Battle of Doiran (1918)
Battle of Doiran | |
---|---|
Part of Republic of North Macedonia ) | |
Result | Bulgarian victory |
- Entente Powers:
United Kingdom
Greece
- Central Powers
Bulgaria
- IMRO
Henry Wilson
- George Milne
- Serres Division
- Crete Division
- 11th Infantry Division
- 1st Macedonian Brigade and the Mountain Division)
45,672
29,328[a]
- Total: 75,000
![Kingdom of Bulgaria](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Bulgaria.svg/23px-Flag_of_Bulgaria.svg.png)
![Kingdom of Bulgaria](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Bulgaria.svg/23px-Flag_of_Bulgaria.svg.png)
The Third Battle of Doiran was fought from 18 to 19 September 1918, with the
Prelude
The British and the Greeks set off from their base at
This was not the first time the Allies had attacked Dojran - in 1916, an Anglo-French attempt was repulsed by the Second Thracian Infantry Division; the British had failed to capture it twice in 1917. The fortifications were well built (by Bulgarian engineers), the Bulgarians having spent the first months of 1916 and early 1917 strengthening the positions. The terrain around the area was rough, the fortifications surrounded by three miles of scrub and rocks. Part of the defences was the dangerous Pip Ridge and the Grand Couronné.
Battle
On the left flank, the British XII Corps with the 22nd and 26th divisions, reinforced by the Greek Serres Division, was to attack the Pip Ridge.[6] The British concentrated 231 pieces of artillery, including heavy 8-inch howitzers. The bombardment took place over two days, including gas shells and concluded with a rolling barrage, behind which the infantry was to advance. The British spent the time before the battle practising for the assault. The Bulgarian 9th Pleven Division, with 122 guns, faced them in very well-prepared defences commanded by General Vladimir Vazov.
On 18 September, the British XII Corps attacked with the 66th and 67th Brigades of the 22nd Division and the Greek Serres Division. The Bulgarian first line of trenches was overrun, and the Serres Division penetrated the second line. The Bulgarians responded with heavy artillery fire and counter-attacks that recaptured the ground lost. Meanwhile, the British 66th Brigade's 7th Battalion,
Meanwhile, also on 18 September, the British XVI Corps attacked with the Greek
Casualties
The Allies' losses totalled between 6,559 and 7,819 British and Greek soldiers, against 2,726 for the Bulgarians.[2] Most of the British and Greek losses were to the XII Corps and Serres Division, with less than 1,000 coming from the XVI Corps and Cretan Division.[13]
Greek casualties on 18 and 19 September[3] | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unit | Killed | Wounded | Missing | Total | |||||||||||||
1st Serres Regiment | 35 | 481 | 86 | 602 | |||||||||||||
2nd Serres Regiment | 178 | 563 | 176 | 917 | |||||||||||||
3rd Serres Regiment | 146 | 669 | 353 | 1,168 | |||||||||||||
8th Cretan Regiment | 5 | 33 | 0 | 38 | |||||||||||||
9th Cretan Regiment | 92 | 285 | 0 | 377 | |||||||||||||
29th Infantry Regiment |
47 | 255 | 0 | 302 | |||||||||||||
Total | 503 | 2,286 | 615 | 3,404 |
Bulgarian casualties and expended material.[5] | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unit | Men | Expended Material | Trophies | ||||||||||||||
Killed | Wounded | Missing | Total | Rifle Rounds | MG Rounds | Hand Grenades | Flare Rockets | Mines | Artillery Shells | Damaged Guns | Prisoners | MGs | Automatic Rifles | ||||
57th Regiment | 8 | 30 | 6 | 44 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 25 | 2 | 5 | |||
33rd Regiment | 140 | 263 | 17 | 420 | 509,000 | 441,000 | 13,200 | 3,800 | 2,157 | – | – | 198 | 23 | 48 | |||
17th Regiment | 214 | 439 | 432 | 1085 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 227 | 27 | 52 | |||
58th Regiment | 57 | 84 | 711 | 852 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 60 | 12 | 26 | |||
34th Regiment | 45 | 85 | 1 | 131 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
4th Regiment | 5 | 20 | 0 | 25 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 33 | 3 | 14 | |||
Artillery | 23 | 28 | 13 | 64 | – | – | – | – | – | 64,752 | 18 | – | – | – | |||
Pioneers | 16 | 21 | – | 37 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
Flame/Mine Throwers | 10 | 28 | 30 | 68 | – | – | – | – | – | 64,752 | – | – | – | – | |||
Total | 518 | 998 | 1,210 | 2,726 | 1,500,000 | 2,000,000 | 40,000 | 10,000 | 6,000 | 64,752 | 18 | 542 | 67 | 145 |
Retreat
Several days after the battle, the British realized the Bulgarian fortifications were quiet. The British and Greek forces advanced only to find the Bulgarian positions abandoned. The French, Serbs and Greek forces had defeated part of the Bulgarian army during the
Aftermath
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Star_Dojran_-_Monument_%C3%A0_la_22e_division_britannique.jpg/220px-Star_Dojran_-_Monument_%C3%A0_la_22e_division_britannique.jpg)
The Allies continued to advance into Bulgarian-held territory, and some of the Bulgarian army had mutinied and was threatening Sofia. On 30 September, the Bulgarians surrendered to the Allies in Thessaloniki to avoid occupation. The British paid great honour to General Vladimir Vazov when in 1936, he arrived in Victoria Station in London by lowering the flags of all their regiments who participated in the battle. The chairman of the British legion Major Goldy said in his speech: "He is one of the few foreign officers whose name features in our history."
