Siege of Adrianople (1912–1913)

The final battle consisted of two night attacks. Preparations for the battle included covering all metal parts of the uniforms and weapons with tissue to avoid any shine or noise. The several armies that took part in the siege were put under joint command, creating a prototype of a front. Some light artillery pieces towed by horses followed the advancing units, which played the role of infantry support guns. Attempts were made to perturb all Ottomans' radio communications to isolate and demoralize the besieged troops. On 24 March 1913, the external fortifications began to be captured in one night, and the next night, the fortress itself fell into Bulgarian hands. Early in the morning on 26 March 1913, the commander of the fortress, Mehmed Şükrü Pasha, surrendered to the Bulgarian army,[10] which ended the siege.

After the surrender, large parts of the city, especially the houses of Muslims and Jews, were subjected to looting for three days. However, it is disputed who actually carried out the looting since some accounts accuse the Bulgarian army and other sources accuse the local Greek population.[11]

The Bulgarian achievements until were fairly summarized by a British war correspondent: "A nation with a population of less than five million and a military budget of less than two million pounds per annum placed in the field within fourteen days of mobilization an army of 400,000 men, and in the course of four weeks moved that army over 160 miles in hostile territory, captured one fortress and invested another, fought and won two great battles against the available armed strength of a nation of twenty million inhabitants, and stopped only at the gates of the hostile capital. With the exception of the Japanese and Gurkhas, the Bulgarians alone of all troops go into battle with the fixed intention of killing at least one enemy." There were many journalists who reported on the Siege of Adrianople; their accounts provide rich details about it.[12]

Serbian units involved were the 2nd Army, under the command of General (later Vojvoda, equivalent to Field Marshal) Stepa Stepanović (two divisions and some support units) and heavy artillery (38 siege cannons and howitzers of 120 and 150 mm purchased from French Schneider-Canet factory in 1908); they had been dispatched because the Bulgarians lacked heavy artillery (though they were well supplied with Krupp-designed 75 mm field artillery).

Serbian forces, commanded by General Stepa Stepanović, arrived on 6 November 1912. In Mustafa Pasha Place, a railway station outside Odrin, Stepanović immediately reported to the supreme commander, General Nikola Ivanov. The Serbian Second Army was formed from the Timok Division without the 14th Regiment, the Second Danube Division reinforced with the 4th Reserve Regiment and the Second Drina Artillery Division. There was a total of 47,275 Serbian troops with 72 artillery guns, 4,142 horses and oxen and 3,046 cars.[13]

The arrival of the Serbian soldiers greatly improved the morale of the Bulgarian troops at Odrin. Both Serbian divisions were immediately sent to the front. The Timok Division, strengthened by a Bulgarian regiment, occupied the north-western sector between Maritsa and Tundzha Rivers, its sector being 15 km long. The Danube Division occupied a 5 km stretch of the western sector between the Maritsa and Arda Rivers. A combined brigade was formed from the Timok Cavalry Regiment and the Bulgarian guard Cavalry Regiment to scout the Maritsa Valley. [13]

• Zang Tumb Tumb, a poem about the battle, by Italian Futurist writer Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.

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  17 March 1912 Austria Counsulate visiting Agram Nun's bombed residence at Adrinople
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  Bulgarian soldiers invaded Selimiye mosque
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  Bulgarian major's residence after conquer of Adrinople
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  Adrianople view from Kirkkilise road
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  Left Turkish artillery
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  Agram nuns at Red Cross Hospital in Karaagac
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  Prisoner camp near Tounja during cholera epidemic
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  A Bulgarian soldier at the port of Selimiye mosque
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  Cholera epidemic near Tounja River
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  Victims thrown into the Arda and drowned
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  Isle of Tounja trees stripped of bark which the prisoners ate
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  A bomb fell near Sultan Selim mosque