Battle of Kaymakchalan

Battle of Kajmakcalan
Part of the Macedonian Front of the Balkans Theatre (World War I)

A commemoration Serbian chapel at Kajmakčalan
DateSeptember 12 to September 30, 1916
LocationKajmakčalan
Result Tactical Serbian victory[1]
Belligerents
 Serbia  Bulgaria
Commanders and leaders
Živojin Mišić Kliment Boyadzhiev
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
4,643 killed[2][3][4] Unknown

The Battle of Kaymakchalan was a battle that was fought between Serbian and Bulgarian soldiers on the Macedonian Front during World War I.

The battle was fought between 12 and 30 September 1916, when the Serbian army managed to capture the peak of Prophet Ilia while pushing the Bulgarians towards the town of Mariovo, where the latter formed new defensive lines. Between 26 and 30 September, the peak changed hands several times until it was decisively captured by the Serbian army on the latter date.

The battle proved to be very costly for both sides. Serbian losses had reached around 10,000 killed and wounded by 23 September.[5] The Bulgarian companies had been reduced to 90 men each and one regiment had 73 officers and 3,000 men hors de combat.[6]

By strategic aspect, the battle was not a huge success for the Allies due to the upcoming winter that rendered further military engagements almost impossible.

Today, there is a small church on the peak of Prophet Ilia where the skulls of dead Serbian soldiers are stored, and it is regarded as a cultural site and is a tourist attraction.

Notes

  1. ↑ Allcock, John B., and Antonia Young, Black Lambs and Grey Falcons, (Berghahn Books, 2000), 82.
  2. ↑ Dusan-T Batakovic, Ljubomir Mihailović, Histoire du peuple serbe, 2005 - p. 259
  3. ↑ Andrej Mitrović, Serbia's great war, 1914-1918, 2007 - p. 165
  4. ↑ Richard C. Hall, Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole 1918, 2010 - p. 75
  5. ↑ Gordon-Smith pp.280
  6. ↑ Gordon-Smith pp.279

References

Coordinates: 40°56′32″N 21°48′17″E / 40.94222°N 21.80472°E

External links