The History Book Club discussion

This is the thread dedicated to the discussion of The Battle of the Cer - 1914.

by John Keegan

The Battle of Cer also known as Battle of Jadar (main operations were held near the river basin of the Jadar river in Serbia) was one of the first battles of World War I, it also marked the first Allied victory in the war.

The battle was fought between the Austro-Hungarian Army and Serbian forces. Results improved Serbian standing in the Alliance. Austro-Hungarian troops fought under the command of General Oskar Potiorek and Liborius Ritter von Frank. Von Frank was in direct command of Austro-Hungarian forces at Cer (5th Army). Most of the Serbian troops were under the command of General Stepa Stepanović.

Source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_o...

Allegedly this is footage of the Battle of Cer (youtube) - not sure of its authenticity but will post it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttg3NA...

A humorous re-enactment with subtitles:

Major Kursula's battle report to General Stepa Stepanovic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiPHmw...

The Battle of Cer was one of the first battles of World War I; it also marked the first Allied victory in the war. The battle was fought between the Austro-Hungarian Army and Serbian forces.

Austro-Hungarian troops fought under the command of General Oskar Potiorek and Liberius von Frank who was in direct command of Austro-Hungarian forces at Cer and Serbian troops under the command of General Stepa Stepanović who was for his victory promoted to Vojvoda (Field-Marshal).

According to the write-up:

Reviewer stated that the film "The march to Drina" was made during the communist era of Yugoslavia in 1964. Unlike 99% of war movies made during that time, this one doesn't deal with WW2 and communist revolution, but a historic and epic battle of WW1.

The topic was handled excellently, it was very authentic. For that reason, the film was "shunned" by the official TVs and movie theaters for years.

The topic of this film is the first battle of WW1 that was won by the allies, when small and outnumbered army of Serbian Kingdom defeated Austro-Hungarian invading forces. The plot revolves around a small artillery section, the men and their lives. The cast was excellent and they did their job superbly.

Historically, battles of Drina and Cer, in Serbia, were the first two victories in WW1. Unfortunately, overwhelmed by the invaders, the Serbian army had to retreat all the way to Greece and wait there until the allies were ready to open the front at Solun.

March to Drina (Part One) It has subtitles - first part starts after the credits around 2:03

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x35y...

March to Drina (Part Two) - there seems to be an ad in front of each segment

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x35x...

March to Drina (Part Three)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x35w...

March to Drina (Part Four)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x35w...

March to Drina (Part Five)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x35v...

March to Drina (Part Six)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x35v...

I have not watched this in its entirety yet.

Serbia's Great War 1914-1918

by Andrej Mitrović (no photo)

Synopsis:

Mitrovic's volume fills the gap in Balkan history by presenting an in-depth look at Serbia and its role in WWI. Serbia did play a key role at the start of the conflict but British and American historians have paid little attention to the topic. As Mark Cornwall writes in his introduction, The Serbian experience is in fact of major significance for three notable reasons. First, in the interlocking development of the wartime continent, Serbia's plight is part of a European jigsaw that cannot be omitted if the whole is to be better understood. At the same time, it serves as a valuable case study of the war in microcosm. It contains all the ingredients of the conflict experienced elsewhere—appalling suffering, legendary sacrifice, war aims, political-military tensions, socio-economic and political upheaval—and some more peculiar to itself, such as mass migration, exile, guerrilla resistance, and the trauma of three years of foreign occupation. Secondly, the First World War was crucial as a stage in the construction of Serbian national mythology in the twentieth century. It enabled many Serbs to envisage themselves as a martyred people, their blood constantly spilled for the greater good. Out of the wartime Serbian 'Golgotha' (a favorite phrase from the Great War!), there finally emerged the dream of a South Slav or Yugoslav state with the Serbian kingdom at its core. It was a national trauma and sacrifice which nationalist Serbs might easily see as being repeated later in the century, in the wars of the 1940s and the 1990s. Thirdly, the Serbian story has a particular resonance for a British reader because of British participation in that trauma. At the time the British role in aiding or propagating or even betraying the Serbian cause was well publicized across Britain. Since then it has been a rather neglected subject, a sign of the amnesia, which can so easily creep into a reductionist official "national memory."

Thanks for all of the add so far Jill

You are more than welcome.

Visit this web site, Heroes of Serbia, to get a feel for the passion of the people, even today, for their armies in WWI. The note from an officer to his commander during the Battle of Cer requesting to be relieved of duty due to injury is quite moving. Incidentally, the battle was the first Allied victory of the war.

http://www.heroesofserbia.com/2009/08...

Source: Heroes of Serbia

An interesting web site which describes the commemorative spot that is held sacred to the Serbians, the battle of the Cer.

http://www.post-gazette.com/life/trav...

The commemorative monument to those Serbs who died in the Battle of the Cer.



(Source: Wikimedia)

The beauty of this fine history book is that it covers in detail many of the battles of the Eastern Front which may not always have a single book dedicated to them. I will be cross posting this to some of the other topics here in the WWI folder.

A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire

by Geoffrey Wawro

Synopsis:

The Austro-Hungarian army that marched eastward in the opening campaign of World War I was as disordered a force as the world had ever seen. Speaking a mystifying array of languages and carrying outdated weapons, the troops were hopelessly unprepared for the mechanized warfare that would soon consume the entire continent.

As prizewinning historian Geoffrey Wawro explains, the disorganization of these doomed conscripts perfectly mirrored Austra-Hungary itself. For years, the Dual Monarchy had been rotting from within, hollowed out by complacency and corruption at the highest levels. Germany goaded Austria into a longed-for fight with Russia and her allies before the monarchy collapsed completely, but the severity of the fighting was too much for the weakened Empire. By the time 1914 ended, the Habsburg army lay in ruins, and the course of the war seemed all but decided.

Reconstructing the climax of the Austrian campaign in gripping detail, Wawro offers a riveting account of how Austria-Hungary plunged the West into a tragic and unnecessary war.

This map shows us the location of the Battle of the Cer.



(Source: Wikipedia>

This is an amazing but short WWI documentary on the first battle of that war, the battle of the Cer. It mixes modern and historic footage and tells the tragic story of the battle which was supposed to be "local" between Austria-Hungary and Serbia and instead led to WWI. Very well done. (English, no subtitles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Qc8...

The Great War and Memory in Central and South-Eastern Europe

by Oto Luthar (no photo)

Synopsis:

This volume presents a series of chapters about the Great War and memory in Central and South-Eastern Europe which will widen the insufficient and spotty representations of the Great War in that region.

The contributors deliver an important addition to present-day scholarship on the more or less unknown war in the Balkans and at the Italian fronts.

Although it might not completely fill the striking gap in the historical representations of the situation between the Slovene-Italian So a-Isonzo river in the North-West and the Greek-Macedonian border mountains around Mount Kajmak alan in the South-East, it will add significantly to the scholarship on the Balkan theatre of war and provide a much-needed account of the suffering of civilians, ideas, loyalties and cultural hegemonies, as well as memories and the post-war memorial landscape.

The contributors are Vera Gudac Dodi, Silviu Hariton, Vijoleta Herman Kauri, Oto Luthar, Olga Manojlovi Pintar, Ahmed Pa i, Ignac Romsics, Daniela Schanes, Fabio Todero, Nikolai Vukov and Katharina Wesener."