Portraits of generals who led Austria-Hungary's armies in 1914, including Dankl, Böhm-Ermolli, Brudermann, and Auffenberg, the generals who led the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Armies against Russia, losing badly, and Oskar Potiorek, who led three failed invasions of Serbia in 1914.
Zur ewigen Erinnerung an das ereignisreiche Jahr1914Glück und Sieg unseren heldenmütigen Vaterlands-Verteidigern.To the eternal memory of the great year1914Happiness and victory to our heroic defenders of Fatherland.Reverse:Message field postmarked October 6, 1914 to Heinrich Küffel of the K.u.K 13th Landwehr Infantry Regiment.
"At long last, the war with Serbia seemed to be turning in Austria's favor. Meeting with Regent Alexander and Prime Minister Pasic, General Putnik described the Serbian army's situation as dire, and even mentioned the possibility of a separate peace with the Austrians. The Serbs yielded Valjevo, the main communications hub in western Serbia, on November 15. Potiorek, who had planned to trap and annihilate the Serbs there, nevertheless celebrated in a communiqué that was broadcast across the empire: 'After a violent nine-day battle that followed nine days of marching through mountains, swamps, rain, snow, and cold, the brave troops of the Fifth and Sixth Armies have taken the line of the Kolubara and put the enemy to flight.'"
Potiorek's communiqué was delivered on November 17, 1914 during his and Austria-Hungary's third invasion of Serbia in 1914. General Oskar Potiorek had served as military governor of Bosnia since 1911 in which role he had been host to Archduke Franz Ferdinand when he was assassinated in Sarajevo. Potiorek had launched his first invasion of Serbia on August 12, and been repelled by the Serbs. His second invasion, begun on September 7, was more successful, and the Austro-Hungarians took and held positions on the Serbian side of the Save and Drina Rivers, part of Serbia's natural defenses. In response, Field Marshall Putnik and his Serbian armies had retreated to a stronger defensive line. Potiorek had 200,000 troops for his third invasion, and the Serbs were driven back, but they were getting closer to their supplies as the Austro-Hungarians were outpacing theirs and suffering from cold, hunger, and the effects of the battles and marches Potiorek speaks of.
A Mad Catastrophe by Geoffrey Wawro, page 320, copyright © 2014 by Geoffrey Wawro, publisher: Basic Books
1914-11-17, November, 1914, Oskar Potiorek, Potiorek, Serbia, invasion of Serbia
