BULGARIAN SOLDIERS POSING FOR A PHOTOGRAPH WITH EXHUMED CORPSES OF SOLDIERS ON THE MACEDONIAN FRONT

 Bulgarian soldiers posing for a photograph with exhumed corpses of soldiers on the Macedonian Front, April 1918.

Today 105 years ago, on September 15, 1918, the Allies launched the Vardar Offensive on the Macedonian Front, leading to Bulgarian surrender and the liberation of Serbia.

By September 1918, the Germans had withdrawn their forces from the Macedonian Front, leaving Bulgaria isolated against the combined forces of Serbia, France, Britain and Greece. The Allies planned for a final offensive to knock Bulgaria out of the war, or at least force them to new defensive lines.

On the left flank, the French, Serbs and Greeks would attack the fortified Dobro Pole mountain, while on the right flank, British and Greek forces would attack at the Lake Doiran, and on their left the French would attack by the Vardar river.

On September 15, 1918, following an artillery bombardment of 566 guns, Serbian, French and Greek forces launched the Vardar Offensive against the Bulgarian 1st Army in the Battle of Dobro Pole. The Allies inflicted heavy losses on the Bulgarians and captured the Dobro Pole peak, breaking through the Bulgarian lines.

On September 16, the British began a bombardment of 232 guns and 24 howitzers on the Bulgarian trenches in the fortified hills above the Lake Doiran. On September 18, the British and Greeks attacked at Lake Doiran and managed to capture the village, but Bulgarian artillery, machine-guns, and counter-attacks recaptured lost ground and halted the advance.

The British and Greeks attacked again on September 19, but met similar results as the previous day, suffering heavy losses. Meanwhile in the Battle of Dobro Pole, by September 18, the Serbian, French and Greek forces had advanced 15 km, reaching the Crna river.

Referring to the relatively small Serbian Army of 62,000 troops, German Kaiser Wilhelm II famously telegrammed Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand: "Disgraceful! 62,000 Serbs decided the war!

Having suffered heavy losses and fearing an invasion of Bulgaria, the Bulgarians abandoned Vardar Macedonia and rushed to defend their homeland.

Due to the Bulgarian withdrawal in the Battle of Dobro Pole, the Bulgarians at Lake Doiran withdrew too, fearing being cut off by Serbian, French and Greek forces. The British and Greeks thus advanced at Doiran without resistance.

The Allies kept advancing further, and Bulgarian soldiers started mutineeing. By September 29, the war was won on the Macedonian Front, as the Bulgarians surrendered in the Armistice of Salonica.

In the Vardar Offensive, the Serbs had suffered 3,200 casualties, the French 3,500, the British 4,600 and the Greek 5,300 casualties. The Bulgarians had suffered 3,207 deaths, 998 wounded and 77,000 prisoners were captured.

The Allies had suffered heavy losses but had emerged victors of the Macedonian Front. Throughout October and November 1918, the Allies began liberating Albania, Montenegro and Serbia.

French General d'Espèray reportedly expressed that the French forces on horseback couldn't keep up with Serbian forces on foot during the Serbian liberation.

Thanks for reading, leave your thought in the comment section below.