TRIALS CREATE HEROES! Victory that made WORLD ADMIRE Serbs: 110 years since the great triumph of the small kingdom
This battle, recorded in war history as the first Serbian victory in the Great War, was a turning point and gave the Serbian army the wind at its back for years to come
One of the greatest Serbian victories at Cer is still a subject of disagreement among historians. Some claim the battle began when Austro-Hungarian troops breached the Drina River, while others point to the day Serbian forces launched their counterattack.
Historical records include boasts by the Austro-Hungarian chief officer, Oskar Potiorek, that Serbia would be crushed within seven days and that it was merely a "stroll to Niš," where they expected to meet the Bulgarian army. So confident, they referred to their army assembled for the invasion of Serbia as a "punitive expedition." Such statements weren't surprising, considering that Serbia entered the war with 250,000 soldiers, while the Austro-Hungarian army numbered around 1.5 million, with 300,000 soldiers deployed for the Battle of Cer alone. Potiorek’s plan was to strike Serbia via the Drina River, counting on surprise and the exhaustion of Serbian farmers after the Balkan Wars. They believed Serbia would quickly fall to its knees. However, history took a different course.
The Battle of Cer was the first Serbian, but also Allied, victory in the First World War. It was a significant triumph that boosted the morale of the soldiers and showed the Allies that their enemies were not invincible. The Serbian military medical corps entered the war in a dire state. Besides lacking medicines and medical supplies, the greatest issue was the shortage of doctors. Serbia, with a population of about five million at the time, had only around 400 doctors who gave their utmost to assist wounded Serbian soldiers on the front lines. They performed surgeries, suturing, and other procedures right on the front line, often losing their own lives in the process. The attack began on 12 August 1914, on the Drina River.
With about 80,000 soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army, General Liborius von Frank crossed the Drina River. Simultaneously, the Second Army attacked and captured Šabac via Srem. Nevertheless, Chetnik units on the Drina caused problems for General Potiorek. Austro-Hungarian reports indicate that their forces suffered severe losses during the first and second assaults from soldiers who fired at them from behind bushes and trees.
The Turning Point
Knowing that Austria-Hungary was preparing a major offensive on Serbia, the Serbian Supreme Command was preparing for tactical-operational actions and a counteroffensive. They estimated that the main Austro-Hungarian forces would strike from the north and along the Morava Valley, while secondary forces would attack from the west, from the Drina. Accordingly, the Command deployed its forces. The First Army, under the command of General Petar Bojović, was positioned around Grocka, Smederevska Palanka, Rača, and Topola. The Second Army, led by General Stepa Stepanović, was in the Obrenovac and Aranđelovac area.
The Third Army, commanded by General Pavle Jurišić Šturm, defended the northern and north-western borders from the mouth of the Kolubara River to Ljubovija, while the Užice army, under General Miloš Božanović, was in the Užice region to control the routes from Višegrad and Bajina Bašta along the Western Morava Valley.
Recognising the strategic importance of Mount Cer, and considering the current deployment of forces, the commander of the Second Army, Stepa Stepanović, devised a plan to manoeuvre the Second Army towards Cer and Mačva, heading west instead of north, to meet the invading forces. Expecting a major attack, the Supreme Command made a decision on 15 August that would mark warfare in Serbia in 1914.
On the night of 15 August, the first part of the Combined Division met the vanguard of the 21st Landwehr Division of the Austro-Hungarian Army on the Mount Cer peaks. Under the assault of the Serbian army, the numerically superior Austro-Hungarian forces began to retreat. The shattered Austro-Hungarian troops started their withdrawal across the Drina River on the night of 19 August and continued throughout the following day. After their triumph on Cer, the Serbs aimed to retake the heavily fortified town of Šabac. Fierce fighting ensued on 21 and 22 August, during which Serbian forces managed to breach the western side of the town.
By 23 August, they had surrounded the town and brought in heavy artillery by evening. The next day, the Serbs entered the town, only to discover that the Austro-Hungarians had abandoned it the previous night. By the afternoon, Serbian forces reached the banks of the Sava River, marking the end of the first Austro-Hungarian offensive.
Thanks to the brilliant strategy of the Serbian Command and the incomparable bravery of the Serbian soldiers, by 24 August, no Austro-Hungarian soldier remained in Serbia.
A Surprise in Europe
The Battle of Cer was a magnificent victory for the Serbian army, causing great surprise across Europe. Everyone spoke of the small kingdom that had defeated the mighty empire. The economic development and military strength between the two countries were in stark contrast, which is why this victory remains so astonishing today. In one of the most significant battles in Serbian history, the members of the Combined, Morava, Šumadija, and Cavalry Divisions stood out with their heroic deeds. The Serbian soldier, though small in stature, had a heart larger than the Habsburg Monarchy. He fought to protect his property and family. No great and powerful enemy could resist such a force. The battle also had an enormous psychological significance. It occurred at a time when German troops were advancing relentlessly towards the heart of France. The victory at Cer by the small Serbian army enhanced the reputation of the Kingdom of Serbia and elevated its standing among the Allies. In the Battle of Cer, Serbian forces lost over 16,000 soldiers, while Austro-Hungarian casualties amounted to around 25,000. Thanks to excellent command, the Serbian army managed to adapt to the situation on the ground and win an unexpected, surprise battle. After this battle, the commander of the Second Army, General Stepa Stepanović, was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal for his outstanding achievements.
