THE DAY EMPIRES FELL: How the Serbian army broke through the Salonika Front and decided the First World War! (PHOTOS)

The breakthrough of the Salonika Front took place on September 15, 1918, when the Serbian army achieved one of its greatest victories and determined the subsequent course of the First World War.

The breakthrough of the Salonika Front was the result of a major and one of the most important Allied offensives, and for Serbia perhaps the key operation of the First World War. By breaking through the Salonika Front, the Serbian army permanently regained control of the territory of the occupied country, finally liberating it from the occupiers.

One of the greatest victories of the Serbian army in the history of the Serbian people

The Serbian army arrived at the Salonika Front, which stretched across Albania in the west all the way to the Adriatic Sea, as early as the spring of 1916, immediately after recovering on Corfu.

The stalemate on the Salonika Front lasted from January 1 to September 13, 1918, and this period was used to reinforce the front and prepare for the decisive offensive. With the aim of preparing the offensive, the commander of the Allied forces on the Salonika Front, General Franchet d’Espèrey, convened a conference on July 3, attended by the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Supreme Command, Field Marshal Živojin Mišić.

Preparations for the decisive offensive began on July 6 and lasted until September 13, 1918. The basic idea of the offensive plan was to break through the enemy front over a width of 30 kilometers by attacking with the Serbian armies in the mountainous area between Sušica and Lešnica, and then rapidly expand the breakthrough and advance energetically to the Demir Kapija–Kavadarci line.

On one side of the front were French, British, and Serbian soldiers, later joined by a number of Greek and Italian troops, while on the other side, German and Bulgarian soldiers lay in wait, well entrenched in the trenches.

“All commanders, officers, and soldiers must be imbued with the idea that the entire success of the offensive depends on the speed of the advance. This speed is at the same time the best guarantee against surprise, because it causes the enemy’s disorganization and gives us complete freedom of action. Advance boldly, without rest, to the utmost limits of human and horse endurance. Into death, only do not stop! With unwavering faith and hope, heroes, forward to the homeland!” read the order issued by Field Marshal Živojin Mišić, Chief of the Serbian Supreme Command, on the eve of the breakthrough of the Salonika Front.

On September 15, the Second Army, commanded by Field Marshal Stepa Stepanović, operated by having the Šumadija Division capture Slonovo Uvo, Veternik, and Gola Rudina, while the 17th French Division captured the trenches around Kravica. The enemy, reinforced by one regiment, launched three counterattacks against this division, but all were repulsed with the assistance of the Šumadija and Timok divisions, which attacked Borova Čuka, captured by the Šumadija Division, and Obla Čuka, captured by the Timok Division.

By the end of the day, the French division had completely captured Kravica, while the 122nd French Division captured Dobro Polje and reached the foothills of Sokol.

The First Army, led by its commander, General Petar Bojović, attacked Sokol with the right column of the Drina Division, supported by the 122nd French Division, but the attacks during the day were unsuccessful. When the left column of the Drina Division entered the enemy trenches on the Sokol–Gradešnica front during the night of September 15–16, the Drina Division, together with the 122nd French Division, captured Sokol.

Within the first 24 hours of the attack, the entire first line of enemy trenches on the Serbian front had been captured, except for a small section on the far left flank of the First Army. By the evening of September 15, both second-line divisions of the Second Army, the Yugoslav and Timok divisions, had moved ahead of the first-line divisions, while Serbian-Allied aviation, despite unfavorable weather conditions, fully accomplished its mission.

After a three-day offensive, the First and Second Serbian armies, with the help of two French divisions, broke through the Salonika Front, forcing the Germans and Bulgarians to retreat. After a week, the troops crossed the Vardar, opening the road to Serbia. The liberation of the occupied territories continued, and as early as November 1, Serbian troops entered Belgrade.

“Operations must be slowed down because there are no communications for delivering food to the advancing French troops; only the Serbian troops do not need communications, they are moving forward like a storm,” French Marshal Franchet d’Espèrey wrote in a report to the French government during the breakthrough of the Salonika Front in late September 1918.

After the breakthrough of the Salonika Front, an army of 700,000 soldiers was knocked out of the war, and Germany ordered a general retreat.

Kaiser Wilhelm, enraged, sent a telegram to the Bulgarian king: “62,000 Serbian soldiers have decided the war. Shame!”