Editing Serbia (section)

===Balkan Wars and World War I===
{{Main|Balkan Wars|Serbian Campaign of World War I}}
[[File:King Peter I of Serbia and the Crown Prince.jpg|thumb|King [[Peter I of Serbia]] led the nation during the ''[[Great Retreat (Serbian)|Great Serbian Retreat]]'' in 1915. [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbia]] lost about 850,000 people, a quarter of its pre-war population.{{sfn|Sudetic|1992|p=28}}]]

In the [[First Balkan War]] in 1912, the [[Balkan League]] defeated the Ottoman Empire and captured its [[Treaty of London, 1913|European territories]], which enabled territorial expansion of the Kingdom of Serbia into regions of Raška, [[Kosovo (region)|Kosovo]], [[Metohija]], and [[Vardarian Macedonia]]. The [[Second Balkan War]] soon ensued when Bulgaria turned on its former allies, but was defeated, resulting in the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1913)|Treaty of Bucharest]]. In two years, Serbia enlarged its territory by 80% and its population by 50%,<ref name="Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum 1914">{{cite web | title=Serbia – Countries | website=Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum | date=28 June 1914 | url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/countries/20069818/ | access-date=20 June 2021 | archive-date=24 June 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201017/https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/countries/20069818/ | url-status=live }}</ref> it also suffered high casualties on the eve of World War I, with more than 36,000 dead.{{sfn|Hall|2000|p=135}} Austria-Hungary became wary of the rising regional power on its borders and its potential to become an anchor for unification of Serbs and other South Slavs, and the relationship between the two countries became tense.

The [[Assassination in Sarajevo|assassination]] of [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]] on 28 June 1914 in [[Sarajevo]] by [[Gavrilo Princip]], a member of the [[Young Bosnia]] organisation, led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia, on 28 July 1914, setting off World War I.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=246–247}} 

Serbia won the first major battles of the war, including the [[Battle of Cer]],{{sfn|Mitrović|2007|p=69}} and the [[Battle of Kolubara]].{{sfn|Mitrović|2007|p=104}} Despite initial success, it was eventually overpowered by the [[Central Powers]] in 1915 and [[Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia]] followed. Most of its army and some people [[Serbian army's retreat through Albania|retreated]] to [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]] and [[Corfu]], suffering immense losses on the way. After the Central Powers' military situation on other fronts worsened, the remains of the Serb army returned east and led a final breakthrough through enemy lines on 15 September 1918, liberating Serbia and defeating Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=250–251}} Serbia, with its [[Serbian Campaign (World War I)|campaign]], was a major Balkan Entente Power<ref>{{cite web|first=Michael|last=Duffy|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/bulgariaatwar_radoslavov.htm|title=First World War.com – Primary Documents – Vasil Radoslavov on Bulgaria's Entry into the War, 11 October 1915|publisher=firstworldwar.com|date=22 August 2009|access-date=28 April 2010|archive-date=10 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510073610/https://www.firstworldwar.com/source/bulgariaatwar_radoslavov.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> which contributed significantly to the Allied victory in the Balkans in November 1918, especially by helping France force Bulgaria's [[capitulation (surrender)|capitulation]].<ref>[http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Tema-nedelje/Najvecha-srpska-pobeda/Front-koji-za-saveznike-nije-bio-bitan.sr.html Највећа српска победа: Фронт који за савезнике није био битан] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016040853/http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Tema-nedelje/Najvecha-srpska-pobeda/Front-koji-za-saveznike-nije-bio-bitan.sr.html |date=16 October 2015 }} {{in lang|sr}}</ref>
Serbia's casualties accounted for 8% of the total Entente military deaths; 58% (243,600) soldiers of the Serbian army perished in the war.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vojska.net/eng/world-war-1/serbia/organization/1914/ |title=Serbian army, August 1914 |publisher=Vojska.net |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-date=4 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404165301/http://www.vojska.net/eng/world-war-1/serbia/organization/1914/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The total number of casualties is placed around 700,000,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Tema-nedelje/Najvecha-srpska-pobeda/Sudnji-rat.lt.html |title=Tema nedelje: Najveća srpska pobeda: Sudnji rat: POLITIKA |publisher=Politika |date=14 September 2008 |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-date=6 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006193849/http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Tema-nedelje/Najvecha-srpska-pobeda/Sudnji-rat.lt.html |url-status=live }}</ref> more than 16% of Serbia's prewar size,<ref name="The Balkan Wars and World War I">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/91040323/|title=Yugoslavia: a country study|date=1992|publisher=[[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]]|isbn=0-8444-0735-6|editor-last=Curtis|editor-first=Glenn E.|edition=3rd|location=Washington, D.C.|oclc=24792849|entry=The Balkan Wars and World War I|pages=27–28|first=Charles|last=Sudetic|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020203455/https://www.loc.gov/item/91040323/|url-status=live}}</ref> and a majority (57%) of its overall male population.<ref>[http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Tema-nedelje/Najvecha-srpska-pobeda/Svi-srpski-trijumfi.sr.html Тема недеље : Највећа српска победа : Сви српски тријумфи : ПОЛИТИКА] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016040853/http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Tema-nedelje/Najvecha-srpska-pobeda/Svi-srpski-trijumfi.sr.html |date=16 October 2015 }} {{in lang|sr}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/337249982.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150127121059/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/337249982.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 January 2015 |title=Fourth of Serbia's population dead|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=30 June 1918 |access-date=28 April 2010 |first=Pierre |last=Loti}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/05/102687236.pdf |title=Asserts Serbians face extinction |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=5 April 1918 |access-date=14 November 2010 |archive-date=15 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200315165925/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/05/102687236.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Serbia suffered [[World War I casualties|the biggest casualty rate in World War I]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Radivojević|first1=Biljana|last2=Penev|first2=Goran|title=Demographic losses of Serbia in the first world war and their long-term consequences|journal=Economic Annals|date=2014|volume=59|issue=203|pages=29–54|doi=10.2298/EKA1403029R|doi-access=free}}</ref>