Serbia and the Balkan Front, 1914

Serbia and the Balkan Front, 1914 is the first history of the Great War to address how the crucial events of 1914 played out over the Balkan Front. James Lyon demonstrates how blame for the war can be placed squarely on terrorism sponsored by structures within Serbia's parallel security services and Austria-Hungary's expansionist plans and internal political tensions. In doing so, he portrays the background and events of the Sarajevo Assassination and the subsequent military campaigns and diplomacy on the Balkan Front during 1914. The book details the first battle of World War I, the first Allied victory, and the massive military humiliations Austria-Hungary suffered at the hands of tiny Serbia, while discussing the oversized strategic role Serbia played for the Allies during 1914. Lyon challenges existing historiography that contends the Habsburg Army was ill-prepared for war, and shows that the Dual Monarchy was in fact far superior in manpower and technology to the Serbian Army, thus laying blame on Austria-Hungary's military leadership rather than its state of readiness. Based on archival sources from Belgrade, Sarajevo, and Vienna and using never-before seen material to discuss secret negotiations between Turkey and Belgrade to carve up Albania, as well as Serbia's near-surrender to Austria-Hungary in November 1914, Serbia and the Balkan Front, 1914 enriches our understanding of the outbreak of the war and Serbia's role in modern Europe. It will be of great importance to students and scholars of the history of World War I as well as military, diplomatic and modern European history.