July, 1914
The first shot of World War One was fired by the Danube monitor flotilla. In the night of the declaration of war the monitors SMS Temes, SMS Bodrog and SMS Szamos approached Beograd. On July 29 at 2:20 a.m. the ships fired the first salves on the capital city of Serbia. This was the start of hostilities. The three ships continued shelling the fortress of Beograd during the whole night and on the next day.
SMS Bodrog is seen here in front of the Pozsony (Pressburg) fortress, not to be mixed with Beograd….
[…] The first deployment of the flotilla’s units, including Temes, took place on the first day of the Great War, at dawn on July 29, when Belgrade was shot. After that, the three ships deployed in Zimony, Temes, Bodrog and Szamos, took part in missions against Serbia on the Sava River and the Danube. Their main task was to prevent Serbian river crossings. This task was generally successfully completed, including an attempt near Zimony on September 29th. Serbian river crossing on the Sava took place only when, due to the low water level, ships were unable to reach the affected section of the river. The commander of the Danube Flotilla, Lieutenant Olaf Wulff, received the Knight’s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresia for the successful attack on September 29. […]