Battle of Cer

1914: August 15

The first victory for the ‘Entente Powers’, the term given to the countries on the side of France, Britain and Russia, came from Serbia in August 2014. The outnumbered army of this relatively small country surprised most observers by putting up a strong resistance against the Austro-Hungarian troops that were building up on the Cer mountain preparing for their offensive to Serbia.

On the night between August 15 and 16 the Serbian soldiers encountered Austro-Hungarian forces on the mountain side and fighting broke out in the darkness. Over the next few days the two sides made various gains and losses but over the nine days of battles the Serbian army finally pushed the Austro-Hungarians into a somewhat disordered retreat. Estimated casualty numbers vary widely but it is thought that the Austro-Hungarian side suffered around 30,000, with around a third of them killed. Serbia is predicted to have lost around 3,000 men, with a further 15,000 injured.