Siege of Adrianople (1912–1913)

Final battle

The final battle consisted of two night attacks. Preparations for the battle included covering all metal parts of the uniforms and weapons with tissue to avoid any shine or noise. The armies that took part in the siege were put under joint command, creating a prototype of a front. Some light artillery pieces towed by horses followed the advancing units, which played the role of infantry support guns. Attempts were made to perturb all Ottoman radio communications to isolate and demoralize the besieged troops. On 24 March 1913, the external fortifications began to be captured and the next night, the fortress itself fell into Bulgarian hands. Early in the morning on 26 March 1913, the commander of the fortress, Mehmed Şükrü Pasha, surrendered to the Bulgarian Army, which ended the siege.

After the surrender, large parts of the city, especially the houses of Muslims and Jews, were subjected to looting for three days. The perpetrators of the looting, however, are disputed, in that some accounts accuse the Bulgarian army of looting while other sources accuse the local Greek population.

The Bulgarian achievements in the war were summarized by a British war correspondent as follows: "A nation with a population of less than five million and a military budget of less than two million pounds per annum placed in the field within fourteen days of mobilization an army of 400,000 men, and in the course of four weeks moved that army over 160 miles in hostile territory, captured one fortress and invested another, fought and won two great battles against the available armed strength of a nation of twenty million inhabitants, and stopped only at the gates of the hostile capital. With the exception of the Japanese and Gurkhas, the Bulgarians alone of all troops go into battle with the fixed intention of killing at least one enemy." There were many journalists who reported on the siege of Adrianople; their accounts provide rich details about the siege.

Serbian units involved were the 2nd Army, under the command of General (later Vojvoda, equivalent to Field Marshal) Stepa Stepanović (two divisions and some support units) and heavy artillery (38 siege cannons and howitzers of 120 and 150 mm purchased from French Schneider-Canet factory in 1908); they had been dispatched because the Bulgarians lacked heavy artillery (though they were well supplied with Krupp-designed 75 mm field artillery).

Arrival of Serbian forces

Serbian forces, commanded by General Stepa Stepanović, arrived on 6 November 1912. In Mustafa Pasha Place, a railway station outside Odrin, Stepanović immediately reported to the supreme commander, General Nikola Ivanov. The Serbian Second Army was formed from the Timok Division without the 14th Regiment, the Second Danube Division reinforced with the 4th Reserve Regiment, and the Second Drina Artillery Division. There was a total of 47,275 Serbian troops with 72 artillery guns, 4,142 horses and oxen and 3,046 cars.

Both Serbian divisions were immediately sent to the front. The Timok Division, strengthened by a Bulgarian regiment, occupied the north-western sector between Maritsa and Tundzha Rivers, its sector being 15 km long. The Danube Division occupied a 5 km stretch of the western sector between the Maritsa and Arda Rivers. A combined brigade was formed from the Timok Cavalry Regiment and the Bulgarian guard Cavalry Regiment to scout the Maritsa Valley.

Gallery

File:17 Mart 1912 Avusturya konsolosu, M. Herzfeld (şapkalı), heyetiyle bombardımanda isabet almış Agram rahibelerinin konuk yatakhanesini ziyaret ediyor.jpg|17 March 1912 Austria Consulate visiting Agram Nun's bombed residence at Adrianople File:Bulgar askerleri Selimiye Cami avlusunda.jpg|Bulgarian soldiers invaded Selimiye mosque File:Edirne'nin işgalinden sonra Bulgar binbaşının kaldığı konağın kapısı.jpg|Bulgarian major's residence after conquering Adrianople File:İstanbul Yolundan Edirne Manzarası.jpg|Adrianople view from Kirkkilise road File:Terkedilmiş savaş topları.jpg|Captured Turkish artillery (15 cm RK L/26) File:Karaağaç Kızılhaç Hastanesinde Agram rahibeleri.jpg|Agram nuns at Red Cross Hospital in Karaagac File:Kolera salgınında Tunca kenarında esir kampı.jpg|Prisoner camp near Tundzha River during cholera epidemic File:Selimiye Cami kapısında Bulgar askeri.jpg|A Bulgarian soldier at the port of Selimiye mosque File:Tunca kıyısında kolera hastaları.jpg|Cholera epidemic near Tundzha River File:Carnegie Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan War 1914 p 122 Arda nehrine atılarak boğulmuş savaş kurbanları.jpg|Victims thrown into the Arda and drowned File:Carnegie Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan War 1914 p 112 açlık sonucu kabukları yenmiş ağaç gövdeleri.jpg|Isle of Tundzha trees stripped of bark which the prisoners ate File:Sultan selim Camisi yakınlarına düşmüş bir bomba.jpg|A bomb fell near Sultan Selim mosque File:Гробље 8000 српских ратника изгинулих код Једрена.JPG|The cemetery of Serbian warriors who died near Adrianople

Citations

References