Kosovo offensive (1915)

The Kosovo offensive of 1915 (Bulgarian: Косовска настъпателна операция; German:Verfolgungskämpfe im Kosovo) was a World War I offensive launched as part of the Serbian campaign of 1915. It involved the Central Powers (German, Austro-Hungarian, and Bulgarian units under the command of Prussian Field Marshal Mackensen) and the Kingdom of Serbia.

Kosovo offensive

A map of the region with the Serbian attempt to break toward Skopje between 17 and 21 November 1915.
Date10–24 November 1915
Location
Kosovo, Southeastern Serbia
42°22′56.69″N 19°58′51.29″E
Result

Central Powers victory

Belligerents
  Serbia
Commanders and leaders
  • Radomir Putnik
  • Petar Bojović
  • Živojin Mišić
  • Stepa Stepanovic
  • Pavle Jurišić Šturm
Strength

Army Group Mackensen

  • Northern Operations Group of Second Army
  • 156,000 Austro-Germans
  • (79,000 combatants, 372 cannons and 220 machine guns)
 130,000 to 150,000

It was conducted in the southwest corner of Serbia, in the historic site of the medieval battle of Kosovo, where the three Serbian armies, overwhelmed by the combined strength of their enemies, had retreated during the second half of November 1915. The ultimate goal of the Central Powers offensive was to encircle and destroy the Serbian army in a decisive final battle; as the offensive progressed the Serbs retreated over the snow-clad Montenegrin and Albanian mountains to the Adriatic coast.

The Kosovo offensive of 1915 resulted in a decisive victory for the Central Powers, leading to the occupation of Serbia by Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria and to a significant shift in the balance of power in the Balkans during World War I.

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