Austro-Russian War

The Austro-Russian war was a war between the Austria-Hungary and The Russian Empire over Serbia. the war lasted 3 months and resulted in a Austrian Victory. the war was started after Serbian nationalist groups assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Bosnia.

Causes
Tension Between Austria and Serbia had been growing for much time leading to the assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28th by Serbian Nationalists. The Austrian Government launched an investigation into the matter finding signs pointing to Serbian involvement. The Austrians Sent a Ultimatum to Serbia on 28th of July. The Serbians Declined to Ultimatum on August 20th Stating

“Our government has nothing to do with Bosnian terrorists and that is why we will not pay the price for their actions”. - Peter I of Serbia

After Serbia refused to accept the Austrian terms Russia stepped in declaring support for Serbia if war was declared. Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph was not happy with the Russians stepping in, hoping previously that they would stay neutral in the war. The Austrians, not backing down, declared war on Serbia on the 25th of august 1914. Three days Later the Russian Empire Declared war on Austria-Hungary to protect Serbia.

War
The Austrians sent the majority of their forces (3,000,000) to defend against the Russians and the other 600,000 to fight the Serbians. The Austrians hoped to take Belgrade and capitulate the Serbians then Russia would give up allowing for an Austrian Victory. The Russians on the other had hoped to take Krakow and force an Austrian surrender. The Austrians Began the offensive into Serbia on the 30th of august and made initial gains before the majority of the Serbian army showed up stalling their offensive. The Russians also began their campaign taking small border towns. The Austrian soldiers along the Russian front had entrenched themselves in towns making the offensives more costly for the Russians.

The Serbian Army had temporarily stalled the Austrians but it would be short lived as the Austrians quickly began gaining territory around Belgrade. The Serbian army refused to give up and repeatedly launched attacks against the weak points in the Austrian lines slowing down the Austrian forces. Serbian resistance groups disrupted Austrian supply lines and even took back some small towns. It wasn't enough as more attacks continued the Austria high command hoped the Serbian morale would fail but they kept strong. By 22nd of September the Austrians were ready to attack Belgrade and started the battle of Belgrade known as the (Battle for Serbia) in Serbia. The battle was hard fought but fast the Serbia put up a good fight but failed to stop the Austrians crashing down on them. During the battle the Serbians had reclaimed some territory to the west but it was not enough and Peter I was captured in the Serbian royal palace on September 23rd. The Serbian army refused to surrender and continued to fight some forming guerrilla groups after most of Serbia had fallen.

The Russian Empire Began the Galician Offensive on August 31st and were stalled immediately by Austrian forces. But after the initial failures the Russian made a breakthrough attack at Słomniki and pushed through the Austrian forces right to Krakow Taking the city on 6th of September. This was a massive blow to Austrian morale on the Russian front leading to more victorious battles by the Russians. The Austrians hoped to push in the east to make up for the losses in the west but failed famously losing the first battle of Ternopil that decided the campaign. The Austrian fearing a on the Russian front launched the attack on Belgrade which was successful. The Austrians pulled back 200,000 soldiers from Serbia after taking the rest of the country, leading to insurgent groups being more successful in the area. The Russian victories began piling up and to stop this the Austrians decided to launch a mass counter offensive. The following battles were extremely costly for both the Austrians and the Russians. The Russians took the bulk of the casualties and began retreating back to Krakow. The Russians held firm against an Austrian attack at Krakow but lost retreating past the border. Both sides were exhausted and wanted peace but neither wanted to give up.

The Austrians Began pushing all throughout the Russian front, taking more land and winning the second battle of Ternopil. The Austrians made the most progress in the west but soon their advances became less and less successful. The Austrian troops were exhausted and tired of war. In their eyes Serbia had been taken and there was no more need for war. During the offensive in Russia Serbian guerilla groups popped up all over Serbia killing over 1,400 Austrian soldiers. The guerilla groups were home to all kinds of nationalists leading to infighting in these bands. Without a command structure Serbia became a battleground for all types of guerilla groups during the month of October. The Austrians stationed there did not interfere in these small-scale battles, instead allowing for the groups to fight each other. Back in the eastern front the Russians and Austrians tried to take territory but it had come to a stand still and neither was making progress. Soon soldiers on both sides were getting fed up with the war and mutinies began to form all over the front. By November 3rd both sides agreed to meet in Lemburg to discuss peace. On the 10th of November a ceasefire was declared and on the 14th of November the treaty of Lemburg was sighted ending the war.

Treaty Of Lemburg
The treaty of Lemburg Stripped Serbia of most of its autonomy giving Austria dominion over it. The treaty fell on three main points One Serbia’s Diplomacy will be conducted by Austria, two Serbia must pay reparations and accept blame for the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and three Serbia may not have a secret service. The Russians signed the treaty out of fear of mutiny from their soldiers who did not care about Serbia and no longer wanted to fight. Serbia took this as a betrayal from the Russians as the Russians played it off as a successful defense of Russia. Peter I was allowed to return to Serbia not facing any himself on November 21st. Peter I was now hated in Serbia to the Serbians; he was a traitor who was unfit to rule Serbia.