First Balkan War: Hellenic Army Liberates Thessaloniki 26 Oct 1912

[GREEK-AIRBORNE]

Today is a celebration for my City of Thessaloniki! Greek Flags are everywhere! We celebrate our Freedom from the Turkish Rule!

Here is some History....
Thessaloniki in the Balkan Wars

At 11:35 on the evening of 18 October 1912, just a few days after the 1st Balkan War was declared, a torpedo boat captained by Lt. Comm. Nikolaos Votsis surprised and sank the Turkish corvette "Fetih-i-Bulend" in the middle of Thessaloniki harbour. The success of this daring enterprise announced in the loudest and most dramatic fashion that the city's future would lie in Greek hands.
This prediction came true in less than a week. Late in the evening of 26 October, the feastday of the city's patron saint, Demetrios, the commander of the 8th Turkish army corps, Pasha Hassan Taxin, signed the protocol surrendering Thessaloniki to the advancing Greek army.
On the next day, a Greek detachment took possession of the Town Hall, while on 28, Constantine, the heir to the Greek throne, the General Staff and the 1st Division entered the city in triumph. At about the same time, permission was given to billet Bulgarian units in Thessaloniki.
The first months of freedom passed amidst a euphoric atmosphere characterized by flags and banners, abolition of the symbols of Ottoman domination (starting with the fez), reopening of the churches, regroupment of antiquities and the voluntary departure of many Muslim inhabitants.
At the same time, the city's economic and administrative reorganization proceeded, though Thessaloniki seemed temporarily to lose many of its commercial advantages.
Two violent episodes disrupted this atmosphere. On 5 March 1913, King George I, who had been residing in the city since 29 October, was assassinated on the Street of Towers by Alexandros Schinas of Serres. His motives were never fully clarified.
Furthermore, three months later the country entered into the murderous 2nd Balkan War. Only 24 hours after the start of the Greek-Bulgarian clashes, Thessaloniki was disturbed again by gunfire. On 17 June 1913, the refusal to surrender of the formerly allied Bulgarian detachments who were billeted in various parts of the town, led to heavy night-long street fighting with the Cretan gendarmes and units of the 2nd Division.
By 7 a.m. the following morning, the whole Bulgarian force had been captured. Although the city was to have much experience of war up until the mid-20th century, the Greeks were now indisputably in possession of it.

http://www.macedonian-heritage.gr/He...a/en/D5.B.html

<b>THE BATTLES </b>

THE BATTLE OF SARANTAPORO (Greek: Μάχη του Σαρανταπόρου) took place on October 9-10 (O.S.), 1912. It was part of the First Balkan War.

Battle of Sarantaporo
Part of First Balkan War

Date October 9–October 10, 1912 (O.S.)
Location Sarantaporon, Greece

Result Greek victory

Combatants: Greece Ottoman Empire

Commanders:Crown Prince Constantine General Hasan Tahsin Pasha
Casualties
182 dead, 995 wounded, plus the missing casualties of the 1st Infantry Regiment[1]


The Greek "Army of Thessaly", under Crown Prince Constantine (with General Panagiotis Danglis as his chief of staff) crossed the border on 5 October. The army consisted of 6 divisions (1st-6th) with the 7th Division forming at Larissa, a Cavalry Brigade and 4 independent Evzones battalions. After small-scale engagements with Turkish border forces, it occupied Elassona and reached the Sarantaporo straits on the 7th.

The Ottomans deployed their 8th Corps, with 2 divisions, against the Greek Army, hoping to hold the Sarantaporon straits, which had been extensively fortified by a German mission before the war. The total Turkish force equalled 14 infantry battalions with further 11 in reserve, supported by substantial artillery and three machine-gun companies.

The Greek offensive began on 9 October, with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions attacking the Turkish main line frontally, the 4th Division attempting a flanking move to the west, in order to bypass the fortifications and thence occupy the Pota straits, in the rear of the Turkish positions, while the 5th Division was ordered to execute an even broader maneuvre. The advance of the Greek troops on open terrain, under Turkish artillery fire, caused many casualties, but by the night the three Greek divisions had established contact with the main Turkish line. The 5th Division run into stiff resistance, but the 4th Division managed to push back the Turkish flank and to occupy its designated objective. During the night the Turks, after becoming aware of the 4th Division's move, retreated in good order under the cover of the darkness and the heavy rain to avoid being completely encircled.

The battle, although not very successful, was nonetheless of major significance to the Greeks. Despite the somewhat clumsy Greek plan, the Greek soldiers performed well, and the victory helped expunge the stain of the 1897 catastrophe. Furthermore, the Sarantaporo straits were the only position where the numerically inferior Ottoman Turkish forces had any hope of stopping the Greek Army. Indeed, Field Marshal von der Goltz had confidently preclaimed that the straits would prove to be "the graveyard of the Greek Army".

