Montenegrin campaign

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Montenegrin campaign
Part of the Serbian campaign of World War I
Date 5–17 January 1916 Location Montenegro Result Austro-Hungarian victory The Austro-Hungarian Empire occupies Montenegro
Belligerents
Austria-Hungary	Montenegro  Serbia  France
Commanders and leaders
H. K. von Kövessháza Stjepan Sarkotić	Nicholas I Janko Vukotić
Strength
100,000[citation needed]	50,000[citation needed]
Casualties and losses
13,500+ killed[citation needed] Unknown wounded or missing	3,000+ killed[citation needed] Unknown wounded or missing

The Montenegrin campaign of World War I, in January 1916, was a part of the Serbian campaign, in which Austria-Hungary defeated and occupied the Kingdom of Montenegro, an ally of the Kingdom of Serbia.

By January 1916, the Serbian Army had been defeated by an Austrian-Hungarian, German and Bulgarian invasion. The remnants of the Serbian army had retreated through Montenegro and Albania, and were being evacuated by allied ships from 12 December first to Italy and later to Corfu.

The Austro-Hungarian High Command, then at Teschen, decided to use the success in Serbia to knock Montenegro out of the war. The Montenegrin Army that had fought alongside their Serbian allies, had now withdrawn into their own territory, but were still resisting against the Central Powers. Furthermore, the Austrian Commander-in-Chief Conrad von Hötzendorf wanted to take the Italian-held Albanian ports of Durazzo and Valona.

Two Austrian Army corps for this task were formed in December 1915. One in the west under command of Stjepan Sarkotić between Trebinje and Cattaro, composed of the XIX Armeekorps, reinforced with troops from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia. They were to attack the main body of the Montenegrin army, gathered around Mount Lovćen, supported by French artillery, and a second attack was planned from Trebinje towards the east. In the east and north, the VIII Armeekorps under command of Hermann Kövess von Kövessháza was to attack the Montenegrin troops there.