See also
- Macedonian front (World War I)
Notes
- Crete Division. Both divisions had 16 artillery guns and 74 machine guns each, while the Serres Division had 177 light machine guns and the Crete Division 233.[1]
References
- ^ Διεύθυνση Ιστορίας Στρατού, Ο Ελληνικός Στρατός κατά τον Πρώτον Παγκόσμιον Πόλεμον, Τόμος Δεύτερος, Η Συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος εις τον Πόλεμον 1918, Αθήναι 1961, appendix 17, page 225
- ^ a b c Wakefield & Moody 2004, p. 217
- ^ a b c Διεύθυνση Ιστορίας Στρατού, Ο Ελληνικός Στρατός κατά τον Πρώτον Παγκόσμιον Πόλεμον, Τόμος Δεύτερος, Η Συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος εις τον Πόλεμον 1918, Αθήναι 1961, appendixes 13 and 14, page 222
- ^ Salonika and Macedonia 1916-1918
- ^ a b Недев 1923, p. 227
- ^ Wakefield & Moody 2004, p. 199.
- ^ Wakefield & Moody 2004, p. 206.
- ^ "Historique du 2e Régiment Bis de Marche de Zouaves". Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ Wakefield & Moody 2004, p. 214.
- ^ Wakefield & Moody 2004, p. 216.
- ^ Wakefield & Moody 2004, p. 201.
- ^ Wakefield & Moody 2004, p. 210.
- ^ a b Wakefield & Moody 2004, p. 211
- ^ Wakefield & Moody 2004, p. 221.
Sources
- AJP Taylor. History of World War I. ISBN 0-7064-0398-3
- Falls, C. (1933). Military Operations Macedonia: From the Outbreak of War to the Spring of 1917. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. I (IWM and Battery Press 1996 ed.). London: ISBN 0-89839-242-X.
- Falls, C. (1935). Military Operations Macedonia, From the Spring of 1917 to the End of the War. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. II (IWM and Battery Press 1996 ed.). Nashville, TN: HMSO. ISBN 0-89839-243-8.
- Атанас Пейчев, 1300 години на стража, Военно издателство София 1981
- Wakefield, A.; Moody, Simon (2004). Under the Devil's Eye; Britain's Forgotten Army in Salonika, 1915–1918. ISBN 0-7509-3537-5.
- Недев, Никола (1923). Дойранската епопея 1915–1918. Печатница на Армейския Военно - Издателски Фонд; София. ISBN 978-954-8247-05-4.
- Пейковска, П., Печатът за участието на 34-и Пехотен Троянски полк в боевете при Дойран [The Press on the Participation of 34th Troyan Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Doiran]. - В: Културно-историческо наследство на Троянския край. Vol. 7, Троян, 1994, pp. 119–129. http://ivanpeykovski.blogspot.com/2013/01/34.html
External links
- Μάχη της Δοϊράνης (5/18-6/19 Σεπτεμβρίου 1918) [Battle of Doiran (5/18-6/19 September 1918)] , Hellenic Army, First World War 100th Anniversary portal. Archived 2018-01-03 at the Wayback Machine (in Greek)
- World War I history
- Salonika and Macedonia 1916-1918
- Димитър Зафиров. „Отбраната при Дойран". Военноисторически сборник, брой 1, 2004 (Dimiter Zafirov. The Defence at Doyran.)(in Bulgarian)