Abstract
Serbia’s defeat of the Austro-Hungarian invasion of 1914 counts among the major upset victories of the last century. This article, which examines Austro-Hungarian tactical performance in Serbia in that campaign, offers unique insights into the causes of the Habsburg debacle. Analysis of the battlefield performance of the Austro-Hungarian 21st division, which fought and lost the first Habsburg engagement in August 1914, reveals much about the operational shortcomings of Vienna’s field forces that summer and autumn; in particular, this article details the impact of the controversial nationalities issue on Habsburg battlefield effectiveness, offering a revisionist perspective about the realities and liabilities of a multinational army.
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