,
hand-to-hand character, in which some of the civilians took part. All
through the night Mannlicher rifles sputtered back and forth,
interspersed here and there with the deeper detonation of the hand
bombs which the Serbians hurled in the skirmishes from street to
street and from terrace to terrace. When morning dawned the last of
the firing died down and the greater part of Belgrade was a vast field
of charred timbers and tumbled-down stones.

Belgrade was taken, as the official German and Austrian reports
announced joyously next day, but its taking had been at an enormous
cost and, aside from the political value of its possession, with very
little gain. The official list specified the war material captured as
only 9 naval guns, and 26 unmounted field pieces, the prisoners
amounting to 10 officers and 600 men, many of whom were wounded. The
Serbian Government had been established in Nish since the beginning of
the war.

What had happened at Belgrade was typical of the fighting at a number
of other points along the banks of the three rivers. On the same day
that Belgrade was taken the Austro-Germans crossed the Danube between
Gradishte and Semendria, near the village of Zatagna and the small
fort called Kosolatz. Ram, too, after having been heavily bombarded,
was taken. Then, from these points they tried to blast their way
through farther south, away from the river into the interior, but the
Serbians held them back from the neighboring heights.

In the west, on the Save, toward the mouth of the Drina, the invaders
were not so successful. In this area were some of the best of the
Serbian soldiers, among them the Shumadia Division, which especially
distinguished itself during all the later fighting. Here Marshal
Mishitch, who had led his men so ably during the third invasion ten
months previously, was in command. He also had charge of the defenses
along the lower Drina, and opposite Badovintse he drove back the
Austrians with bloody slaughter.

Between Obrenovatz and Kratinska, on the Save, the Austro-Germans had
delivered heavy attacks for three nights successively, but were
effectively checked. The operations were directed specially against
Zabrez. On October 10, 1915, this Serbian position was still holding
out. In the afternoon of that date the Austrians bombarded heavily,
using great quantities of asphyxiating bombs. Then they charged in
solid masses, believing that the gases had thrown the Serbians into
disor