| Siege of Adrianople (1912–1913) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theFirst Balkan War | |||||||
 Siege of Adrianople | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Tsardom of Bulgaria Kingdom of Serbia |  Ottoman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Nikola IvanovGeorgi VazovStepa Stepanović | Abdullah Pasha (POW)Mehmed Şükrü Pasha (POW) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 106,425 Bulgarians (424 guns);[1] 47,275 Serbs (62 field guns, 34 howitzers)[2] | 60,000[3]–75,000[1] (Bulgarian claims) 52,597 (340 guns)[4][5] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Kingdom of Bulgaria: 1,298 killed, 6,655 wounded[1] Kingdom of Serbia: 453 killed, 1,917 wounded[6] | 7,000 killed and wounded Captured: 65,000 soldiers, 15 generals, 2,000 officers, 600 artillery guns, 16 flags[1][7] Turkish claim: 13,000 killed and wounded 42,500 captured[4] | ||||||
Thesiege of Adrianople (Bulgarian:oбсада на Одрин,Serbian:oпсада Једрена/opsada Jedrena,Turkish:Edirne kuşatması), was fought during theFirst Balkan War. The siege began on 3 November 1912 and ended on 26 March 1913 with the capture ofEdirne (Adrianople) by the Bulgarian 2nd Army and the Serbian 2nd Army.
The loss of Edirne delivered the final decisive blow to theOttoman army and brought theFirst Balkan War to an end.[8] A treaty was signed in London on 30 May. The city was reoccupied and retained by the Ottomans during theSecond Balkan War.[9]
The victorious end of thesiege was considered to be an enormous military success because the city's defenses had been carefully developed by leading German siege experts and called 'undefeatable'. The Bulgarian army, after five months of siege and two bold night attacks, took the Ottoman stronghold.
The victors were under the overall command of Bulgarian GeneralNikola Ivanov while the commander of the Bulgarian forces on the eastern sector of the fortress was General Georgi Vazov, the brother of the famous Bulgarian writerIvan Vazov and of GeneralVladimir Vazov.
Theearly use of an airplane for bombing took place during the siege; the Bulgarians dropped specialhand grenades from one or more airplanes in an effort to cause panic among the Ottoman soldiers. Many young Bulgarian officers and professionals who took part in this decisive battle would later play important roles in Bulgarian politics, culture, commerce and industry.[citation needed]
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 theBulgarian Army,[10][page needed] 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.[11]
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 theJapanese andGurkhas, the Bulgarians alone of all troops go into battle with the fixed intention of killing at least one enemy." There were manyjournalists who reported on the siege of Adrianople; their accounts provide rich details about the siege.[12]
Serbian units involved were the 2nd Army, under the command of General (laterVojvoda, equivalent toField Marshal)Stepa Stepanović (two divisions and some support units) and heavy artillery (38 siege cannons and howitzers of 120 and 150 mm purchased from FrenchSchneider-Canet factory in 1908); they had been dispatched because the Bulgarians lacked heavy artillery (though they were well supplied withKrupp-designed 75 mm field artillery).[citation needed]
Serbian forces, commanded by General Stepa Stepanović, arrived on 6 November 1912. In Mustafa Pasha Place, a railway station outsideOdrin, 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 72artillery guns, 4,142 horses and oxen and 3,046 cars.[13]
Both Serbian divisions were immediately sent to the front. The Timok Division, strengthened by a Bulgarian regiment, occupied the north-western sector betweenMaritsa andTundzha Rivers, its sector being 15 km long. The Danube Division occupied a 5 km stretch of the western sector between the Maritsa andArda Rivers. A combined brigade was formed from the Timok Cavalry Regiment and the Bulgarian guard Cavalry Regiment to scout the Maritsa Valley.[13]
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41°40′28″N26°33′39″E / 41.6744°N 26.5608°E /41.6744; 26.5608