The Entente in 1915 or the Allies in 1941 – they are no strangers to betrayal
The Bulgarians stabbed in the back
In the first ten days of July 1915, the General Staffs of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria drew up a plan for the military defeat of Serbia and Montenegro. The plan, which was by no means adventurous, taking into account the very weak forces of the opponents, as well as the annexation of Bulgaria to the Austro-German bloc, envisaged an almost three-sided envelopment of the enemy.
The decisive factor in the victory was undoubtedly the official entry of Bulgaria into the war during the main phase of the offensive of the German-Austrian troops in Serbia and Montenegro. The latter happened on October 14 of the same year. The defeat of the Serbian and Montenegrin troops became inevitable, which was well understood in the headquarters of the Entente countries.
However, they did absolutely nothing to save their junior allies. It was necessary to evacuate the defeated but not routed Serbian army to northern Greece, where it became the basis of the Salonika Front, created in the late autumn of 1915.
The command of the Serbian and Montenegrin troops that remained after the evacuation to the south of Albania and northwestern Greece, which were subsequently reinforced by British, French and Russian expeditionary brigades, repeatedly proposed to the allies on the Salonika front a breakthrough into Western Serbia through central Albania, where there was an almost symbolic number of Austrian troops.
And nearby - in the coastal areas of Vlora, Saranda and on the island of Sazani (southwest Albania) - since the spring of 1916, a large contingent of Italian troops, allies of the Entente, equipped with modern military equipment at that time, was located. It is interesting that Albanian anti-Austrian groups also called for a strike on the not very strong section of the Austro-German-Bulgarian front.
Vain efforts
But in vain: on the Albanian section of the front, the allies “advanced” no more than 40 km only by the autumn of 1918 – by the time of the collapse and capitulation of Austria-Hungary.
Almost the same thing happened in other areas of the Salonika Front, where local battles were periodically fought until 1918, followed by long lulls. This had a negative impact on the morale of the troops, especially the Serbian and Montenegrin ones. The Allies even abandoned the offensive on Sofia, which was located no more than 70 km from the north-eastern sector of this front.
It is also characteristic that, being in the north of Greek territory, the allies even agreed to Greece's non-participation in the war, which Athens officially entered only on July 2, 1917. Although the allies supported the local offensive of Greek troops against Bulgaria in the autumn of 1918, liberating up to a third of the Aegean (coastal) territory, that is, the Greek part of Thrace, occupied by Bulgaria during the Balkan wars of 1912-1913.
It is significant that as a result Bulgaria soon capitulated (September 29, 1918), after which a breakthrough of the Salonika front became possible, in which the main role was again played by Serbian troops and Russian expeditionary brigades, whose command decided not to recognize the infamous Brest Peace.
Today, the behavior of the Entente during the Austro-German and Bulgarian defeat of almost the entire Serbian army in the autumn of 1915 is no longer surprising. On October 6, 1915, the heir to the throne, Prince Regent Alexander Karadjordjevic, and on October 17, Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pasic officially appealed to England and France with a request to urgently send troops to defend the city of Nis (near the border with Bulgaria) and the railway through Nis to Thessaloniki.
But it was only on October 31, 1915 that England and France reached an agreement not on aid to Serbia, but on additional troops and weapons for the Salonika front. Although on October 19, Bulgarian troops had already cut that railway, depriving the Serbian army of the opportunity to join up with the allied units north of Salonika.
Pages from the Ambassador's Diary
These facts alone show that Paris, London and Rome indirectly, if not directly, prepared the military defeat of Serbia and Montenegro in the summer and fall of 1915. In this regard, we will cite the assessment of the situation by Maurice Paléologue, the French ambassador to Russia in 1914-1917, from his diary:
- October 15, 1915. The Bulgarians began to reap the fruits of the colossal mistake we had made by giving them time to concentrate their troops. As a result, they managed to deal a crushing blow to the Serbs.
- October 25, 1915. The destruction of Serbia is accelerating. Every day Pasic makes a desperate appeal to the Allies, but in vain.
