To the left, caricatures of a fallen King Albert of Belgium, Tsar Nicholas of Russia, President Poincare of France, generic (?) caricatures of an English man and a Japanese soldier, Kings Peter of Serbia, and Nikola of Montenegro engaging in a tug of war, the rope being held on the right by a German (in gray) and an Austro-Hungarian soldier. Between the teams and behind the rope stands the diminutive caped figure of King Victor Emmanuel of Italy, all hat, mustache, and chin.
Das Europaische Gleichgewicht 1914The European Equilibrium, 1914
"The moment has come when a combination of circumstances is forcing us to retreat through Montenegro and Albania. . . . The state of the army is generally unfavourable. . .Capitulation would be the worst possible solution, as it would mean loss of the state. The only salvation from this grave situation lies in retreating to the Adriatic coast. There our army will be reorganised, supplied with food, weapons, ammunition, clothing and everything else necessary that is being sent by our Allies, and we shall once again be a factor for our enemies to reckon with. The state lives; it still exists, albeit on foreign land, wherever the ruler, the government and the army are to be found, whatever its strength may be. . . . In these difficult days our salvation [lies] in the endurance, patience and utter perseverance of us all, with faith in the ultimate success of our Allies."
Excerpt from the Serbian retreat order of November 25, 1915. Defeated by the combined forces of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria, and with an Allied army unable to break through the Bulgarian line holding it in Greece, the Serbs only path of retreat was through the mountains of Montenegro and Albania to the Adriatic Sea for evacuation by the Allied fleets.
Serbia's Great War 1914-1918 by Andrej Mitrovic, page 149, copyright © Andrej Mitrovic, 2007, publisher: Purdue University Press, publication date: 2007
1915-11-25, November, 1915, retreat, Serbia, Serbian retreat, Montenegro, Albania