The Maritsa River is a famous river that flows through the Thrace region. It originates from the Rila Mountains in Lower Bulgaria. The area where the river flows is the essence of Thrace and produces a large amount of fruits and vegetables. It is a
A prosperous place.
While the Ottoman army was fighting a bloody battle with the Bulgarians under the orders of its commander, War Minister Hamed Riza, a panting force rushed to Katros on the Maritsa River.
This is a small town with less than a thousand people. Because it is located on a coastal transportation artery, it has developed quite well.
This force is composed of the 14th Division of the Italian Army and the 6th Bulgarian Independent Brigade. The main reason why they are so out of breath is because they are tired.
Of course it was not their intention to make them so tired. This all came from the order from above, requiring them to rush to the Maritsa River within the specified time, and this is basically the front line of the confrontation between the coalition forces and the Ottomans. Not far after crossing the river are the Ottomans
’s territory.
However, since the two sides are currently fighting fiercely in Adrianople, there are not many troops from the two sides here. And with their arrival, the coalition forces on the Maritsa River far exceed their opponents.
Of course, allowing them to travel from Shtip on the outskirts of Skopje to Katros in such a short period of time did not come without a price.
In four days, they marched a distance of 460 kilometers, which can be said to be a high-intensity forced march. And being able to march more than 400 kilometers in four days is enough to make them proud.
However, after becoming arrogant, Major General Brazeau, the commander of the 14th Division, felt a headache, because when he set out, there were more than 13,000 people in the division. Currently, except for the artillery regiment and the logistics force, which were lagging behind, there were more than 3,000 people.
In addition, less than 7,000 people have arrived at Katros, and nearly 3,000 people got separated on the road and failed to follow.
In the same situation as him was the accompanying Bulgarian brigade, which was also severely depleted.
Major General Brazo, who arrived at Catros, saw that his men were seriously lagging behind. After discussing with the Bulgarian commander, he had no choice but to announce that he would rest here for a day.
And his decision made the exhausted officers and soldiers cheer. No one could refuse this temptation after marching for so long.
Of course, Major General Brazeau did this, firstly, to make repairs, and secondly, to wait for the stragglers to catch up. Of course, this would also allow the follow-up logistics artillery to catch up.
Although one day is not enough for them to get here, it can at least bring them closer to the main force.
When Major General Brazo arrived at Katros and decided to take a day's rest, the large coalition troops transferred from Skopje were coming here along the coastal road.
After accepting the surrender of the Ottoman Macedonian Group Army, General Cadorna, as the commander of the coalition forces, ordered the coalition forces to prepare for departure that day. The next day, after collecting the weapons of the Macedonian Army Group and driving them to the prisoner of war camp
After that, he left three divisions to guard and monitor, and then led the large army to rush to Adrianople day and night.
In fact, there are two roads from Macedonia to Adrianople, one is the coastal road, and the other goes through Bulgaria and along the Maritsa Valley.
Both routes have their own advantages. Since the coastal road is in a plain area, it is faster than the road in the Bulgarian mountains and hills. Of course, in addition to the advantages, there are also disadvantages. That is, this is a newly occupied area, so
The Ottomans will soon know their every move. The Bulgarian road has a great advantage in this regard.
But in the end, Admiral Cardorna still chose the coastal road. Although the enemy knew it quickly this time, what if the news didn't run as fast as them?
Yes, General Cardorna intends to use the big feet of his army to suddenly appear in front of the enemy before he can react.
To this end, he used some unconventional methods, that is, just like what the 14th Division did, he used a rapid march to appear in front of the enemy before they could react.
Therefore, during this march, there was no need to bring any artillery with a caliber of more than 100 millimeters. In addition, in order to ensure speed, the transport carriages mainly carried ammunition. Large and slow-moving grain, grass and other materials could only be carried by them.
Local resupply.
In addition, each soldier needs to carry two hundred rounds of ammunition and five days of rations, and then go into battle lightly. Not to mention, this method immediately increases the speed of the coalition officers and soldiers. In addition to the vanguard troops who need speed, other soldiers
The large army marches at an astonishing speed of nearly 60 kilometers per day, and its laggard officers and soldiers are controlled within 5%.
At present, they have crossed the Saloniga Peninsula and entered the coastal road. It is believed that they will reach the Maritsa River in less than four days.
Of course, this alone was not enough. Before they set off, General Cadorna asked the local garrison on the march route to immediately block the road tightly and stop anyone from passing. No matter where they were going, they must stop. In addition, telegrams were sent from various places.
All institutions are closed, and any communication is prohibited except under military orders.
Although this method will make the locals complain, and its effect will be greatly reduced for those who are familiar with the local terrain. It will still increase the difficulty of the enemy's message transmission. After all, there is no wireless telegraph, and the fastest wired telegraph cannot be sent. Then
We can only rely on manpower, and with the blockade, the speed of message delivery has been greatly reduced.
But in general, this method is not bad. Although the coalition's march on the coastal road is in full swing, it has not yet been passed into the hands of the Ottomans. At present, the Ottomans are still fighting with the Bulgarians in Adrianople, and the two sides are fighting for this.
The tragedy is far beyond what others imagine.
"attack!"
An Ottoman officer waved his command knife and ordered his men to attack the enemy. The position in front of them had been plowed through by intensive artillery and was riddled with holes. This was all the result of the Ottoman artillery. Considering that this was
In the final blow, the Ottomans released their ammunition and fired.
The dominant artillery has become the main method of the Ottoman army. Although the tactics are a bit old-fashioned and simple, the artillery bombardment and then the infantry occupation still has good results.
Although the Ottomans had many new recruits, after these days of fighting, those who survived had gradually turned into veterans. Although the methods were a bit simpler, they were still veterans. Therefore, in these three days, the Ottoman army achieved good results and captured
Several Bulgarian positions were captured, and the hope of capturing the main Bulgarian position was greatly increased.
Such a result gave the Ottoman side hope, and gave Hamed Riza, as the commander, enough confidence. Why didn't he think of this give-and-take style of play before? The Bulgarians had already
was defeated.
Now that he had a way, Riza would certainly not give up. He ordered his troops to continue the attack. He wanted to extend the fighting time and completely defeat the enemy.
Following his orders, the fighting scene never subsided in Adrianople, and bloody battles between officers and soldiers from both sides could be seen everywhere.
As the commander of the Bulgarian side, Major General Gudshev is now numb to the number of casualties. Thousands of casualty reports every day cannot shake his heart at all.
This is the opportunity that Great Bulgaria has dreamed of. No matter how big the sacrifice is, it is worth it. Next, you need to look at the performance of your allies. Bulgaria has paid too much for this.
