reasoning of top officials in Vienna was that the perfect time has come to wipe weak Serbia off the map in what was expected to be a small war.

The Austrian Fifth Army began a forced march towards the Drina River in the Loznica area on August 12 as the Austro-Hungarian Second Army marched towards the Sava River in the area between Sremska Mitrovica and Sabac.

Squads of Serbian troops took up the fight on the two rivers, resisting the advance of an overwhelming, incomparably better-equipped Austro-Hungarian force for four days from August 12 to 15.

In the late afternoon of August 14, General Stepa Stepanovic, who was in command of the Second Army following the return of Field Marshal Radomir Putnik, received the order to retake Sabac.

In the morning hours of August 15, faced with an Austro-Hungarian onslaught towards Valjevo, the Serbian Supreme Command ordered the Third Army to block the path to Valjevo from...