Serbian campaign (1915)
| Serbian campaign (1915) | |||||||||
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| Part of the Serbian campaign of World War I | |||||||||
Map showing the timeline of the Campaign | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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600,000: |
~300,000: 45 Italian transport vessels 25 French transport vessels | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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67,000:
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The Serbian campaign of 1915 (German: Der serbische Feldzug 1915) refers to a military campaign carried out by the Central Powers, primarily Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, against the Kingdom of Serbia during World War I. The campaign took place from October to November 1915.
After Serbia successfully resisted Austria-Hungary's advances during the Serbian campaign of 1914, the Central Powers launched a joint offensive against Serbia with a combined force of over 600,000 soldiers. They enjoyed numerical and technological superiority over the Serbian army, which was heavily outnumbered and lacked adequate supplies and equipment.
The campaign began with a series of coordinated offensives aimed at breaking through Serbian defensive lines. The Serbian army, led by King Peter I and Field Marshal Radomir Putnik, fought valiantly but was ultimately overwhelmed by the Central Powers' forces, with German and Austro-Hungarian forces attacking from the north while Bulgarian troops attacked from the east. The Serbian army, along with a significant number of civilians, embarked on a retreat across the Albanian mountains, suffering heavy casualties from combat, disease, and harsh weather, the retreat became known as the Great Retreat or the "Albanian Golgotha."
By the end of the Serbian campaign of 1915, the Central Powers had effectively eliminated Serbia as a threat, secured their position in the region and opened up a land route to provide supplies to the embattled Ottoman Empire. Serbia was then divided between the Austro-Hungarian occupied zone and the Bulgarian occupied zone. The Serbian government, along with the remnants of its army, evacuated to the Greek island of Corfu, where they regrouped and later played a crucial role in the ultimate Allied victory in the war.