Mavi Boncuk |
Serbia called upon about 255,000 men (out of a population of 2,912,000 people) with about 228 heavy guns, grouped in 10 infantry divisions, two independent brigades and a cavalry division, under the effective command of the former War Minister Radomir Putnik.The Serbian High Command, in its pre-war wargames,[clarification needed] had concluded that the likeliest site of the decisive battle against the Ottoman Vardar Army would be on the Ovče Pole plateau, before Skopje. Hence, the main forces were formed in three armies for the advance towards Skopje, while a division and an independent brigade were to cooperate with the Montenegrins in the Sanjak of Novi Pazar.
The First Army (132,000 men) was the strongest and was commanded by General Petar Bojović, forming the center of the drive towards Skopje. The Second Army (74,000 men) was commanded by General Stepa Stepanović, and consisted of one Serbian and one Bulgarian (7th Rila) division. It formed the left wing of the Army and advanced towards Stracin. The inclusion of a Bulgarian division was according to a pre-war arrangement between Serbian and Bulgarian armies, but that division ceased to obey the orders of Gen. Stepanović as soon as the war began, following only the orders of the Bulgarian High Command. The Third Army (76,000 men) was commanded by General Božidar Janković and, being the army on the right wing, had the task to take Kosovo. It would then join the other armies in the expected battle at Ovče Polje. There were two other concentrations in northwestern Serbia across the Serbo-Austrohungarian borders, the Ibar Army (25,000 men) under General Mihailo Živković and the Javor brigade (12,000 men) under Lt Colonel Milovoje Anđelković.
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