The Story of the Great War, Volume 2: History of the European War from Official Sources
History
The Story of the Great War, Volume 2: History of the European War from Official Sources
World War, 1914-1918
Here ended the fourth day of the bloody struggle--August 19, 1914. In
the north around Shabatz the Austrians had made some advance, but all
along the rest of the line they had suffered complete disaster. The two
important mountain ridges, Tzer and Iverak, which dominated the whole
theatre of operations, were definitely in the hands of the Serbians. And
finally, the Third Army had at last broken down the opposition against
it.
Next morning, August 20, 1914, dawned on a situation that was thoroughly
hopeless for the Austrians. Even up around Shabatz, where they had been
successful the day before, the Austrians, realizing that all was lost to
the southward, made only a feeble attack on the Serbians, who were
consequently able to recross the Dobrava River and establish themselves
on the right bank.
The cavalry division, whose left flank was not freed by the clearing of
the Tzer ridges, hurled itself against the Austrians in the plains
before it and threw them into wild disorder. First they shelled them,
then charged. The panic-stricken Magyars fled through the villages,
across the corn fields, through the orchards.
"Where is the Drina? Where is the Drina?" they shouted, whenever they
saw a peasant. A burning, tropical sun sweltered over the plain. Many of
the fleeing soldiers dropped from exhaustion and were afterward taken
prisoners. Others lost themselves in the marshy hollows and only emerged
days later, while still others, wounded, laid down and died where they
fell.
In the Leshnitza similar scenes were taking place. From the ridges above
the Serbian guns roared and poured hurtling steel messages of death down
into the throngs of retreating Austrians. Some few regiments, not so
demoralized as the others, did indeed make several attempts to fight
rear-guard actions, to protect their fleeing comrades, but they again
were overwhelmed by the disorganized masses in the rear pouring over
them.
In the Jadar valley another disorganized mob of Austrians was fleeing
before the Serbians up on the Iverak ridges, who also were pouring a hot
artillery fire into their midst. Presently the Third Army joined in the
mad chase. And now the whole Austrian army was wildly fleeing for the
Drina River.
There remained only one exception during the early part of the day,
August 20, 1914. This was the Austrian forces on Kik, to the northwest
of Zavlaka. The Serbian reenforcements which, it will be remembered, had
originally been directed toward Marianovitche, had been afterward sent
westward, and at dawn on August 20 they approached Kik in two columns.
The left column occupied Osoye without resistance, but in descending
from that position, the Austrian artillery opened fire on it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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