The Messina earthquake caused huge losses to Italy, and it will not take one or two years to heal the wounds.
While Italy was licking its wounds from the Messina earthquake, the Balkan war was still raging.
First of all, as the target this time, Bulgaria is in a very bad situation.
Although Bulgaria took the lead in launching an attack on the Greek army in a preemptive manner, Bulgaria's military objectives were not achieved.
In the battle of Salonika, Bulgaria, with a superior force of 210,000, did not annihilate the main force of the Greek army. The 160,000 Greek army, after fighting Bulgaria in Salonika, had retreated to Thessaly.
Yamaguchi.
In the Battle of Salonika, although Greece was forced to withdraw from Salonika, the main force of the army was retained, and the Greek army paid a price of 27,000 casualties, achieving the result of reducing Bulgaria's strength by 31,000.
In order to achieve such results, in addition to the relatively good combat effectiveness of the Greek army, its superior navy also contributed indispensably.
Bulgaria has a deep understanding of the role of the large-caliber naval guns on the Greek naval warships in defending the city. It was precisely by relying on the superiority of the navy that the Greek army was able to retain its main force under the Bulgarian offensive.
For Bulgaria, the failure to annihilate the main force of the Greek army in Salonika was a bit blinding.
In order to contain the Greek army, Bulgaria needs to leave at least about 100,000 troops. After deducting the 100,000 contained troops, Bulgaria's current troops are only about 200,000.
Although the number is large, you need to understand the opponents it will face next. After it declared war on Greece, Serbia and Romania both declared war on it.
Currently, 193,000 Serbian troops have crossed the border and are heading towards Sofia. On the Romanian side, 210,000 Romanian troops have also crossed the Danube and are heading towards Sofia.
For Bulgaria at this time, the situation is very dangerous. If the armies of the two countries come to Sofia, the battle will not be won no matter how hard it is fought.
Therefore, faced with such a situation, Bulgaria, on the one hand, continues to mobilize more troops, and on the other hand, it needs to prioritize the enemy forces along the way.
For this reason, the Bulgarian military used Pleven and Vratsa to delay the Romanian army and gain time to defeat the Serbian army. To this end, Bulgaria deployed 52,000 troops in Pleven and Vratsa in an attempt to delay the Romanian army.
Live each other.
As for the Serbian enemy forces, led by Bulgarian Army Minister Lieutenant General Mikhail Savov, priority was given to annihilating the Serbian army.
With the formulation of the combat plan, the Bulgarian army began to take action. After leaving the Second Army and the First Section of the Third Group of nearly 100,000 troops in Salonika, the Bulgarian First, Third Army, and Fourth Army
, assembled towards Sofia. They will have a big fight with the Serbian army in Slivnica, and prepare to face the Romanian army after defeating the Serbian army.
In fact, the revised plan was a replica of the previous Serb-Bulgarian war. In that war, Bulgaria defeated the Serbs in just four days and forced them to sue for peace. If not for the warnings of Austria-Hungary and Russia at that time, Bulgaria would definitely have invaded.
The southern town of Niš. At this time, Bulgaria planned to let the plot repeat itself. For this reason, the Bulgarian commander Lieutenant General Mikhail Savov had already rushed to Slivnica with the Fourth Army.
Slivnica is a key town in the west of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. If it is captured, the Serbs will invade Sofia. In this way, Bulgaria will be under too much pressure.
While Bulgaria was dispatching its troops, the Serbian army had already breached the Dragoman Pass on the border. The Bulgarian 9th Division held off the Serbs for three days at a huge cost of more than 9,000 casualties.
As the commander of the Serbian team this time, General Putnik, the Chief of General Staff, stood at the ruins of the Dragoman Pass and sighed with emotion. "These Bulgarian soldiers are really tough and they blocked us for three days."
Regarding the commander's words, the other generals surrounding him were about to say something when they saw a staff officer hurried over with a telegram.
"Admiral, this is a telegram from Belgrade. Please read it."
Facing the telegram from the capital, Admiral Putnik took it and read it.
Amidst the curious expressions of the people around him, General Putnik suddenly laughed, and then he said. "This telegram is Bulgarian intelligence sent from the capital. These Bulgarians want to attack us first. Copy it."
The result of a war. The Bulgarians are already waiting for us in Slivnica."
When faced with Admiral Putnik's words, responses immediately echoed around him.
"These Bulgarians are dreaming."
"We were careless last time, and we definitely won't be this time."
"Yes, let them dream."
…
Faced with the continuous criticism of Bulgaria around him, Admiral Putnik waved his hand to signal everyone to stop.
After everyone was quiet, General Putnik spoke. "If we want to break the Bulgarians' minds, we can't rely on words. We need practical actions. Since Bulgaria is waiting for us in Slivnica, then
How can we let them down? Next, the whole army will march towards Slivnica. We will let Bulgaria know that the same trick cannot be used a second time."
Under the orders of General Putnik, the Serbian army marched towards Slivnica.
Although Putnik said very generously that he was not afraid of the Bulgarian army, in actual actions the Serbian army was moving step by step. When they arrived at the village of Perk, ten kilometers away from Slivnica, the Serbian army stopped advancing. And in
There are fortifications being dug here, as if they want to live here for a long time.
It is obvious that General Putnik, the Serbian commander, used a tactic of procrastination. The Serbian army can afford to wait because it has allies, but Bulgaria cannot afford to wait. The Serbian army only needs to stick to its opponent, then
When the Romanian army arrived, it was defeated.
Not only General Putnik knew this truth, but Lieutenant General Mikhail Savov, the Bulgarian commander, also knew this.
So after learning that the Serbs were building fortifications around the village of Perk, Lieutenant General Mikhail Savov sighed and immediately ordered the Bulgarian army to launch an attack. Originally, he wanted to see if there was any chance.
, taking advantage of the Serbian army's eagerness to attack Sofia to obtain fighter jets, but now it seems that the Serbian commander who led the team was not fooled.
Following Lieutenant General Mikhail Savov's order, the Bulgarian troops left the built fortifications and pressed towards the village of Perk. A big battle was about to begin here.
