relieved and in his place was
appointed General Mishitch, a member of the General Staff. How wise this
change was may be judged from the later behavior of the First Army,
which was destined yet to retrieve itself.

To the trained military observer, the strategic plan of the Austrians
would by this time have become apparent. With the Suvobor Mountains as a
central pivot, they had strengthened their wings and attempted to swing
around in the north by Mladenovatz and south down the Western Morava
Valley. Had this movement been safely accomplished the mass of the
Serbian army, together with their arsenal at Kragujevatz, would have
been rounded up, after which the new Serbian capital, Nish, would have
followed easily and Serbia would have been completely in Austrian hands.

On December 2, 1914, this was the plan which the Austrians were putting
into execution, in rather a leisurely way, when the Serbians, having
drawn in their breath for a final effort, began their great
counterattack. Nor can there be any doubt that the Austrians were
completely surprised by this sudden renewal of the Serbian strength. It
is only necessary to read the press dispatches from Vienna, issued
during the few days previous, to be convinced that General Potiorek had
reported the Serbians as completely defeated. Not only the Austrians,
but the whole world was surprised by the startling change that now took
place in the Serbian theatre.

Under the command of General Mishitch, the First Army hurled itself
against Suvobor and, after a bloody three days' struggle, took the
heights and pushed in the Austrian center, driving its forces in this
section in a disorganized flight toward Valievo. The days that ended the
first invasion were renewed. Nor was this flight a mere sudden panic; it
had, in fact, risen in a crescendo, from a small beginning, until it
developed into a veritable debacle.

At first the Austrians had attempted an orderly withdrawal, as testified
by their effort to take with them all their heavy artillery. The scene
that occurred near Gorni Toplitza will serve to illustrate the whole
retreat. Here, where the road winds around a commanding bluff, which
overlooks a valley, the Austrians had planted a battery of field guns,
right on the edge of the cliff. In the road leading up to this height
were placed a score of ammunition wagons from which little two-wheeled
carts were employed to carry the ammunition up to the guns. Deployed on
the