Battle of Cer

The Battle of Cer was a military campaign fought between <a href="/facts/Austria-Hungary/9WPUPj0W">Austria-Hungary</a> and <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Serbia/2HSIwdv9">Serbia</a> in August 1914, starting three weeks into the <a href="/facts/Serbian_campaign_(1914)/EbDumNs1">Serbian Campaign of 1914</a>, the initial military action of the <a href="/facts/First_World_War/vITTUanQ">First World War</a>. It took place around <a href="/facts/Cer_(mountain)/skQdReSC">Cer Mountain</a> and several surrounding villages, as well as the town of <a href="/facts/%C5%A0abac/604TsYw0">Šabac</a>.
The battle, part of the first Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, began on the night of 15 August when elements of the Serbian 1st Combined Division encountered Austro-Hungarian outposts that had been established on the slopes of Cer Mountain earlier in the invasion. The clashes that followed escalated into a battle for control over several towns and villages near the mountain, especially Šabac. On 19 August, the <a href="/facts/Morale/kcNmFvBv">morale</a> of the Austro-Hungarians collapsed and thousands of soldiers retreated into Austria-Hungary with many of them drowning in the <a href="/facts/Drina/efYGhTeX">Drina</a> River as they fled in panic. On 24 August the Serbs re-entered Šabac, marking the end of the battle.
Serbian casualties after nearly ten days of fighting were 3,000–5,000 killed and 15,000 wounded. Those of the Austro-Hungarians were significantly higher, with 6,000–10,000 soldiers killed, 30,000 wounded and 4,500 taken as <a href="/facts/Prisoners_of_war/X22JC3Fj">prisoners of war</a>. The Serbian victory over the Austro-Hungarians marked the first <a href="/facts/Allies_of_World_War_I/HBo9sw1M">Allied</a> victory over the <a href="/facts/Central_Powers/LokC2msm">Central Powers</a> in the First World War, and the first aerial <a href="/facts/Dogfight/SDbuegPR">dogfight</a> of the war took place during the battle.

Battle of Cer open-in-new

Battle of Cer