- First Army (Serbia)
The Serbian First Army (Српска Прва Армија / Srpska Prva Armija) was a
Serbia n fieldarmy that fought duringWorld War I .History
Early World War I
Following the
Austro-Hungarian invasion ofSerbia , the First Army was put under the command of GeneralPetar Bojović . It acted as a strategic reserve in the area ofAranđelovac during theBattle of Cer , but most of its divisions were sent to support the Second and Third armies actively engaged in the battle. The army conducted a successful crossing of Sava and performed an offensive intoSyrmia (then part of Austria-Hungary) but was recalled when Second invasion of Serbia (also known as theBattle of Drina ) began. The army had the decisive role in the battle conducting a strong counterattack against the Austro- Hungarian 6th army. It was engaged in some of the fiercest fights of the whole Serbian theatre at Mackov kamen, which ended in a bloody stalemate. After a month-long period of trench warfare, in November 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Army began the third invasion of Serbia (also known as theBattle of Kolubara ). During the defensive part of this battle this army was in the most difficult situation due to heavy casualties from the Battle of Drina and acute lack of artillery ammunition. It was at this point that general Živojin Mišić, who was previously the Aide of Commander in Chief of Serbian Army, (Vojvoda/Duke -equalent ofField Marshal Radomir Putnik ), was made commander of this army, as Bojović was wounded. He restored morale and discipline (which had started to waver) in the army, by insisting on a deeper withdrawal before the Austro-Hungarians, all the way toGornji Milanovac .In December 1914, after receiving a badly needed supply of 75mm artillery ammunition, the whole Serbian army launched a counterattack. The First Army played the decisive role in this having affected the breakthrough against the 16. corps of Austro-Hungarian 6th army. It subsequently pursued that army all the way to the
Drina , while the other two armies were engaged in expulsing the Austro-Hungarian 5th army. After the battle, Mišić promoted to Vojvoda.When the fourth, combined German,
Austro-Hungarian , andBulgaria n invasion force attacked Serbia in 1915, the First Army was tasked with defence of the western border of Serbia (along the river Drina). It faced mostly units of Austro-Hungarian Third Army and was mostly under less pressure then other Serbian units facing Germans or Bulgarians. Perhaps as a cousequence of this Mišić was in favor of halting and making a final stand against theCentral Powers forces when the High Command ordered retreat across Montenegro and Albania to Italian-heldDurazzo andValona (at the time Serbian Army was defending itself inKosovo from three sides and was in danger of becoming surrounded). However, he was over-ruled by other army commanders at their meetings atPeć , who decided to carry on the order of High Command.Retreat
The First Army took part in the epic retreat of the
Serbian Army through theAlbania n mountains during the winter of 1915 and 1916, during which it suffered heavy casualties due to hunger, frostbite, attack from Albanian bands (Albania officially supported the Entente) and exhaustion. From the Italian-held ports the Serbian Army was transported by Allied ships toCorfu , and a smaller part to French-heldBizerte to recuperate and reorganise. During the retreat of the Serbian army (along with civilians) a few Serbian soldiers would be assigned to "guard" large groups of civilians of 300 to 500 persons.Vardar Offensive
Mišić was recalled to command the First Army in September 1916 initially at
Monastir and then atThessaloniki . The First Army (again commanded by Bojović) took part in theAllied Vardar Offensive of 1918 that effectively knockedBulgaria out of the war. During this offensive, this army advanced far ahead of the Allies and performed a maneuver nearNiš which broke the last serious German attempt to halt the offensive by superior numbers. For his merit in this feat, Gen. Bojović was promoted to Vojvoda. This army liberated Belgrade, and subsequently crossed intoVojvodina and advanced as far as present-day border between Serbia and Hungary by the time of the Armistice.Army composition
The numerical strength and unit composition of all Serbian armies varied greatly during the war not only because of the heavy casualties, but also because of the very flexibile strategy employed by the Serbian High command, with armies often trading regiments and even divisions if needed. Serbian unit organisation did not include
brigade s andcorps . The regiments directly formed the divisions (mostly four), and divisions formed the armies.ee also
*
Second Army (Serbia)
*Third Army (Serbia)
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