Battles of Loznitsa, Jadar and Shabatz

Two Austro-Hungarian armies, 400,000 strong, under the command of Gen. Potiorek, were secretly concentrating at six points along the Western and Northern Serbian frontiers, 340 miles in extent. On the Western frontier, the River Drina divided Serbia from Bosnia.

On the Northern frontier the natural boundary was formed by the Save River, west of Belgrade, and the Danube River east of Belgrade. Thus the Serbian capital was included in a salient which projected into Austro-Hungarian territory on the northwest.

By simultaneous invasions north and west, the Austrians expected to cut through this salient, capture Belgrade and with it a part of the Serbian army. The Serbian forces, all veteran soldiers who had recently emerged victorious from two Balkan wars, numbered 200,000 rifles. Under the direction of Field Marshal Putnik, they were likewise concentrating near the northern border.

On August 12, 1914 the Austrian batteries on the west bank of the Drina River, opposite the Serbian city of Loznitza, opened a heavy bombardment of the town. Under cover of this fire, a fleet of barges, filled with Austrian soldiers, crossed the river. The landing was opposed by two Serbian battalions, acting as an outpost, supported by a few old field guns. They were quickly driven back to the heights behind Loznitza, where they continued their plucky resistance.

The Austrians then laid a pontoon bridge across the Drina and landed an army of 120,000 on Serbian soil, quickly throwing up defensive breastworks and constructing elaborate trenches.

On the same day an Austrian army, 100,000 strong, crossed the Save River at Shabatz, on the Northern frontier, strongly fortified the town, and laid a pontoon bridge across the river from the railroad terminus at Klenak.

Four other Austrian columns were invading Serbia at Zvornik, Luibovia, Amajlia and Branjevo. All these positions converged on Valievo, the terminus of a railroad, extending into the heart of Serbia.

The two mai...

The Battle of Cer also known as Battle of Jadar (main operations were held near the river basin of the Jadar river in Serbia) was one of the first battles of World War I, it also marked the first Allied victory in the war. The battle was fought between the Austro-Hungarian Army and Serbian forces. Results improved Serbian standing in the Alliance. Austro-Hungarian troops fought under the command of General Oskar Potiorek and Liborius Ritter von Frank. Von Frank was in direct command of Austro-Hungarian forces at Cer (5th Army). Most of the Serbian troops were under the command of General Stepa Stepanović.

Battle summary

Austrian push

In the opening stages of the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Army Group Balkans, under the command of General Oskar Potiorek, pushed into northwestern Serbia across Sava and Drina rivers. Šabac fell. Following the expansion of bridgeheads, most elements of 2nd and 5th army successfully crossed into Serbia by 12 August. Potiorek's own 6th army was still concentrating further south and was in no position to begin large operation at this time, so the brunt of the fighting in following days was on the 5th Army. According to Potjorek's plan, it was to attack in the general direction of Valjevo immediately after the crossing and take the city in five days.

Serbian response

Reports of the Austrian incursion reached the Serbian staff during the day. It was clear that a major operation had begun, but Field Marshal Putnik still had not completely abandoned his view that main Austrian thrust would come from the north, concentrated on the Morava river valley. It took some time until his assistants, general Mišić, and head of Operations, colonel Živko Pavlović convinced him to take decisive action.

Along with the direct military pressure of Austria-Hungary, Serbia was pressed to take an offensive stance by its Allies, at the time waging difficult battles in northwestern Europe. The Serbian Staff replied that its units wer...