‘Infinite Trouble,Considerable Expense’: The British Adriatic Mission and the Evacuation of the Serbian Army,October 1915–February 1916

Abstract

This article explores Britain's role in the events preceding the evacuation of the beleaguered Serbian army from Albania. Specifically it examines the hasty creation, in November 1915, of the British Adriatic Mission to resupply the Serbian army through Montenegro and Albania, supported by the Italian army and navy; and how this impulsive response was blighted by poor-planning, a lack of direction and incessant squabbling which almost ended in failure. It posits that, as a course of action, the Mission illustrates how the divergent interests of the Allies made the pursuit of a common strategic policy next to impossible.