Further to my recent blog post about the First and Second Balkan Wars, I have put together a list of the main battles of each war.
Battles of the First Balkan War (1912–1913): Fought between the Balkan League (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro) and the Ottoman Empire.
Battle of Kirk Kilisse (24th to 27th October 1912) – Bulgarian victory over Ottoman forces in Thrace.
Battle of Lüleburgaz (29th October to 2nd November 1912) – The largest battle of the war, leading to an Ottoman retreat.
Battle of Kumanovo (23rd and 24th October 1912) – Decisive Serbian victory over the Ottoman Vardar Army.
Battle of Sarantaporos (9th and 10th October 1912) – Greek victory opening the way to southern Macedonia.
Battle of Yenidje (2nd and 3rd November 1912) – Greek victory leading to the surrender of Thessaloniki.
Siege of Adrianople (3rd November 1912 to 26th March 1913) – Fall of the key Ottoman fortress to Bulgarian and Serbian forces.
Battle of Monastir (16th to 19th November 1912) – Serbian victory securing control of Pelagonia.
First and Second Battles of Çatalca (17th and 18th November 1912 and 20th to 22nd March 1913) – Ottoman defensive successes holding the line near Constantinople.
Battle of Bizani (5th to 6th March 1913) – Greek victory leading to the capture of Ioannina.
Battle of Bulair (8th February 1913) – Ottoman tactical success against Bulgarian forces.
Siege of Scutari (28th October 1912 to 23rd April 1913) – Montenegrin and Serbian siege of the northern Albanian town.
Naval Battles of Elli (16th December 1912) and Lemnos (18th January 1913) – Greek naval victories ensuring control of the Aegean Sea.
The Matrix Game map of the Balkans during the First Balkan War from the book THE BALKAN LEAGUE.
Battles of the Second Balkan War (1913): Fought when Bulgaria turned against its former allies, Serbia and Greece, joined later by Romania and the Ottoman Empire.
Battle of Bregalnica (30th June to 9th July 1913) – Major engagement and Serbian victory along the Bregalnica River.
Battle of Kilkis–Lachanas (19th to 21st June 1913) – Decisive Greek victory over Bulgarian forces.
Battle for Knjaževac (4th to 7th July 1913) – Bulgarian offensive action against the Serbians.
Battle of Doiran (23rd to 25th June 1913) – Engagement during the Greek advance against Bulgarian positions.
Battle of Kalimanci (18th and 19th July 1913) – Successful Bulgarian defensive stand halting the Serbian offensive.
Battle of Kresna Gorge (8th to 18th July 1913) – Fierce Greek counter-offensive operations trapping the Bulgarian army.
Battle of Pirot (24th to 27th August 1913) – Late-stage engagement near the Serbian border.
Siege of Vidin (14th to 19th July 1913) – Serbian siege of the Bulgarian fortress city.
Southern Dobruja Offensive (July 1913) – Unopposed Romanian invasion of Bulgarian territory.
Ottoman Recapture of Adrianople (23rd July 1913) – Unopposed re-entry into Eastern Thrace by Ottoman forces as Bulgarian troops redeployed.
The Matrix Game map of the Balkans during the Second Balkan War from the book THE BALKAN LEAGUE.
Oh, very handy Bob. Many thanks!
ReplyDeleteSteve,
DeleteI thought that you might find it useful!
All the best,
Bob
There are some interesting early colour autochrome photographs of The Balkan Wars by Albert Khan’s team of photographers. I dont find the website easy to navigate but its at:
ReplyDeletehttps://albert-kahn.hauts-de-seine.fr/en/
The Photographic Missions (1912–1913)
Kahn partnered with famous French geographer Jean Brunhes to direct the project. Between October 1912 and the aftermath of the Second Balkan War in late 1913, Kahn dispatched top photographers like Auguste Léon and Stéphane Passet across the Balkan Peninsula”
“The First Color Record: The team used Lumière Autochrome plates, the world’s first commercially viable true-color photography system. For many towns and villages across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, these are the earliest surviving color photographs in existence.”
I have the photo book which accompanied the BBC series on Albert Khan back in the 2007.
Mark, Man of TIN,
DeleteThanks for the very interesting link. I know of one wargamer who is a professional photographer and who has given talks about early war photography will be particularly interested in the website.
All the best,
Bob
Apologies, I keep predictive text misspelling his name, it is Albert Kahn.
DeleteMark, Man of TIN,
DeleteNo need to apologise for a typo. We all do it from time to time.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteCracking reference list! A really handy guide for anyone looking to fight out the period on the tabletop.
All the best, Andy
Andrew Bruce (Andy),
DeleteCheers! I hope that it will help to stimulate interest in these two fascinating wars.
All the best,
Bob
A very useful resource. I did some Portable Wargames Balkan Wars battles with 1/72 figures a few years ago. Might be worth revisiting as 3x3 and/or Dominion games perhaps with Risk piece armies. 😁
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteNow that is something that I’d certainly enjoy seeing!
All the best,
Bob