March on the River Drina 1964

The film opens with the publication of general mobilization in Serbia on July 26, 1914, in Belgrade. Poručnik Miloje, Vladimir Popović, a young artillery officer from a wealthy banking family, is assigned to an artillery battery. During the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, he was a member of the commission that provided guns for the army. His family now wants to place him again on that commission, but he longs to join the battery and go to war.

The artillery battery is deployed to western Serbia where an Austro-Hungarian attack is anticipated, stationed in Aranđelovac while their leaders meet. At the meeting, Major Kursula, Ljuba Tadić, offers his assessment: Austria-Hungary will attack Serbia over the Drina River, not across the Sava.

On August 10, the artillery battery arrives in Aranđelovac, waiting for orders from their commanders who are at the meeting. On August 14, the battery enters Lazarevac for a short period before moving on again. The Supreme Command of the Serbian army rejects the idea that the main attack will be across the Sava; the attack is expected along the Drina, and the division is redeployed to western Serbia toward the Drina.

By August 15, the battery reaches the foot of Cer Mountain where it joins in the battle. On August 16, the Combined Division comes under sudden pressure as enemy forces strike, forcing a retreat from the position to save the lives of the soldiers. A sergeant from the battery quickly disassembles a gun, making sure that if it falls into enemy hands it cannot be used against them.

Upon withdrawal, Kursula goes to Tekeriš, where the supreme command of the Serbian army resides, to report to General Stepa Stepanović. In the afternoon, the army counter-attacked and managed to defeat the enemy troops, forcing their withdrawal across the Drina River into Bosnia. The operation leaves a clear impression of how strategic misreads, urgent decisions, and acts of quick thinking shape the fate of the units on Cer Mountain and Tekeriš, underscoring the courage and resilience of those who faced the unexpected assault.