Albanian Calvary

After the victory of the Serbian army in the battle of Kolubar in December 1914, there was a lull on the Serbian front until the beginning of autumn 1915 . But already on October 6, 1915, the Austro-Hungarian army and the 11th corps of the German army under the command of Field Marshal August von Mackensen (about 500,000 soldiers supported by airplanes and a flotilla on the Danube and Sava rivers ) launched the largest attack on the territory of Serbia. By October 15, 1915, the Austro-Hungarian army crossed the Sava and Drina rivers , and the 11th corps of the German army crossed the Danube and occupied Belgrade , Smederevo , Pozharevac and Zrenyanin , which forced the Serbian troops to urgently begin a large-scale retreat.

On the same day, October 15, 1915, without declaring war, the Bulgarian army, suppressing weak Serbian resistance, penetrated the valley of the South Morava River and by October 22, 1915 occupied Kumanovo , Shtip , Skopje , which became a huge problem for the further retreat of the Serbian forces. The Serbian army and refugees were in a hopeless situation in Kosovo and Metohija . The road to Thessaloniki was closed. The Austro-Hungarian army from the northwest, the German army from the north, and the Bulgarian army from the south and east quickly advanced towards Kosovo in order to destroy the remnants of the Serbian army. Under pressure from the troops of the countries of the Triple Alliance, the headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Serbian Army on November 24, 1915 decided to suspend retreats to Thessaloniki directly across the southern border of Serbia. This decision was made after an unsuccessful attempt to pass through the valley of the Vardar River, which was occupied by the Bulgarian army. Military and state leaders urgently began to develop a plan for further action, based on the real situation. Surrender was strictly prohibited, as this would mean the end of the state. The proposal of the Duke Zhivoin Mishich to hold an anti-coup in the country was rejected. As a result, state leaders decided to withdraw troops to the Adriatic coast through Albania to reorganize and replenish the army, and then join the Allied forces on the Thessaloniki front . Prime Minister Nikola Pasic sent the following message to the Allied Command:

“Serbia is in a difficult situation, and things could turn out for the worse. Serbia decided to go all the way in the fight against invaders, faithfully. With allies, Serbia can change the course of the war, the result of which will be the complete defeat of the enemy. ”

After this decision, the entire government with King Peter I and Prime Minister Pasic went to church. When leaving Pashich church, a huge crowd of refugees met, who expected him to be comforted. Pasic answered them: "People, do not worry, you will not be in Rome." On November 23, 1915, a commission was created to convey the message of the Serbian government to France , Great Britain , Russia , and Italy . It was decided to form a base in Shkodra and Durres , where they immediately began to prepare allied ships with food and other needs. Meanwhile, the Serbian government reached an agreement with Albanian Prime Minister Essad Pasha Toptani , who became an ally for the period of the transfer of the Serbian army through the territory of Albania.

The condition of the Serbian army was very poor. They had to endure fatigue, hunger and winter frosts. On November 26, 1915, the first group of troops began moving to the Albanian border on a bridge over the city of Prizren . On November 30, 1915, the crossing of the second group of troops began in Prizren . The third group of troops was withdrawn to the territory of Albania from the city of Pecs .

On November 29, 1915, the German High Command declared: “The Serbian army no longer exists, only its miserable remnants existed which fled to the wild Albanians and to Montenegro, where there is no food after the winter. And if they do not find their death there, not find their death, they will no longer issue reports from the Balkan battles. ”

Although there were all prerequisites for surrender, the idea of ​​a counteroffensive arose that was received from Zhivoin Mishich . During four meetings ( November 29 - December 1 ), he and Stepa Stepanovich , Pavel Yurishich-Sturm and Mikhailo Zhivkovich proposed a counter-offensive. The idea was not accepted, and the Serbian army continued to act on the orders of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

The movement of troops on icy roads was slow, and Albanian attacks that did not support the policies of Essad Pasha Toptani created additional problems. By December 13, almost the entire Serbian army was between Andrievitsa and Podgorica . And from December 15 to 21, she arrived in Shkoder . According to the High Command of Serbia and Albania, there were about 110,000 soldiers and 2,350 officers on the coast. It is estimated that approximately 72,000 people have died since the start of the withdrawal. In total, about 54,000 passed through Albania, and about 90,000 passed through Montenegro.

