Corfu - the "Blue Tomb" of the Serbian Soldiers: The Reorganization of the Army after the Albanian Golgotha (10,000+ died on Corfu, 120,000 ready for battle)

February-March 1916 - Arrival on Corfu

February-March 1916 - The Serbian army and civilians arrived on Corfu (a Greek island in the Ionian Sea) by ship. The ships came from Durrës and Vlorë (the Albanian Adriatic coast) - carrying 5,000-10,000 people a day.

In total 200,000-300,000 people arrived (out of the 450,000-550,000 who set out from Serbia) - meaning that a third to half died during the retreat across Albania.

Corfu was too small - the island normally had ~50,000 inhabitants, but suddenly 200,000-300,000 refugees arrived. There was not enough food, water, shelter, medical capacity. The result: another 10,000-15,000 people died on Corfu (February-April 1916) - of typhus, exhaustion, other diseases.

The "Blue Tomb" - 10,000-15,000 died on Corfu

"We arrived on Corfu - we thought we were saved. But every day 100-200 people would die - of typhus, of exhaustion. We saw our comrades die - after everything they had survived (the Prokletije, hunger, cold) - dying on Corfu, the place where they were supposed to be safe. It was heartbreaking."

The "Blue Tomb" - the name the Serbian soldiers gave to Corfu. "Blue" because the Ionian Sea is blue - "tomb" because 10,000-15,000 Serbian soldiers and civilians died on Corfu and were buried in the sea (there was not enough space on the island for cemeteries, so the bodies were cast into the sea).

10,000-15,000 people died on Corfu (February-April 1916) - the main cause was typhus (70-80% of all deaths). Typhus spread quickly because people were exhausted, hungry, and there was no hygiene (200,000-300,000 people on a small island).

Every day 100-200 people would die - of typhus, dysentery, pneumonia, exhaustion. The bodies were cast into the sea - because there was not enough space on the island for cemeteries. Fishermen later (in the 1920s) found human bones in their nets - the remains of Serbian soldiers.

Today, on Corfu there is a Memorial Cemetery to the Serbian soldiers (opened in 1936) - but it is a symbolic cemetery (most of the soldiers were buried in the sea, not in the cemetery). Every year, Serbs come to Corfu to lay flowers on the sea - in memory of the "Blue Tomb".

The reorganization of the army - 120,000 ready for battle

Despite the "Blue Tomb", the Serbian army managed to reorganize on Corfu. 120,000 soldiers were ready for battle (April 1916) - out of the 130,000-150,000 who arrived (10,000-15,000 died).

France helped - it donated 150,000 rifles, artillery, ammunition, and 120,000 uniforms. French officers trained the Serbian soldiers (2 months of training, February-April 1916).

April 1916 - The Serbian army (120,000 soldiers) is ready for battle. The objective: the Salonika Front (northern Greece) - where French, British and Serbian forces fought against the Bulgarians and Germans.

The Salonika Front (1916-1918) - The continuation of the war

April 1916 - September 1918 - The Serbian army fights on the Salonika Front (northern Greece) against the Bulgarians and Germans. It was a positional war (similar to the Western Front in France) - trenches, small territorial changes, many casualties.

The Serbian soldiers fought steadfastly - because they knew it was the only way to liberate Serbia. Many soldiers who had survived the Albanian Golgotha fell on the Salonika Front (1916-1918) - but they did not give up.

September 1918 - The Serbian army (together with French and British forces) breaks through the Bulgarian line on the Salonika Front. This was the Breakthrough of the Salonika Front - the most important victory of the Serbian army in WWI (after the defence of 1914).

Bulgaria capitulates (29 September 1918) - which opens the road to the liberation of Serbia. The Serbian army begins its march northward - towards Serbia.

October-November 1918 - The liberation of Serbia

October-November 1918 - The Serbian army liberates Serbia from Austria-Hungary. Belgrade was liberated on 1 November 1918. Austria capitulated on 3 November 1918. WWI ended on 11 November 1918.

1 December 1918 - The creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes - Serbia was victorious. The aim of the Albanian Golgotha was achieved - Serbia survived, reorganized the army, continued the war - and was victorious.

"When we entered Belgrade (1 November 1918), I wept. I remembered the Albanian Golgotha - all the comrades who had died along the way (the Prokletije, Corfu). They did not live to see this day. But we did. And we liberated Serbia. For them. For all of us."

Statistics - From the Golgotha to victory

Of the 220,000-250,000 soldiers who set out from Serbia (November 1915), only 80,000-90,000 lived to see the end of WWI (November 1918). That is a survival rate of 32-40% - meaning that two-thirds of the Serbian army that set out across Albania did not survive WWI.

But those who survived - liberated Serbia. And that is what the Albanian Golgotha symbolizes: Serbian perseverance. Even when two-thirds died, the remaining third continued - and was victorious.

The Memorial Cemetery on Corfu (1936)

1936 - The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia) erected a Memorial Cemetery on Corfu - in memory of the 10,000-15,000 Serbian soldiers who died on the island (1916).

The Memorial Cemetery is not a true cemetery - most of the soldiers were buried in the sea (the "Blue Tomb"), not in the ground. But the cemetery is symbolic - it has 1,386 graves (those whose bodies were found and buried in the ground), plus a monument bearing the names of another 8,000-13,000 soldiers (whose bodies are in the sea).

Every year, Serbs come to Corfu (especially on 23-25 February - the anniversary of the arrival on Corfu) to lay flowers - at the cemetery and on the sea. It is a tradition that has lasted for more than 90 years (since 1936).

Corfu remains the "Blue Tomb" of the Serbian soldiers - the place where 10,000-15,000 Serbs died after surviving the most terrible experience in Serbian history (the Albanian Golgotha). And the place where the Serbian army was reorganized - and continued the war towards victory.