Battle of Giannitsa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Giannitsa
Part of First Balkan War

Date October 19-20 (O.S.) 1912

Location Giannitsa, Greece

Result Greek victory

Combatants: Kingdom of Greece Ottoman Empire

Commanders: Crown Prince Constantine Gen Hasan Tahsin Pasha
Strength
80,000 men, 120 guns ca. 25,000 men, 30 guns
Casualties
188 dead, ca. 973 wounded no official data

The Battle of Giannitsa (Greek: Μάχη των Γιαννιτσών) was a battle between the Greeks and the Ottomans. The battle took place on October 20/November 2, 1912. The Greek Army defeated the Ottomans, opening the way towards Thessaloniki.

The History with pictures


Admiral Coundouriotis.


General Danglis


Lt. Comm. Nikolaos Votsis


Hellenic Army's "Evzones" Marching...


The Battle of Sarantaporo


The commander of the 8th Turkish army corps, Pasha Hassan Taxin, Surrender the City of Thessaloniki to Hellenic Army


Hellenic Army with King Constantine Enters in Thessaloniki!

[yiorgo]

simply awesome

[Eusebius]

Great post! The pictures really add to the post as well.

[SerbPVO]

Greeks & Serbs...allies once & for all!

[GREEK-AIRBORNE]

Originally Posted by SerbPVO

Greeks & Serbs...allies once & for all!

X2 My Orthodox Brother!

[Labud]

Brothers Greeks from the south, and Serbs from north!
Do you have some other text about Greeks in I Balkan war? If you like I could post some texts about Serbian operations.

[GREEK-AIRBORNE]

Here is another one (article) about Hellas in WWI From the same source

Greece was considered as the weakest of the three main allies, since it had suffered a humiliating defeat against the Ottomans in 1897, and was not expected to contribute decisively against the Turkish army. It was able to field only ca. 110,000 men during the first stages of the war, but it had a strong navy, which was vital to the League, as only it could prevent Turkish reinforcements from being rapidly transferred by ship from Asia to Europe. The army, recently reorganized by a French military mission, was grouped upon mobilization in two Armies. The "Army of Thessaly", under Crown Prince Constantine, with Lt Gen Panagiotis Danglis as his chief of staff, fielded 7 infantry divisions, a cavalry brigade and 4 independent Evzones battalions, equalling roughly 100,000 men. It was expected to overcome the fortified Turkish border positions and advance towards western and central Macedonia, with Salonica being the coveted prize. Further 10-13 thousand men in 8 battalions, were assigned to the "Army of Epirus" under Lt Gen Konstantinos Sapountzakis, which was intended to advance into Epirus. As it had no hope of capturing its heavily fortified capital, Ioannina, its initial mission was simply to occupy the Turkish forces there until sufficient reinforcements could be sent from the Army of Thessaly after its successful conclusion of operations. The Greek Navy, in the meantime, was expected to seize the islands of the Aegean Sea that were still under Ottoman rule and secure naval supremacy. The "Fleet of the Aegean", under Rear Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis, was assiged this task, and deployed 3 ageing battleships, the brand-new cruiser Averof and 7 destroyers. Small task forces of destroyers and torpedo boats were assigned to scour the Aegean and Ionian seas of small Ottoman vessels.

Operations
The Greek army advanced towards Thessaloniki from the south, and after successfully overcoming Ottoman opposition at Sarantaporo and Giannitsa, the city and its garrison surrendered to the Greeks on October 27 (O.S.)/November 9. At the same time, the Bulgarians had dispatched their 7th 'Rila' division from the north in the direction of the city, but arrived there a day after its surrender.

On November 4/17, the Bulgarians launched their attack on the Chataldja Line, but were repulsed. In the same time, the Greeks had begun transferring several divisins from Macedonia to Epirus. Gen Sapountzakis was replaced by Crown Prince Constantine, who supervised the siege of Ioannina.

Battle of Pente Pigadia
The Battle of Pente Pigadia was held during the First Balkan War. ("Πέντε Πηγάδια" means "Five Wells" in Greek.)

The Epirus sector was of a secondary nature to the Greek High Command, which was focused the operations of the "Army of Thessaly" towards Macedonia and Thessaloniki. The initial Greek strength in the area consisted of barely 8000 men of the 15th Infantry Regiment and 5 independent battalions, supported by 24 field-guns, under Lt Gen Konstantinos Sapountzakis. The Ottomans had at their disposal the under-strength 23rd Regular Division, and upon mobilization, formed the 23rd Reserve Division. Both had around 7000 men each, supported by 32 guns, under Esat Pasha.

The small strength of the Greek forces forbade a direct effort against the city of Ioannina, which was defended by the strong Turkish fortified position at Mt. Bizani, equipped with 112 guns. Therefore the Greek Army had to limit itself to the liberation of Preveza (October 21, 1912 (O.S.)) after a victory at Nicopolis the previous day.

