The German units of the XI Army who had escaped capture, withdrew into Serbia to join the other German and Austrian forces already there or on their way from other sectors. Thus the 21st Infantry Regiment, elements of the 256th Reserve Regiment (the one which had appeared recently on the Struma front), of the 275th Regiment, which was in Macedonia, and of the 12th Landwehr concentrated in Serbia. From France the Alpen Corps arrived, which had only just come out of the line after much hard fighting, the 50th Landwehr from Minsk, and from South Russia the 217th and 219th Infantry Divisions, while Austria sent the 9th Division withdrawn from Italy, and the 25th. But these troops did not all reach the new front at the same time, except those who were already in Serbia or who had retreated from Macedonia; the other reinforcements arrived _par petits paquets_. In Roumania there was a still more numerous Army--on paper--commanded by Marshal von Mackensen, consisting of 3 German divisions, strengthened by 7 Landwehr divisions from Russia. This force, echeloned along the Danube from the Iron Gates to Cernavoda and along the railway from Cernavoda to Constantza, was divided into two armies, one of which assumed the name of the XI German Army which had gone to pieces in Macedonia, and was commanded by General von Scholtz himself, and the other, called the Army of Occupation in Roumania, commanded by General Koch. These forces were, in appearance, by no means negligible, but were spread over too vast a front, and the difficulties of communications south of Belgrade rendered their concentration very slow. Many of the men, moreover, belonged to the older classes and were partially unfit. Even for the Allies communications were now extremely difficult. As far as the line of the old front they were comparatively good. But beyond it the retreating enemy had destroyed the railways, and the roads were in an appalling condition. From Ghevgheli to Veles the line was destroyed in many places, but it was repaired fairly quickly, so that by October 15th trains were already running with one interruption. From Veles to Uskub the destruction had been almost complete, as was also the case north of Uskub. The Constantinople railway was interrupted at Demir Hissar, where the bridge, as we have seen, had been blown up by the French early in the war. The C.A.A. had therefore to limit the number of troops pushing north to an indispensable minimum. Nothing, however, could restrain the Serbs, irresistibly drawn forward by the longing to return to their homeland. For supplies they had to rely on lorries, and the British provided them with 300 Fords, carrying 500 kilograms each, for the roads over which heavier vehicles could not pass. [Illustration: AFTER THE VICTORY. ENEMY PRISONERS. To face p. 256. ]