The Bombardment of Belgrade was an attack carried out by
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
on the
Serbian capital during the night of 28–29 July 1914. It is considered the first military action of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
The bombardment started hours after the
Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia.
Three warships of the
Austrian Danube Flotilla opened fire on the Serbian capital, followed in the early morning by Habsburg artillery from the town of Semlin (
Zemun
Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...
) across the
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...
. The sporadic shelling caused widespread damage and mark the opening of the
First Serbian Campaign. Upon hearing the news
Tsar Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...
's government ordered general mobilisation of the Russian forces. The bombardment was followed, on 12 August, by the Habsburg
Balkanstreitkräfte
The Balkanstreitkräfte (German language, German for Balkan Armed Forces), also known as the Balkan Army, was the force raised by Austria-Hungary for its offensive action against Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia in August 1914, at the start of the Firs ...
invasion of Serbia.
Background
Following the
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range whil ...
, on 23 June 1914, the Austrian government alleging official Serb involvement, issued an
ultimatum
An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series ...
which expired on 25 July. Serbia responded within the time limit but Vienna rejecting negotiation, declared the Serb response unsatisfactory, severed diplomatic relations with Serbia and ordered
military mobilisation.
Prelude
A major weakness of Serbia was the location of its capital Belgrade, at the confluence of the Danube and the
River Sava, immediately across from Austria-Hungary. In mid July, Austria's
Danube Flotilla, a naval group of the
Imperial and Royal Navy
The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...
based upstream at Semlin (Zemun), received orders to prepare itself for combat. The flotilla was to be used as artillery support of the
Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces.
Around the same time, an Austrian monitor group was sent from
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
and the deployment of gunboats, tugboats and patrol boats on the Danube started. The ''Sava monitor group'' (''SMS Maros'', ''SMS Leitha'',
hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...
''Traisen'' and the
tug ''Traun''), part of the Danube Flotilla but subordinate to the commander of the 7th Infantry Division, was sent to
Brčko
Brčko ( sr-cyrl, Брчко, ) is a city and the administrative seat of Brčko District, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies on the banks of Sava river across from Croatia. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,893 inhabitants.
De jure, ...
in northeastern
Bosnia. The task of the flotilla was to prepare the crossing of troops on the Sava and the Danube.
On 25 July a royal proclamation ordered the mobilisation of the Serbian Army, the call-up was rapid and efficient, as it had been executed several times in the preceding years, the Serbian government moved to
Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
and the evacuation of Belgrade started.
The Serbian Danube Division was in charge of defending Belgrade but had yet to be deployed to the north of the city, no artillery or machine guns were in place to defend against a gunboat attack. A group of gendarmes, a Chetnik detachment under
Vojislav Tankosić
Vojislav Tankosić ( sr-cyr, Војислав Танкосић, 20 September 1880 – 2 November 1915) was a Serbian military officer, ''vojvoda'' of the Serbian Chetnik Organization, major of the Serbian Army, and member of the Black Hand, who ...
and a company from the 18th Infantry Regiment were the only units defending the Serbian capital.
On the afternoon of 28 July the declaration of war was communicated to the Austro-Hungarian
High Command (AOK) and a telegram was sent to the Serbian government in Niš.
A meeting organised by the commander of the 14th Infantry Brigade, Colonel Emil von Baumgartner, took place that evening. It was decided that a few minutes after midnight, three river monitors were to depart and secure the bridges over the Sava between Semlin to Belgrade.
Bombardment of Belgrade
![SS Bodrog 1914](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/SS_Bodrog_1914.jpg)
Around midnight three Austrian tugs pulling barges loaded with infantry and escorted by a monitor, headed towards , the Serbian lower fortress. After coming under intense fire from a detachment of Serbian irregulars, the tugs and their barge gave up the landing attempt and headed upriver towards the railway bridge instead.
Near 1 am, having anticipated that the Austro-Hungarians would attempt to cross the railway bridge that linked their country with the Hapsburg Empire, a detachment of Chetniks belonging to Major Tankosić's unit, dynamited the bridge over the Sava, while the monitors of the 1st Group were still manoeuvring.
