Balkanstreitkräfte

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Imperial and Royal
Balkan Armed Forces
k.u.k. Balkanstreitkräfte
FoundedAugust 1914
Disbanded27 May 1915
Country Austria-Hungary
Size
EngagementsWorld War I
Commanders
Commander in ChiefOskar Potiorek
Archduke Eugen

The Balkanstreitkräfte (German for Balkan Armed Forces) also known as the Balkan Army[2] was the force raised by Austria-Hungary for its offensive action against Serbia at the start of the First World War. After three failed invasions of Serbia, the Balkanstreitkräfte was decisively defeated by the army of the small Balkan kingdom, a spectacular humiliation for the Habsburg monarchy. On 27 December 1914, the Balkan Army's commander, General Oskar Potiorek, resigned in disgrace. His successor Archduke Eugen reorganized the remaining 5th Army which was relocated to the Isonzo front in May 1915.[3]

Formation and disbandment[]

See also: 5th Army (Austria-Hungary), 6th Army (Austria-Hungary), and 2nd Army (Austria-Hungary)

Balkan Army was formed on 25 July 1914 after the chief of the general staff, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, issued the mobilization order joining Minimalgruppe Balkan (Balkan Minimal Group), the Austro-Hungarian forces consisting of the Fifth and Sixth armies dedicated for operations against Serbia and Montenegro,[4] with B-Staffel (B-Contingent), the reserve force, renamed Second Army ready to be deployed against Serbia to assist Minimal Group but also to be deployed against the Russians in Galicia.[5] On 28 July 1914 Austria–Hungary declared war against Serbia, Conrad immediately instructed both Minimalgruppe Balkan and B-Staffel to mobilize against Serbia.[6]

On 7 August 1914 Balkanstreitkräfte was placed under the command of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s military governor Oskar Potiorek,[b] by the chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf.[8] Aside from the supreme command of the Balkan Forces, Potiorek also commanded the 6th Army.[9]

The four corps of B-Staffel and the three corps of Minimalgruppe Balkan, some 19 infantry divisions in all, assigned to the Balkan front were:[5]

  • B-Staffel:

2nd Army under Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli

  • Minimalgruppe Balkan:

5th Army under Liborius Ritter von Frank

6th Army under Oskar Potiorek

At the start of the campaign, in August 1914, Balkanstreitkräfte's operational forces totaled 319½ infantry battalions (approximately 320,000 rifles), sixty cavalry squadrons, 744 cannons, 48 aircraft and 486 machine guns, while Serbia 250,000-strong operational army was woefully equipped with 200 machine guns, three aircraft and 180,000 modern rifles.[4]

By the end of December 1914, Balkanstreitkräfte losses reached 274,000 with almost 30,000 killed, over 122,000 wounded, and 75,000 missing or captured.[c]. Losses were so heavy that the Sixth Army was dissolved, and its remnants were subsumed into the Fifth Army. On 17 December 1914, General Oskar Potiorek, was relieved of command resigning a few days later. General der Kavallerie Archduke Eugen assumed command of the remaining 5th Army. On 27 May 1915 it was relocated to the Isonzo front.[3]

Army commanders[]

See also[]

  • Austro-Hungarian first occupation of Serbia
  • Serbian Campaign (1914)

Notes[]

  1. ^ Peak strength Summer 1914[1]
  2. ^ Potiorek had been responsible for the security of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Duchess Sophie of Hohenberg when they were assassinated in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914[7]
  3. ^ The Serbs suffered 163,000 casualties, including 69,000 fatalities from combat and sickness. and 19,000 captured[10]

References[]

  1. ^ DiNardo 2015, p. 18.
  2. ^ Dredger 2017, p. 249.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Macdonald & Cimpric 2011, p. 83.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Lyon 2015, p. 116.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Lyon 2015, p. 114.
  6. ^ Herwig 2014, p. 55.
  7. ^ DiNardo 2015, p. 15.
  8. ^ Herwig 2014, p. 88.
  9. ^ Herwig 2014, p. 110.
  10. ^ DiNardo 2015, p. 19.

Sources[]

  • Dredger, J.A. (2017). Tactics and Procurement in the Habsburg Military, 1866-1918: Offensive Spending. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-319-57678-7.
  • DiNardo, R.L. (2015). Invasion: The Conquest of Serbia, 1915: The Conquest of Serbia, 1915. War, technology, and history. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-0093-1.
  • Herwig, H.H. (2014). The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918. Modern Wars. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4725-1081-5.
  • Lyon, J. (2015). Serbia and the Balkan Front, 1914: The Outbreak of the Great War. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-4725-8003-0.
  • Macdonald, J.; Cimpric, Ž. (2011). Caporetto and the Isonzo Campaign: The Italian Front, 1915–1918. Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-78159-930-3.
  • Watson, A. (2014). Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary at War, 1914-1918. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-192419-9.

External links[]

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