Broken Chain of Command
The Battle of Cer was the first in Serbian history where the chain of command was broken: Field Marshal Radomir Putnik was waiting for the outcome of the Austro-Hungarian operations, while General Stepa Stepanović recognised the importance of Mount Cer and disregarded Field Marshal Radomir Putnik’s orders. This led to the success of the Serbian army in the Battle of Cer.
FUN FACT Broken Chain of Command
The Battle of Cer was the first in Serbian history where the chain of command was broken: Field Marshal Radomir Putnik was waiting for the outcome of the Austro-Hungarian operations, while General Stepa Stepanović recognised the importance of Mount Cer and disregarded Field Marshal Radomir Putnik’s orders. This led to the success of the Serbian army in the Battle of Cer.
The Iron Regiment
Binički, Brka, and "March on the Drina"
The Serbian patriotic song "March on the Drina" was authored by Serbian composer Stanislav Binički shortly after the battle. Binički dedicated the march to his favourite army commander, Colonel Milivoje Stojanović Brka, from the Iron Regiment – The Prince Mihailo Second Infantry Regiment of the First Call – The Morava Division of the First Call. In 1914, during the First World War, Stojanović's Second Iron Regiment participated in the Battle of Cer, at the very centre of the battle, in Tekeriš. The lyrics were written by Milivoje Popović Kavaja, a writer and the first director of the Sava Centre.
Film depictions
Seven Films
The Battle of Cer is the most depicted Serbian battle, with four feature films, two docudramas, and one documentary. The most accurate portrayal of the battle is Žika Mitrović's 1964 film March on the Drina.
In the famous final scene, the actor Ljuba Tadić’s coat caught fire from a fulminate explosion during filming, but he endured it and completed the scene with the line, "Drina, damn you."
The least accurate depiction is the film Saint George Shoots the Dragon, in which neither the geography nor the events align with the battle. Apart from these two films, two docudramas were made to mark the 100th anniversary of the battle: Serbia in the Great War and The 1914 Hero, as well as the 2018 films A Soldier's Lullaby and King Peter in Honour of Serbia, which also inspired a TV series of the same name..
Staško Sondermajer
A Young Hero Fondly Remembered
Sixth-grade student from the Second Belgrade Preparatory School, Stanislav Staško Sondermajer, is the youngest fighter to have died defending his homeland on 5 August 1914 in the Battle of Cer. He was killed in the fighting near the village of Dobrić.
"Fondly remembered, young but so glorious, the small hero of the Third Cavalry Regiment sleeps the eternal sleep on the field of honour," wrote Staško Sondermajer’s teacher, Miodrag Ibrovac.
Raised in a patriotic spirit, Staško, the son of the respected surgeon and medical colonel Roman Sondermajer and Stanislava Đurić, was 16 years old when the war broke out. While men were preparing for the front, the boy stood before his father, pleading to join, but he was denied permission.
Assigned to a service role in the rear, the boy begged to be allowed the honour of joining the combat line. His death with a rifle in hand brought tears to the eyes of many soldiers. Women, sisters, and mothers from the village of Bogosavac went to the battlefield, found the young boy in his sailor uniform, brought him to the village centre, and buried him at the site where he still rests today..
In the blouse of the slain boy, they found a diary wrapped in a handkerchief, in which he described the heartbreak of losing his mother two days after mobilisation, as well as the atmosphere on the front lines.
The poetess Isidora Sekulić also paid tribute to him in verse: "Long untouched, I rejoiced in the diadem of your pure childlike eyes. You said you loved Serbia, freedom, and a prince. And with you, I too loved Serbia."
Momčilo Gavrić, the Youngest Serbian Corporal
"Sir, they killed them all..."
In a village in August 1914, an eight-year-old boy lived through an unspeakable tragedy. Soldiers of the "Devil's Division" [Editor’s note: The 42nd Croatian Home Guard Division, which included Josip Broz] were massacring civilians in Mačva and Pocerina. They killed his entire family and burned his house. His father had sent him to a nearby village, to his brother, just a few kilometres away, to fetch a cart. According to some stories, his father had anticipated the atrocities and suspected the same might happen in their village. Thus, he saved his son, Momčilo. Horrified by the sight of his home, where soldiers toasted and drank over the smouldering ruins and corpses, laughing loudly, Momčilo Gavrić set off for Mount Gučevo in search of the Serbian army. He encountered the Sixth Artillery Regiment of the Drina Division, commanded by Major Stevan Tucović, the brother of Dimitrije Tucović. "Sir, they killed all of my family..." he said. He explained that he had no one left and begged to be taken into their ranks. The soldiers immediately set out to avenge his family. Soldier Miloš Mišović, together with Momčilo, threw grenades at the drunk soldiers, and from that moment, Momčilo became a proper soldier. Little Gavrić was always by the side of the tall Zlatibor-born soldier Miloš Mišović. His task was to fire the cannon three times daily as a way of avenging his family.
One of the soldiers, a tailor by trade, made him a uniform and cap from old overcoats. The soldiers gave him a rifle with a shortened barrel. He wore old leather shoes as there were no small boots. Military reports contain the testimony about a boy, Momčilo, who refused to leave the cannons and hide in the trenches when the enemy opened fire.
