| Battle of Kresna Gorge | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofSecond Balkan War | |||||||
 A Greek lithograph depictingMajor Velissariou leading the1st Evzone Regiment during the battle by Sotiris Christidis | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Bulgaria |  Greece | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Gen.Mihail Savov Gen.Nikola Ivanov | KingConstantine I | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 110 battalions[citation needed] | 80 battalions[citation needed] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 10,000 killed, wounded, or captured[1] | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheBattle of Kresna Gorge was fought in 1913 between theGreeks and theBulgarians during theSecond Balkan War. The battle was fought over an eleven-day period, between 8–18 July, over a front of 20 km, in a maze of forests and mountains. The battle marked the last phase of Greek advances into Bulgarian territory before the ceasefire and thepeace treaty.
With the Serbian front static and the Bulgarian Army defeated in Greece,King Constantine I of Greece ordered his army to march deeper into Bulgarian territory and capture the Bulgarian capital,Sofia. Constantine desired a decisive victory in the war despite the objections of Prime MinisterEleftherios Venizelos who realized that the Serbs, having won their territorial objectives, were now trying to put the remaining combat of the war onto the Greeks by staying passive.A truce resulted in both sides claiming victory. From the Greek point of view, after 11 days of fighting, the Bulgarian army had apparently failed to turn the Greek flank, and as a result the Greeks considered the battle a defensive victory. The Bulgarians believed themselves victorious because their attack had stopped the Greek advance on Sofia and forced the Greeks to accept a truce. This view is supported by the view of some historians that the Greek army was threatened with encirclement and annihilation at the end of the war, although the fighting was eventually ended by an armistice. However, the Greeks argued that the Bulgarian army had put all its strength into the long battle, but lacked additional men to complete the Greek siege.
After the victoriousBattle of Doiran the Greek forces continued their advances north. On 18 July, the1st Greek Division managed to drive back the Bulgarian rear guard and captured an important foothold at the southern end of theKresna Pass.[2]
In the pass, the Greeks were ambushed by the Bulgarian 2nd and 4th Armies which were newly arrived from the Serbian front and had taken up defensive positions. After bitter fighting, however, the Greeks managed to break through the Kresna Pass. The Greek advance continued and on 25 July, the village ofKrupnik, north of the pass, was captured, forcing the Bulgarian troops to withdraw toSimitli.[3] Simitli was captured on 26 July,[4] while during the night of 27–28 July the Bulgarian forces were pushed north to Gorna Dzhumaya (nowBlagoevgrad), 76 km south ofSofia.[5]
Meanwhile, the Greek forces continued their march inland intoWestern Thrace and on 26 July, enteredXanthi. The next day the Greek forces enteredKomotini, without incurring Bulgarian opposition.[5]
The Greek army was stopped in front ofGorna Dzhumaya by significant Bulgarian resistance.[6][7] On 28 July, Greek forces resumed the attack and captured a line stretching from Cherovo to Hill 1378, southeast ofGorna Dzhumaya.[8]
During the evening of 28 July, however, the Bulgarian army under heavy pressure began to abandon the town.[9][a] However, the Greek army was unable to capture Gorna Dzhumaya and it remained under Bulgarian control at the end of the war.
The following day, the Bulgarians attempted to encircle the outnumbered Greeks in aCannae-type battle by applying pressure on their flanks.[11] Nevertheless, the Greeks launched counterattacks atRazlog and to the west ofKresna. By 30 July, the Bulgarian attacks had largely subsided. On the eastern flank, the Greek army launched an attack towards Razlog through the Predela Pass. The offensive was stopped by the Bulgarian army on the eastern side of the pass and fighting ground to a stalemate. On the western flank, an offensive was launched againstCharevo Selo with the objection of reaching the Serbian lines. This failed and the Bulgarian army continued advancing, especially in the south, where by 29 July the Bulgarian forces had cut the Greek line of retreat throughBerovo andStrumica, leaving the Greek army with only one route of retreat.[12][13][14][verification needed]
After three days fighting at the sectors ofPehčevo andRazlog, however, the Greek forces retained their positions.[8] On 30 July, the Greek headquarters planned to launch a new attack in order to advance towards the sector ofGorna Dzhumaya.[15] On that day hostilities continued with the Bulgarian forces deployed on strategic positions north and northeast of the town.[b]
Meanwhile, King Constantine I, who had neglected a Bulgarian request for truce during the drive for Sofia, informed Prime Minister Venizelos, that his army was "physically and morally exhausted" and urged him to seek cessation of hostilities[11] through Romanian mediation. This request resulted in theTreaty of Bucharest being signed on 31 July [O.S. 18 July] 1913 which ended one of the bloodiest battles of theSecond Balkan War.
The armistice left both parties claiming victory. From the Greek point of view, after eleven days of battle, the Bulgarians had clearly failed to turn the Greek army's flanks, and consequently the Greeks considered the battle a defensive victory.[13] The Bulgarians believed that they were the victors since their attack successfully stopped the Greek Army's advance towards Sofia and caused the Greeks to accept an armistice. This view is supported by the opinion held by most historians that although the battle was ended inconclusively by the armistice, at the end of the war, the Greek army was threatened by encirclement and annihilation.[11] The Greeks claimed, however, that the Bulgarians had involved all their available forces in the prolonged battle and lacked the additional manpower to complete an encirclement of the Greek forces.
