, between the
defenders and the Brandenburg troops of the invaders, but finally, on
November 5, 1915, the town was taken.

Here the invaders made their first large capture of war material,
which included 130 guns, though most of them were said to be of an
obsolete pattern, the others being without breech-blocks. Within
forty-eight hours the Germans had reached Krushevatz, where 3,000
Serbian soldiers were captured, not counting 1,500 wounded lying in
the hospital.

The whole Western Morava was now in the hands of the invaders. To the
eastward Gallwitz pressed on until he came to the hills south of
Lugotzni, where he was held up for a short space by the Serbian rear
guards. Finally, the heights were taken by storm. On November 4, 1915,
Parachin on the railroad was taken; from this point a branch line runs
back to Zaichar, already in possession of the Bulgarians, so that now
the two armies, German and Bulgarian, were almost in touch with each
other. And next day, in fact, their lines joined up at Krivivir, which
was taken that night by an assault under cover of darkness. Their
lines were now only thirty miles from Nish.

During this time other large bodies of Bulgarians under Boyadjieff
were also advancing on Nish; one from Pirot, in a southerly direction,
and another along the road from Kniashevatz, marching north. They were
now closing in on that city in overwhelming strength.

CHAPTER XXXIV

THE FALL OF NISH--DEFENSE OF BABUNA PASS

At a small village called Svrlig, six miles outside the city, the
Serbians began a fight which presently assumed the character of some
of the bloody battles they had fought earlier in the campaign. Again
and again the Bulgarian attacks were hurled back; thus the battle
lasted for three days, from November 2 to 5, 1915. The Serbians
retired only when the Bulgarians began bringing up their big guns, and
the shells were already dropping into Nish. On November 5, 1915, the
Bulgarians entered the city and took possession, where even yet the
British and French flags were flying, raised by the Serbians when they
still thought that only a few days intervened until they would be
welcoming the allied troops. A hundred guns were taken with Nish,
though the Serbians claimed that they were old and obsolete.

The fall of Nish, from a political point of view, at least, was the
worst blow that the Serbians had suffered since the capture of
Belgrade. The German and Austrian papers made the