e sea, their
bayonets gleaming in the sunset glow. It was the kind of fighting they
knew best; the kind that both Serbians and Bulgars know best, the kind
they had practiced most.

Small wonder if the inexperienced peasants from the plains of Hungary,
unused till then to any sight more bloody than a brawl in the village
inn, trembled before this onslaught. Their officers shouted
encouragement and oaths, barely audible above the mad yells of the
Serbians. Nevertheless, they gave way before the gleaming line of
bayonet blades before them. Some few rose to fight, stirred by some
long-submerged instinct generated in the days of Genghis Khan. But the
majority turned and fled, helter-skelter, down the sides of the
mountains toward the valleys, leaving behind guns, ammunition, and
cannon. One regiment, the Hundred and Second, stood its ground and
fought. As a result it was almost completely annihilated. The same fate
befell the Ninety-fourth Regiment. But the majority sought and found
safety in flight. By dark the whole Austrian center was beaten back,
leaving behind great quantities of war material.

CHAPTER L

FIRST VICTORY OF THE SERBIANS

The Serbians had made their first move successfully on that day of
August 16, 1914. More important than this mere preliminary defeat of the
enemy was the fact that the Austrians in Shabatz were now definitely cut
off from any possible juncture with the Austrians in the south. For the
present they were debarred from entering the main field of operations.
This freed the Serbian cavalry for action elsewhere. Meanwhile a portion
of the right wing of the Serbian line was detached to keep the Austrians
inside Shabatz.

Farther to the south the Serbians were not so decidedly successful. The
center of the Serbian Second Army, that directed against the southern
slopes of the Tzer Mountains and the Iverak ridges, had arrived at
Tekerish at midnight.

As dawn broke on August 16, 1914, they perceived a strong Austrian
column descending from above, coming in the same direction.
Unfortunately the Serbians were in the midst of bald, rolling foothills,
while the Austrians were up among the tall timber which clothes the
mountain slopes at this point. The Serbians deployed, extending their
line from Bornololye through Parlok to Lisena, centering their artillery
at Kik. The Austrians made the best of their superior position.

For some hours there was furious firing, then, at about eight o'c