Battle of Adrianople (1913)

Battle of Adrianople

Siege of Adrianople

Date	3 November 1912 – 26 March 1913
Location	Edirne District, Edirne Province, Ottoman Empire (present day: Edirne, Turkey)
Result	Decisive Bulgarian-Serbian Victory

Belligerents

Bulgaria

Serbia

Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders

Nikola Ivanov

Georgi Vazov

Stepa Stepanović

Kölemen Abdullah Pasha

Mehmed Şükrü Pasha

Strength

106,425 Bulgarians (424 guns);
47,275 Serbs (62 field guns, 34 howitzers)

60,000 - 75,000 (Bulgarian claims)
52.597 (340 guns)

Casualties and losses

: 1,298 killed, 6,655 wounded

: 453 killed, 1,917 wounded

Bulgarian claims:ca. 7,000 killed,
Captured:
65,000 soldiers, 15 generals, 2,000 officers, 600 artillery guns, 16 flags
Turkish claims:13,000 killed and wounded,
42,500 pow

Bulgaria

The Battle or Siege of Adrianople (Bulgarian: Обсада на Одрин, Serbian: Opsada Jedrena/ Опсада Једрена, Turkish: Edirne Kuşatması) was fought during the First Balkan War, beginning in mid-November 1912 and ending on 26 March 1913 with the capture of Edirne (Adrianople) by the Bulgarian 2nd Army. The loss of Edirne delivered the final decisive blow on the Ottoman army and brought to a close the First Balkan War. A treaty was signed in London on 30 May. The city was re-occupied and kept by Turkey in the Second Balkan War.

The victorious end of the siege was considered an enormous military success because the defenses of city were carefully developed by leading German siege experts and were dubbed 'undefeatable'. The Bulgarian army, after 5 months of siege and two bold night attacks, took the Ottoman stronghold.

The victors were under the overall command of General Nikola Ivanov, and the commander of the Bulgarian forces on the Eastern sector of the fortress was General Georgi Vazov, brother of the famous Bulgarian writer Ivan Vazov and General Vladimir Vazov.

One early use of an airplane for bombing took place during the siege: the Bulgarians dropped special hand grenades from one or more airplanes in an effort to cause panic among Turkish soldiers. Many young Bulgarian officers and professionals who took part in this decisive battle of the First Balkan War, later played important roles in the politics, culture, commerce and industry of Bulgaria.

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Wikipedia