At 2 am, two river monitors, ''
SMS Bodrog'' and ''SMS Számos'' joined ''SMS Temes'' at a distance of from Belgrade, opposite the
Great War Island
Great War Island ( sr, Велико ратно острво, Veliko ratno ostrvo) is a river island in Belgrade, capital of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of Sava and Danube rivers. Though uninhabited, the island is part of the Belgrade ...
, at the confluence of the Danube and the Sava. The monitor group was under the command of frigate captain Friedrich Grund.
The gunboats started firing 12-cm
fused shells onto the Serbian side.
Lacking the heavy artillery to respond the Serbs were unable to pierce the sides of the heavily armoured river boats.
Once the monitors stopped firing to assess their impact, the Serbs started shooting at the river flotilla ships from the walls of Belgrade Fortress and from Great War Island. The monitors fired
shrapnel
Shrapnel may refer to:
Military
* Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use
* Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material
Popular culture
* ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics)
* ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...
in response then moved closer to the Belgrade Fortress, opening fire again with 12-cm fused shells, aiming for the radio station located in
Kalemegdan Park
The Kalemegdan Park ( sr, / ), or simply Kalemegdan ( sr-Cyrl, Калемегдан) is the largest park and the most important historical monument in Belgrade. It is located on a cliff, at the junction of the River Sava and the Danube.
Kal ...
and the neighbourhood of
Topčidersko Brdo
Topčidersko Brdo ( sr-cyr, Топчидерско Брдо; ) is an urban neighborhood and former municipality of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Savski Venac.
Location
Topčidersko Brdo (from T ...
.
At 5 am Habsburg artillery located in
Bežanija
Bežanija ( sr-cyr, Бежанија, ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd, in the Syrmia region.
Location
Bežanija is located west of the downtown Belgrade, across the Sa ...
and
Semlin, Austria-Hungary's eastern outpost across the Sava (today part of Belgrade), opened fire on the city and the
Kalemegdan
The Kalemegdan Park ( sr, / ), or simply Kalemegdan ( sr-Cyrl, Калемегдан) is the largest park and the most important historical monument in Belgrade. It is located on a cliff, at the junction of the River Sava and the Danube.
Kal ...
using
Krupp Howitzer and
Skoda 305 mm mortars.
By 6 am on the morning of 29 July, a shell hit a building across
Grčka Kraljica
Grčka Kraljica or Greek Queen ( sr, Грчка краљица) is a former kafana in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Built in 1835, the building
is located on Knez Mihailova Street, the commercial hub of downtown Belgrade. For decades, it was ...
with no casualties reported,
more shells came and a
secondary school, hotels, banks and a factory were reportedly hit. Shells continue to fall on Belgrade and Kalemegdan throughout the day hitting scores of buildings.
Casualties
The reported casualties of the bombardment were named as Chetnik member Dušan Ðonović and Austro-Hungarian Karl Eberling, the captain of the first tug and Mikhail Gemsberger his
helmsman
A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver) is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fishing vessels and yachts, the fu ...
.
Aftermath
On 29 July the
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n Government officially announced to Berlin that it had mobilised four
military districts, on 30 July general mobilisation was ordered. On 31 July a ''state of imminent war'' was proclaimed in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and the mechanism of mobilisation and counter-mobilisation started. Constant shelling on Serbia's border towns and cities continued until the second week of August. On 12 August the Habsburg
5th Army’s VIII and XIII Corps supported by the
2nd Army’s IV Corps, all part of the
Balkanstreitkräfte
The Balkanstreitkräfte (German language, German for Balkan Armed Forces), also known as the Balkan Army, was the force raised by Austria-Hungary for its offensive action against Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia in August 1914, at the start of the Firs ...
, crossed the
Drina
The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps whi ...
river from
Bosnia and the
first invasion of Serbia started.
References
{{Authority control
Military history of Belgrade
Belgrade
1914 in Serbia
July 1914 events
20th century in Belgrade