Jordan The Balkans, Italy & Africa 1914-1918

From Sarajevo to the Piave and Lake Tanganyika
1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-1-908273-08-6
Verlag: Amber Books Ltd
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 224 Seiten

Reihe: History of WWI

The History of World War I series recounts the battles and campaigns that took place during the 'Great War'. From the Falkland Islands to the lakes of Africa, across the Eastern and Western Fronts, to the former German colonies in the Pacific, the series provides a six-volume history of the battles and campaigns on land, at sea and in the air.The assassination in Sarajevo of the Austro-Hungarian heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand lit an explosive mixture of ethnic tensions, nationalism, political opportunism, and the quest for power within the Balkans to plunge Europe into a conflict that would cost millions of lives. Austro-Hungary faced both Serbia and Russia during the opening phase of the war, but Bulgaria's decision to join the Central Powers in October 1915 led to the opening of the Salonika front in Greece, where 150,0000 British and French troops saw little fighting until the disastrous 1918 Doiran campaign.At the war's outbreak, the British authorities in Africa were totally unprepared, with few forces available to attack the German colonies, who themselves were effectively left isolated from help. The German commander in East Africa, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, launched a brilliant guerrilla campaign with scant resources, conducting lightning attacks on Allied targets, particularly the Uganda Railway. He was opposed by the South African General Jan Smuts and his mixture of Boer, British, Rhodesian, Indian, African, Belgian and Portuguese soldiers: fighting continued until November 1918.Italy entered the war against the Central Powers in April 1915. For two years, Austro-Hungarian forces were kept at bay on Italy's northern borders, until a combined German and Austro-Hungarian defeated the Italian forces at the Battle of Caporetto in October 1917. Revenge came with the Allied victory at Vittorio Veneto in November 1918, which led to Austro-Hungary's collapse.With the aid of over 300 photographs, complemented by full-colour maps, The Balkans, Italy & Africa provides a detailed guide to the background and conduct of the war in the Balkan, Italian and African theatres from the assassination in Sarajevo to the surrender of the Central Powers.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jordan, David

