Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole 1918“An important account of a very overlooked aspect of the Great War.” —Strategy Page With the transfer of German units to the western front in the spring of 1918, the position of the Central Powers on the Macedonian front worsened. Materiel became scarce and morale among the Bulgarian forces deteriorated. The Entente Command perceived in Macedonia an excellent opportunity to apply additional pressure to the Germans, who were already retreating on the western front. In September, Entente forces undertook an offensive directed primarily at Bulgarian defenses at Dobro Pole. Balkan Breakthrough tells the story of that battle and its consequences. Dobro Pole was the catalyst for the collapse of the Central Powers and the Entente victory in southeastern Europe―a defeat that helped persuade the German military leadership that the war was lost. While decisive in ending World War I in the region, the battle did not resolve the underlying national issues there. “[Hall’s] recreation of the morale crisis that eroded the fighting capability of the Bulgarian Army generally, and underlay its collapse at Dobro Pole and afterward, is a welcome addition to the history of a largely ignored front of the First World War.” —International History Review “Incredibly rich . . . well written, and thoroughly researched. For those unfamiliar with the critical role of the Balkans in World War I historiography, this will be an extremely useful introduction.” —Graydon Tunstall, University of South Florida |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 13 | |
3 The Establishment of the Macedonian Front | 36 |
4 Development of the Macedonian Front | 58 |
5 The Lull | 81 |
6 The Erosion of the Bulgarian Army | 100 |
7 Breakthrough | 126 |
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Common terms and phrases
2nd Thracian Division Aegean AFGG VIII Albania allies armistice armiya artillery August Austria-Hungary Austro-Hungarian Balkan Wars battle Berlin Bitola British and French Bulgarian and German Bulgarian army Bulgarian command Bulgarian First Army Bulgarian government Bulgarian military Bulgarian positions Bulgarian Second Army Bulgarian soldiers Central Alliance Central Powers collapse Crown Prince Boris defeat Dobro Pole Dobrudzha effort enemy Entente attack Entente forces Entente offensive f t h Falkenhayn fighting French and Serbian Ganchev garian German Eleventh Army Golyamata voina Greece Greek frontier Hindenburg Ibid infantry July June King Constantine Ludendorff Macedonia Macedonian Front mezhdu Sredna Evropa Montenegrins nationalist Niš November numbers Radoslavov retreat Romania Russian Salonika Sarrail Savov Scholtz September 1918 Serbian army Serbs situation Skopie Sofia southeastern Europe Struma River success summer of 1918 Telegram territory Third Army Thrace tion Treaty of Bucharest Tsar Ferdinand Veternik victory voina i Bŭlgariata Western Front Yerbichna Zhekov