After more than a month of heavy marches, the Serbian army gathered in the cities of Shkodra , Durres and Vlore . Arriving on the Adriatic coast of Albania did not mean final salvation. On the shore, the Allies organized a proper welcome. However, Italy, which was still in alliance with the Entente, in every possible way prevented the presence of Serbian troops on the coast. On December 28, Nikola Pasic sent a message to the Italian government, which stated that the Serbian army was not going to enter into conflict with Italy. The Russian ambassador to Rome stood up for the Serbs, as a result of which the Italian Foreign Minister stated that this did not belong to the "interests of Italy."

Then Nikola Pasic sent a message to the Russian Tsar Nicholas II on January 15, 1916 asking for help. The message arrived to Tsar Nicholas II on January 18 and on the same day Nicholas II sent a telegram to the King of Great Britain and the President of France, in which he said that if the Serbian army was not preserved, then Russia would cease alliance with them. The intervention of the Russian emperor forced the allies to make concessions, and the Italian government allowed the Serbs to enter Vlora .

On January 28, the French government sent all of its free ships to evacuate Serbian troops from the coast. By February 15, about 135,000 people were transported to the Greek island of Corfu , and about 10,000 people were brought to Bizerta . By April, 151,828 soldiers and civilians are gathering in Corfu. Material costs for servicing the Serbian army were borne by France and Great Britain.

The early days on Corfu were terrible for the Serbs. The Allies do not have enough time to prepare to receive such a huge number of people. There was an acute shortage of food, clothing, firewood and tents. The soldiers began to die in droves. Weather conditions were not favorable due to rain falling continuously during the week. Exhausted soldiers were in the rain all week. The disease began. The sick were taken to the island of Vido . From January 23 to March 23, 1916, 4,847 people die from diseases. Sometimes mortality reached 300 people per day ^[2] . Due to the fact that there were not enough places for burial of the dead on land, it was decided to bury the dead directly in the sea, crushing the bodies with stones so that they would not float. More than 5,000 people were buried at sea near the island of Vido . Because of what, the waters around the island are called the “ Blue Grave ” ( Serb. Plava Grobnica ).

Some of the graves of those who died during the retreat of Serb soldiers in the city of Shkodra survived.

• Monument at the cemetery of Serbian soldiers on the island of Corfu .

In 1938, a mausoleum was erected on the island according to the project of architect Nikolai Krasnov . Within the walls of the mausoleum there are 1232 caissons containing the remains of soldiers buried earlier in Corfu cemeteries, whose names were known. The remains of unknown soldiers were buried under two memorial plates outside the mausoleum ^[3] .

Music

• The deep blue sea is a famous Serbian folk song. The text is based on the poem "Exiles" written by Colonel of the Serbian Royal Army Branislav Miloslavlevich in the winter of 1916 .
• Tamo Away - Serbian song of the First World War .

Literature

• Nikola B. Popovich - Serbs in the First World War ( Serb. Srbi u Prvom svetskom ratu )
• Rasco Petrovich - “The Sixth Day” ( Serbian. Dan šesti / Dan of six )
• Joseph Turyansky - “Beyond the boundaries of pain” ( Ukrainian Pose between pains)

Cinema

• Where are the colors of the limons horror ( 2006 ) - a documentary about the events.

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  Serbian soldiers on the island of Vido in 1916.

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  Deceased Serbian soldiers on the island of Vido.

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  Serbian soldiers on the Adriatic coast.

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  Serbian soldiers in the winter of 1915.

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  Serbian soldiers repel Albanian raids.

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  Serbian soldiers in the Albanian mountains.

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  Serbian soldiers in the Albanian mountains.

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  Serbian soldiers before landing.

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  Serbian army in Bizerte.

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  Serbs on Corfu, 1916-1918.

• Serbian campaign of the First World War

• Popovich, Nicola B. Srbi at the First High Society 1914-1918 .. - Novi Sad: Association of Historians of South Bračka, 2000.
• Babac Dusan, Nigel Thomas. Armies in the Balkans 1914-18. - Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2001 .-- 51 p. - ISBN 1-84176-194-X .
• Philipp S. Jowett. Armies of the Balkan wars 1912-1913. - Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2011 .-- 50 p. - ISBN 978-1-84908-418-5 .

• Documentary and play the film “Where are the colors of the limons horror” (2006)