Esat Pasha, having set up his headquarters at Pente Pigadia, began an attack against the Greek positions on October 23 with 5 battalions. Due to bad weather and the early onset of snow, the attack petered out to local actions, which ended with the Turkish withdrawal on the 30th. The Greeks suffered 26 dead and 222 wounded.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pente_Pigadia"


Battle of Skra-di-Legen

Battle of Skra di Legen
Part of World War I
Date May 16–May 18, 1918
Location Skra, Greece
Result Greek victory

Combatants
Allies Central Powers


Battle of Skra di Legen'(Skora di Legen) was a two day WWI battle which took place on May 16, 1918. Victory of the allied troops with a decisive Greek contribution. In May 1918 Greek military units held a leading part in the battle of Skra di Legen, the most important among the local offensives, that resulted in the capture of a particularly fortified position, controlled until then by the Central Powers, chiefly Bulgarian troops. The battle of Skra confirmed in the eyes of the allies the fighting readiness of the Greek army that has practically just been restructured. After that the preconditions for the allied counter-attack have been laid, that was launched in September 1918. This has been marked by a series of victories and continuous advances of the allied troops against the Central Powers.


Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas
Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas
Part of Second Balkan War
Date June 19–June 21, 1913
Location Kilkis, Greece
Result Greek victory

Combatants
Greece Bulgaria
Commanders
King Constantine I General Ivanov
Strength
ca. 85000 men, 170 guns (73 Infantry Battalions, 8 Cavalry Companies) ca. 40000 men, 62 guns (32 Infantry Battalions, 1 Cavalry Regiment)
Casualties
8,652 killed and wounded est. 7000 killed and wounded, ca. 2500 captured

The Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas took place during the Second Balkan War between Greece and Bulgaria for the town of Kilkis in Macedonia. The battle lasted three days from June 19, 1913 to June 21st. The Greek army defeated the Bulgarian army.

During the night of 16-17 June, 1913, the Bulgarians, without official declaration of war, attacked their former Greek and the Serbian allies, and managed to evict the Serbs from Gevgeli, cutting off communication between them and the Greeks. However, they failed to drive the Serbs away from the Axios river line. After repulsing the initial Bulgarian attack of June 17, the Greek army, under King Constantine, advanced with 8 Divisions and a Cavalry Brigade, while the Bulgarians (1 Infantry Division, 3 Brigades, and elements of other units, under General Ivanov) retreated to the naturally strong defensive position of the Kilkis-Lahana line.

The Greek forces established contact with the Bulgarian positions on the night of June 19, and the attack commenced on the whole front the next day. The Greeks made slow progress, paying with many casualties against the well-entrenched Bulgarians, primarily because of their close deployment on open field and the frontal attack tactics of their High Command. Despite this, the town of Kilkis fell on June 21, forcing the Bulgarian commander to retreat, but managing to prevent a rout.

Due to its significance, the Battle of Kilkis gave its name to a Greek battleship, the Kilkis, in 1914.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kilkis-Lahanas"

Dear @Labud
Please feel free to post as many texts about Serbian operations as you like!

[Labud]

Thanks, @GREEK-AIRBORNE

The battle of Kumanovo

The Battle of Kumanovo was a major battle of the First Balkan War of 1912, during which Serbian forces under the command of General (later Field Marshal) Radomir Putnik defeated the Ottoman army of General Zekki.
After the outbreak of hostilities, three Serbian Armies advanced southwads into Vardar Macedonia towards Skopje. On the Serbian right, the 2nd Army under Gen. Stepanovic, in the middle the 1st Army under Crown Prince Alexander, and on the left the 3rd Army under Gen Yankovic. After defeating the Turkish forces in Kosovo on October 9, the Serbian Army took Pristina. On the same day, Crown Prince Alexander halted the advance of his 1st Army, and deployed it defensively. Zekki Pasha used the opportunity and on October 10, he ordered his 7th Corps to attack the Serbs. The Serbs repulsed the attack, going over into a counterattack themselves shortly after midnight. With heavy artillery support, they launched a full-scale offensive on the 12th. Despite suffering heavy casualties, the Serbs managed to make progress and push the 7th Corps back. Then Gen. Zekki sent his 6th Corps to reinforce the wavering front, but when the 7th Corps broke and retreated, it spread the panic to 6th Corps as well. The Serbian 1st Army, pursuing the fleeing Turks, entered Kumanovo, and on October 13, Skopje surrendered without a fight, while the 2nd Army occupied Štip, cutting the Ottoman forces in the Balkans in two.
After this success, the Serbs continued their advance southwards with the 1st and 3rd Armies towards Prilep, while 2nd Army was sent to assist the Bulgarians around Adrianople (see Siege of Adrianople). On October 22/November 3, the Serbian Army fought the Battle of Prilep.

[GREEK-AIRBORNE]

This year we celebrate 97 Years since the liberation of Thessaloniki, the second City of Greece and capital of the Region of Macedonia

[Dolph BG]

Happy Holiday Greek Airborne.I wish this war be example for united orthodox countries in the Balkans

[Dolph BG]

Later,I'll post some pictures as well.

[chris450]

hapy anniversary! later on i'll post some pics form this years celebrations