SERBIAN COMMAND MOVED TROOPS FOR THE BATTLE OF CER

BIJELJINA, AUGUSt 14 /SRNA/ - After 200,000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers invaded Serbia, the Serbian Supreme Command moved 180,000 troops to the northwestern part of the country by August 15, 1914, and drew up a plan for the Battle of Cer.

Thanks to the brilliant strategy of the Serbian Supreme Command and the exceptional courage of Serbian soldiers, by August 24 there were no Austro-Hungarian soldiers left in Serbia, except for 4,500 prisoners of war. The Battle of Cer, in which the Serbian Army decisively defeated the Austro-Hungarian forces and secured the Allies' first victory in World War I, began on August 12, 1914. Between July 29 and August 11, the Austro-Hungarian Army launched artillery attacks in northern and northwestern Serbia and succeeded in establishing a system of pontoon bridges across the Sava and Danube rivers. The Serbs knew that it was impossible to defend the entire 550-kilometer-long border with the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Therefore, Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Radomir Putnik ordered the Serbian Army to withdraw toward the traditional defensive lines in Šumadija, from where it could quickly deploy forces to the west and north. Strong detachments were stationed in Valjevo and Užice, while reconnaissance units were deployed at every important point along the border. The Serbian victory at the Battle of Cer over a numerically superior enemy marked the Allies' first triumph in World War I.