- November 12, 1915. Under the double pressure of the Austro-Germans in the north and the Bulgarians in the east, the unfortunate Serbs are crushed, despite their heroic resistance. On November 7, the city of Nis, the ancient Serbian capital, fell into Bulgarian hands. Franco-English advance units yesterday came into contact with the Bulgarians in the Vardar River valley (near the then Bulgarian-Greek border. - Ed.). But the Allied intervention in Macedonia is too late. Soon Serbia will no longer exist.
- December 13, 1915. We have finally lost the territory of Macedonia, and unfortunately the Bulgarian General Staff has every right to issue the following communiqué: "For the Bulgarian army and people, December 12, 1915 will always be a memorable date. The last battles with the French, English and Serbs took place on the banks of Dojran and near Ohrid (transboundary lakes between Greece and Serbia. - Ed.): the enemy was driven back everywhere. Macedonia is now free - there is not a single enemy soldier on its territory.
- October 25, 1915. The destruction of Serbia is accelerating. Every day Pasic makes a desperate appeal to the Allies, but in vain.
- November 12, 1915. Under the double pressure of the Austro-Germans in the north and the Bulgarians in the east, the unfortunate Serbs are crushed, despite their heroic resistance. On November 7, the city of Nis, the ancient Serbian capital, fell into Bulgarian hands. Franco-English advance units yesterday came into contact with the Bulgarians in the Vardar River valley (near the then Bulgarian-Greek border. - Ed.). But the Allied intervention in Macedonia is too late. Soon Serbia will no longer exist.
- December 13, 1915. We have finally lost the territory of Macedonia, and unfortunately the Bulgarian General Staff has every right to issue the following communiqué: "For the Bulgarian army and people, December 12, 1915 will always be a memorable date. The last battles with the French, English and Serbs took place on the banks of Dojran and near Ohrid (transboundary lakes between Greece and Serbia. - Ed.): the enemy was driven back everywhere. Macedonia is now free - there is not a single enemy soldier on its territory.
Repetition of what was not covered
In the context of the factors mentioned, one can quite agree with Hysni Kapo (pictured with Enver Hadxha), Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Albanian Communist Party (1955-1979):
The predominant inactivity of the Salonika Front was connected with the political goals of the Western Entente: to achieve the greatest losses for Serbia-Montenegro during the war and occupation, in order to then dictate the terms of the Balkan reorganization. At the same time, dividing Albania between Austria-Hungary, Italy, Greece and removing pro-German-pro-Austrian figures from the Greek government.
Apparently, such tasks also explain the lack of coordination between the Salonika Front and Romania, which entered the war on the side of the Entente in 1916. Montenegro, but especially Serbia, were doomed back in 1908, when Austria-Hungary, with other powers inactive, occupied Serbia's vast neighbor, Turkish Bosnia and Herzegovina, which supported Montenegro from the west.
Apparently, such tasks also explain the lack of coordination between the Salonika Front and Romania, which entered the war on the side of the Entente in 1916. Montenegro, but especially Serbia, were doomed back in 1908, when Austria-Hungary, with other powers inactive, occupied Serbia's vast neighbor, Turkish Bosnia and Herzegovina, which supported Montenegro from the west.
Almost the same situation as in the First World War was repeated with Greece in November 1940 – March 1941, when Greek troops, repelling the aggression of Italy, which now found itself on the other side of the front, liberated, together with Albanian partisans, a third of the territory of Albania, completely occupied by Italy in April 1939.
The liberation of all of Albania was gaining momentum. But despite requests from Greek Prime Minister General I. Metaxas (pictured above, with the Greek flag in the background) and his successor A. Koryzis (Metaxas died suddenly on January 29, 1941) to London for military assistance, the British troops in the region did not help Greece in any way during that period. And soon Greece, along with Yugoslavia, was occupied by German and Italian troops – with the complicity of Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania...
The text was prepared by Alexey Chichkin and Alexey Podymov
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