First Shots of World War I

Date: July 29, 1914 • Location: Belgrade, Serbia

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1914–1918.

The first shots of World War I were fired by the Austro-Hungarian river monitor Bodrog on Serbian defences near Belgrade.

River monitors are military craft designed to patrol rivers. They are normally the largest of all riverine warships in river flotillas, and mount the heaviest weapons. The name originated from the US Navy's USS Monitor, which made her first appearance in the American Civil War, and being distinguished by the use of revolving gun turrets, which were particularly useful in rivers, whose narrow channels could severely limit the directions vessels could face.