SERBIAN COMMAND TRANSFERRED ARMY FOR BATTLE OF CER

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

By August 24, thanks to the great strategy of Serbian Supreme Command and exceptional bravery of Serbian soldiers, there were no Austro-Hungarian soldiers left, except for 4.500 prisoners.

The Battle of Cer, in which Serbian army defeated Austro-Hungarian forces and claimed the first victory of the Allies in the Great War, started on August 12, 1914.

From July 29 to August 11, Austro-Hungarian forces launched artillery attacks in northern and northwestern Serbia, and managed to form a system of floating bridges across the Sava and the Danube rivers.

The Serbs knew that it is impossible to defend the whole border with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in a length of 550 kilometers.

That is why the the Commander-in-Chief, Duke Radomir Putnik, ordered the Serbian army to retreat to the traditional defensive lines in Šumadija, where it could act quickly in the west and north.

Strong detachments were placed in Valjevo and Užice, and scouts at every important point along the border.

The Serbian victory in the Battle of Cer, over a numerically superior enemy, marked the first triumph of the Allies in the Great War.