Battle of Skra-di-Legen
Battle of Skra-di-Legen | |||||||
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Part of the Macedonian front of World War I | |||||||
![]() Lykurgos Kogevinas (1887-1940), 'The Battle of Skra, 1918', oil on canvas, National Gallery, Athens | |||||||
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The Battle of Skra-di-Legen (Skora di Legen) was a two-day battle which took place at the Skra fortified position, located northeast of
The Allied force comprised three Greek
. The three Greek divisions comprised- The Major General Dimitrios Ioannou,
- The Crete Divisionunder Major General Panagiotis Spiliadis,
- The Lieutenant Colonel Epameinondas Zymvrakakis.
The 5th and 6th Regiments from the Archipelago Division were in the center, the 7th and 8th Regiments from the Crete Division were on the right flank, and the 1st Regiment of the Serres Division was on the left.
Battle
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Venizelos_WWI_1918.jpg/220px-Venizelos_WWI_1918.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Zymbrakakis-2.jpg/220px-Zymbrakakis-2.jpg)
The Bulgarians occupied a strong position on a massif, presenting an awkward salient for the Allies. Fortified shelters lay under protective slabs of rock and a cluster of machine-gun emplacements rose like steps up the face of the cliff.[3] In the early morning of 29 May 1918, along with two British 8-inch guns, Greek and French artillery fired on Bulgarian positions in preparation for the next morning's assault. British heavy batteries on the left bank of the Vardar contributed to the bombardment.[5] A simultaneous bombardment on the main Doiran front north of Salonika was designed to keep the Bulgarians guessing.[3]
At dawn (04.55) on 30 May 1918, Greek troops, in "a brilliant bayonet charge under withering fire,"
In the battle, 441 Allied soldiers were killed, 2,227 wounded, and 164 missing in action.
Bulgaria suffered 600 soldiers killed and 2,045 taken prisoner. 200 German military personnel (mostly signallers) were among the captured.[3][4] 12 artillery pieces, 32 machine guns, and other equipment were also seized.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/The_battle_of_Skra_-_Baedeker_Karl_-_1933.jpg/220px-The_battle_of_Skra_-_Baedeker_Karl_-_1933.jpg)
Importance and aftermath
The battle was vital for progress on the Macedonian front, as the Allies finally broke the Bulgarian positions after a year of unsuccessful attacks. The failure of a fresh Bulgarian counterattack to materialize in the days following the battle was one of the first significant signs of the enemy's depressed morale. Field-Marshal Hindenburg later revealed in his memoirs that the troops detailed for a counterattack had refused to march.[5] The Battle of Skra was the last engagement on the Macedonian front before the final offensive of September 1918.[7]
The operation's objectives, however, were "almost more political than military."
Skra led to Guillaumat being recalled to France by Clemenceau to be at hand to take over on the Western Front should Foch or Pétain fail.[4] The Greek success at Skra later helped Venizelos persuade the new Allied commander in Salonika, General Franchet d'Espèrey, to modify his plans so that the Greek army be allowed a greater role in the coming push. Consequentially, in the final offensive in September 1918, which breached the German coalition's defences, there were Greek divisions at five points in the broad Allied line of attack.[6] The importance of the May battle, despite its comparatively small numbers, was appreciated by the Allies after the war. In the victory march in Paris in 1919, along with the names of Marne, Somme, Verdun, and many others, appeared the name of Skra-di-Legen.[6]
The nearest village to the battlefield was called Liumnitsa at the time. 'Skra-di-Legen' appeared on the Austrian wartime 1:200,000 staff map and gave its name to the battle.[5] The village, northwest of Axioupoli and near the Greek border with North Macedonia, was later renamed just Skra.
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Monument to the fallen Greeks, Skra, 2010
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A German cannon turret (Gruson 5.3cm L/24 fahrpanzer) captured by the Allies at Skra, held at the Athens War Museum in Greece
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Allied commander-in-chief Louis Franchet d'Espèrey decorates the battle flag of the 5th Archipelago Regiment in June 1918, with commander Dimitrios Ioannou to his left
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Greek troops in the victory march, Paris, 1919
References
- ^ Η Μάχη του Σκρα Ντι Λέγκεν, Στρατιωτική Ιστορία journal, No.69, May 2002
- ^ Collinson Owen, H. (1919). Salonica and After: the Sideshow that Ended the War. London. p. 19.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e Palmer, Alan, The Gardeners of Salonika: The Macedonian Campaign 1915-1918 (London, 1965), pp.175-178
- ^ a b c d e Dakin, Douglas (1972). The Unification of Greece. London. p. 218.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i Villari 1922, pp. 196–197
- ^ a b c d e Alastos, D. (1942). Venizelos: Patriot, Statesman, Revolutionary. London. pp. 184–185.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Villari 1922, p. 202.
Bibliography
- Villari, Luigi (1922). The Macedonian Campaign. London.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Charles F. Horne, Source records of the Great War, Volume VI, National Alumni 1923
- Grigorios Dafnis, Sofoklis Eleftheriou Venizelos, Ikaros, Athens 1970, pages 44–47
External links
- The British Campaign in Salonika - list of British units involved, as well as an overview of the campaign
- Μάχη του Σκρα (17/30 Μαΐου 1918) [Battle of Skra (17/30 May 1918)] , Hellenic Army, First World War, 100th Anniversary portal (in Greek) Archived 2019-02-12 at the Wayback Machine