The Serbian Retreat Across Albania

[bigshoe]

An excellent novel on the retreat is "South to Destiny" by Dobrica Cosic. It is the third and last in a series on Serbia in WW1. It pulls no punches on soldiers or politicians. I picked it up in the local library.
Tom

[cj]

http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/ ... p%2033.htm
This site has a good map showing where the various armies were positioned for the October 1915 Serbian operation.

whats that small force attacking from Vischegrad south of Sarajevo??

[Kim Sung]

Anybody has a more detailed data on the size of Serbian troops and civilians who evacuated from Durazzo to Sardinia, Italy?

According to a Japanese source, the retreating Serbs had a large number of Austro-Hungarian POWs, which made their retreat much harder. How many POWs accompanied the retreating Serbs? And how many of them died and how many survived?

I've got rough answers to the questions that I made one year ago.

Although they were fleeing for their lives, the Serbs took with them into the mountains of Albania more than 24,000 Austrian prisoners-of-war. When the marchers reached the Albanian coast, these Austrains were interned in Italy and Sardinia. Many of them also died, of typhus and cholera. The Serb soldiers who reached the sea, more than 260,000, went mostly to the Greek island of Corfu, where they awaited in exile the day when they might liberate Serbia from the Austrian yoke. The evacuation had involved 1,159 excort voyages by forty-five Italian, twenty-five French and eleven British steamers. As well as the men, 10,000 horses were also taken away to safety. It was, writes one historian, the 'largest sea evacuation in history until Dunkirk'.

Martin Gilbert, The First World War, p.209

[Kim Sung]

For English language speakers the entire war appears to be forgotten except for what went on in the British sectors. Try finding a decent English language account of the Argonne, Gorlice-Tarnow, Champagne and Woevre battles which also took place in 1915. All these battles were far more significant to the outcome of WWI then anything the British army accomplished during 1915.

I agree. I got the same impression whenever I read WWI-related books written in English. But, I'm happy that I can speak other languages so that I can take a non-British and non-Eurocentric approach to the First World War.

[pmwhyles]

I am writing a novel which will include some moving personal accounts of the Serbian Great Retreat across Albania to eventually arrive at Corfu. Can someone help me to find sources of authentic voices recounting their experiences. So far I have found a few interesting items, including M I Thatham's account and the book The Stricken Land by Alice and Claude Askew, but I need more graphic insightful accounts of what must have been an unspeakable ordeal...

[Latze]

Hi pmwhyles,

maybe not exactly what you are looking for but nevertheless: The Greek poet Odysseas Elytis in his "To axion esti" has some descriptions about the retreats and marches of the Greek army in mountains of Albania. It is a splendid little book anyway.

I guess his "An Heroic And Funeral Chant For The Lieutenant Lost In Albania" covers the same ground (haven't read this though). The Greek-Italien war was of course several decades later but I think the experience was much the same and these works are rather easy to come by.

regards
Latze

[pmwhyles]

Hi Latze
Thanks for that. I have not come across Odysseas Elytis before and some initial browsing reveals a powerful poetic voice. I am struggling to find his references to ordeals in the Albanian mountains online but hopefully I will...
Nevertheless, I guess what I most need are personal accounts of the horrors of that 1915 Great March. Hopefully, something can be turned up. I have a friend who can translate from the Croat if necessary for me...
Thanks again!
Paul

[Latze]

Paul,

if you are able to read German I can go look for my German edition and send you a scan...

regards
Latze

[pmwhyles]

Thanks Latze but my German's about as good as my Serbo-Croat!

[ALVF]

Hello,

If you want learn some facts on the subject of the Serbian retreat across Albania, read two very important books (sorry, in French!):

-Lieutenant-colonel Ripert d'Alauzier "Un drame historique, la résurrection de l'Armée Serbe-Albanie-Corfou-1915-1916" Payot-1923.

-Général Piarron de Mondésir "Souvenirs et Pages de Guerre-1914-1918" Berger-Levrault-1933.

The Général was the chief of the French "Mission" to the rescue of Serbian Army, the lieutenant-colonel was one of his Officer.
These two french officers were on Albanian Coast in 1915, Ripert d'Alauzier write many details with numbers of men, material and guns rescued by French and Italian ships.
One point, these two French Officers were invited by the King Alexandre of Yugoslavia when the Yougoslavian Monument dedicated to France was inaugurated to Belgrad after the Great War. I had known Officers (now dead) who were in Belgrad at this time...a long time ago...when the friendship between Serbia (Yougoslavia) and France was great!
Yours sincerely,
Guy François.