Leseproben

Austro-Hungarian troops advance into Serbia in 1914. Serbia possessed few metalled roads, and the conditions seen underfoot in this photograph are typical of those faced by both sides from an early stage in the first Austrian invasion. The Austrian assault literally became bogged down. CHAPTER 1
The Balkans 1914
The Austro-Hungarian ultimatum confirmed the suspicions of many Serbs that their powerful neighbour's ambition was to expand eastwards and crush Serbia sooner rather than later. The ageing Austrian Emperor Franz Josef appeared to be reluctant to take such a step prior to 1914, but the assassination in Sarajevo, and the support of the Germans, appeared to galvanize political opinion in Vienna to the point where war seemed inevitable. The need to protect against a Russian attack on Austria-Hungary meant that troops had to be diverted from the Balkan Army to the Galician front, and this in turn forced amendment of the original Austro-Hungarian plans for the conquest of Serbia. Rather than drive into Serbia from both north and west to directly engage the Serbian Army, the Austro-Hungarians instead looked to encircle Serb forces in the west of the country. Austro-Hungarian forces would seek to undermine the left flank of the Serbian Army by taking Valjevo, while simultaneous operations around Pozega would present a serious threat to the Serbian forces’ rear. The Austrians anticipated a swift victory, and felt that such a success would persuade the Italians, Romanians, Turks and Bulgarians to join the Central Powers, presenting a potentially much more challenging array of opposition to the Allies, particularly Russia. The Austro-Hungarian forces assigned to the invasion were far smaller than originally planned (308,000 strong), given that a large part of the Austrian Second Army was moved to the Russian front, reducing the number of troops in the Balkan Army to around 200,000. However, the Austro-Hungarians could, upon full mobilization, call upon an army of approximately four million men; moving more men into the Balkan Army to support an attack on Serbia was, therefore, a practicable proposition once the mobilization process was complete, and as long as the threat from Russia had been contained. The Austrians anticipated a short and relatively simple campaign of conquest. Serbs read about the developing crisis with the Habsburgs during the summer of 1914. In the absence of wireless and television, newspapers were the main source of mass communication – and propaganda – in pre-war Europe. Opposing the Austro-Hungarians, the Serbs could muster 450,000 soldiers upon full mobilization. The main elements that would face an Austrian attack were the First, Second, Third and Uzhice armies; between them, they possessed a combined strength of some 180,000 men. The numerical superiority enjoyed by the Austrians was boosted by the fact that they possessed better equipment and a better logistics organization; the Serbs were to be largely reliant upon the arrival of matériel support from their allies, but supplies were low. It was estimated that full mobilization would see around 50,000 Serbian troops without any equipment at all. Many units lacked any uniform other than a standard issue greatcoat and cap, leaving the soldiers to wear their own clothes beneath. To compound matters, there were shortages of rifles and ammunition throughout the army. The Serbs were supported by the Montenegrin Army, a slightly misleading term since the kingdom did not have a regular standing force; rather, there were a series of local militias, which provided a combined strength of around 45,000 riflemen. The Serbian and Montenegrin Armies, August 1914 Commander-in-Chief: Prince Aleksander Chief of Staff: Marshal Vojvoda Putnik First Army (General Petar Bojovich) Timok Infantry Division I Timok Infantry Division II (reserve) Morava Infantry Division II (reserve) Cavalry Division Branicevo Detachment Second Army (General Stepa Stepanovich) Shumadija Infantry Division I Danub Infantry Division I Combined Division I Morava Infantry Division I Third Army (General Pavle Jurisich-Sturm) Drina Infantry Division I Drina Infantry Division II (reserve) Obrenovac Detachment Sabac Detachment Loznica and Leshnica detachments Ljubovije Detachment Debelo Brdo Detachment Jadar Chetnik Detachment Rudnik Chetnik Detachment (source: www.vojska.net) General Stepa Stepanovich, commander of Second Army. Uzhice Army (General Milosh Bozanovich) Shumadija Infantry Division I Uzhice Brigade Lim Detachment Gornjacki Chetnik Detachment Zlatibor Chetnik Detachment Montenegrin Army Pljevalja Division (Brigadier Luka Gojnich) Herzegovina Detachment (Serdar Janko Vukotich) Lovchen Detachment (Divizijar Mitja Martinovich) Starosrbijanski Detachment (Brigadier R. Vesovich) While the Serbians and Montenegrins may have suffered from equipment shortages, they had a considerable advantage in that they had been engaged in the two recent Balkan wars, giving many of their troops considerable combat experience; this was something that the Austrian troops lacked. In addition, the Austro-Hungarian forces were made up of a variety of disparate ethnic groupings from within the empire, and lacked the cohesive patriotic fervour of their adversaries. INVASION The Austrian invasion began in the early hours of 12 August 1914, as Marshal Oskar Potiorek's Second Army attacked in the northwest. Heavy artillery fire fell along the front, particularly at Belgrade. An attempt to take the Isle of Ada Ciganlija was forced back by the Serbian defenders, but elsewhere, the Austrians made progress. In the Sava sector of operations, the Austrians captured the town of Sabac, committing a variety of atrocities against the inhabitants in the process of seizing the town. A counterattack was put in by Serbian infantry supported by cavalry squadrons, but they lacked the strength to dislodge the Austrians from their positions. Elsewhere along the Sava, Austrian troops crossed the river against light resistance and captured a number of villages in the area of Mitrovica. The Austrians, however, were unable to exploit their gains in this sector on the first day, since they needed reinforcement before they could advance further. The Austrian invasion of Serbia, August 1914. The Austrian attack was made difficult by the need to force river crossings in the face of determined Serbian resistance, while the Serbs were required to maintain forces to deal with the threat of a possible Bulgarian intervention in the war. On the lower Drina, a heavy preparatory bombardment by the Austrian Fifth Army was followed by an assault against the Isle of Samurovica Ada and the Isle of Ada Kurjacica. The Isle of Samurovica Ada fell swiftly, since it was only lightly held. However, the Isle of Ada Kurjacica, despite being occupied by just two companies of Serbian troops, proved to be a much more difficult proposition. It took most of the day for the Serbian force to be dislodged from its position, and by nightfall the Austrian advance in this area was behind schedule. Only one division of troops had managed to cross the river Drina. Serbian troops carried out harrying attacks at a variety of locations, helping to slow the Austrian advance yet further. After its initial advance, Sixth Army was compelled to move onto the defensive, so as to screen the right flank of the Fifth Army as it sought to overcome tenacious Serbian resistance. Although the opening attack had been accompanied by heavy artillery bombardment, the effect on the Serbians had not been as disorienting as Austro-Hungarian commanders might have anticipated. Serbian units remained cohesive despite the weight of attack (as illustrated by their fierce resistance across the front), and this meant that the Serb high command was in a position to receive regular and reliable reports from troops as they held positions or made tactical withdrawals in good order. The Serbian leadership was further aided by the survival of most of the telecommunications network within the country, which made it possible for them to make assessments of the Austrian attack based upon detailed information. As the day wore on, it seemed clear that the Austrian Second Army was carrying out a feint attack, seeking to draw Serbian troops in. Realization that the Austrian Sixth Army had moved to a defensive posture and had all but ended its advance prompted the Serbian commander, Marshal Radomir Putnik, to conclude that the main weight of effort would occur in the northwest of Serbia. It was also evident that while the defending forces were doing well, Shabac and Obrenovac were under threat. The latter location came under persistent, heavy artillery fire throughout the morning of 12 August, and Putnik gave orders that the Serbian First and Second armies should move towards the northwest front, with the Serbian Third Army being employed to block the efforts of the Austrian Fifth Army in its attempts to advance. General Milosh Bozanovich's Uzhice Army was ordered to advance to Vishegrad, with the Montenegrin Army providing flank security during the offensive. The announcement of mobilization is...