The town prospered until the First World War , when it was occupied and devastated by the Austro-Hungarian army and had its population halved ( from cca . 14,000 to 7,000 ) . World War I is also remembered for the battle on nearby Cer mountain where the Serbian army under general Stepa Stepanović won an early victory against Austria-Hungary in August 1914 , the first Allied victory in the war . After the war , Šabac was decorated with the French War Cross with Palm ( 1920 ) , the Czechoslovak War Cross ( 1925 ) , and the Order of the Karađorđe 's Star with Swords ( 1934 )
Czechoslovak War Cross
Czechoslovak War Cross 1918
Šabac