Допринос српске војске савезничкој победи у Првом светском рату

Abstract

У раду се на основу објављених и необјављених архивских извора српског порекла, као и мемоарске и историографске литературе, анализирају српске војне могућности током Првог светског рата и допринос српске војске победи сила Антанте у том рату. Пореде се српски демографски и мобилизацијски капацитети с војним напрезањем земаља чланица Антанте, оцењује значај Балканског фронта у стратегијским и оперативним оквирима за савезнике током прве две ратне године, представља укупни удео српских војних снага у савезничкој Источној армији на Солунском фронту, утврђују српски ратни губици и борбена ефикасност српске војске

During the World War I, Serbian army gave immeasurable contribution to the victory of the Entante forces. Small in numbers, insuffi ciently equipped and forced to conduct its defensive operations along a long frontline, with support only from its ally Montenegro who had extremely limited military resources, Serbian army, in the fi rst two years of the war, managed to bind almost one third of the Austria-Hungarian army and stop its three consecutive off ensives. Losses which Serbian army infl icted on Austria-Hungarian forces were such that there was a pause which lasted until autumn of 1915. During this period, running successful operations against one of the most powerful military forces of that era, Serbia almost exhausted all of its draft ing capacities and suff ered huge losses in men and material. Its strategic importance, embodied in tough resistance and mobile type of warfare led the allies’ commands to think of transferring the brunt of combat activities to the Balkans as an area from which the reinforced Serbian army could develop its operations on the Austria-Hungarian territory. On the Macedonian front, weakened in numbers, but materially reinforced and equipped with the most modern military equipment, Serbian army accounted for one fi ft h of the coalition forces. With its role in the breakthrough of the Macedonian front and the way it conducted its military operations aft er that, Serbian army played an important role in capitulation of Bulgaria and quick military defeat and subsequent breakup of Austria-Hungary, which had huge strategic importance for the Entante Powers.