Greece's participation in the First World War - The unknown battles
-
0:07 - 0:13GREECE'S PARTICIPATION
IN WORLD WAR ONE -
0:15 - 0:17Thousands of pages have been written
-
0:17 - 0:20about both the the National Schism
and the epic war in Asia Minor -
0:20 - 0:24which ultimately was completed with the
destruction and uprooting of the Greeks in Ionia. -
0:24 - 0:27Since those 2 events have monopolised discussions,
-
0:27 - 0:30the general public doesn't know much
about Greece's participation in WWI. -
0:30 - 0:33For reasons that we don't need to mention now,
-
0:33 - 0:35Greece might have been late in entering
-
0:35 - 0:37the conflict between
the Central Powers and the Entente, -
0:37 - 0:39however during the short period that it participated
-
0:39 - 0:40it achieved an important victory
-
0:40 - 0:42and played an active role in the conclusion of the war
-
0:42 - 0:43on the Macedonian Front.
-
0:44 - 0:49Some might say that Greece was participating
in this conflict indirectly before 1917 -
0:49 - 0:53since on the one hand Eleftherios Venizelos
with the National Defence Coup D'État -
0:53 - 0:54and on the other hand the Anglo-French
-
0:54 - 0:57were trying to force Greece
to join the war in various ways. -
0:58 - 1:01The Bulgarians had invaded Greece,
in Macedonia in 1916 -
1:01 - 1:04and remained there until 1918.
-
1:04 - 1:06During the Bulgarian occupation,
-
1:06 - 1:09they proceeded with thousands
of murders and destruction -
1:09 - 1:12along with looting important archaeological
and religious treasures. -
1:12 - 1:16Despite the Bulgarian occupation in Macedonia
starting in August 1916 -
1:16 - 1:19Greece eventually entered the war in June 1917
-
1:20 - 1:22when the French invaded Piraeus
-
1:22 - 1:23and bombed Athens
-
1:23 - 1:25forcing the government to resign
-
1:25 - 1:28and King Konstantinos then abdicated the throne
and left the country. -
1:28 - 1:32Venizelos then returned to Athens
as the prime minister -
1:32 - 1:35and declared war on the Central Powers on 28 June.
-
1:36 - 1:38During its brief participation in the war,
-
1:38 - 1:40Greece had a minimal participation.
-
1:40 - 1:44The first battle was against the Bulgarians
on the massif of Skra di Legen -
1:44 - 1:46on 30 May 1918.
-
1:46 - 1:50Four months later, in September,
Greek forces also participate -
1:50 - 1:55in the final assault and dissolution of the enemy
on the Macedonian front in the Battle of Doirani. -
1:55 - 1:58Doirani is a lake which today is split between
the borders of Greece and Skopje. -
1:58 - 2:01The Greek Army had a small contribution
to the Entente's victory. -
2:02 - 2:06However, it was enough for Greece
to sit at the table on the winning side -
2:06 - 2:08and assert territorial gains.
-
2:16 - 2:18Now let's go back to the battles though.
-
2:19 - 2:21In May 1916,
-
2:21 - 2:23the Bulgarians took Fort Roupel without a fight,
-
2:23 - 2:25and went all the way to Skra
-
2:25 - 2:28where they occasionally skirmished
with the Anglo-French troops. -
2:28 - 2:31The Entente wanted to stop the Bulgarians
from sending troops westward -
2:31 - 2:33to reinforce the Germans on other fronts.
-
2:34 - 2:35Therefore it kept them confined there,
-
2:35 - 2:38blocking off the pass from the Skra massif.
-
2:38 - 2:41On the other hand,
now that Greece had entered the war, -
2:41 - 2:42it wanted to retake these areas,
-
2:42 - 2:45which the Bulgarians had
previously occupied without a fight. -
2:45 - 2:48French army general Guillaumat
-
2:48 - 2:51decided that the fortified area of Skra
had to be occupied. -
2:51 - 2:55The Greek National Defence army corps
undertook carrying out this mission -
2:55 - 2:58under lieutenant general Emmanouil Zymvrakakis.
-
2:58 - 3:02The task force was under the command
of major general Ioannou. -
3:02 - 3:06Greek forces were made up of 14,500 infantrymen
-
3:06 - 3:10who were supported by 287 heavy and light artillery.
-
3:10 - 3:11The Bulgarians on the other hand
-
3:11 - 3:13had 5 infantry regiments
-
3:13 - 3:16supported by powerful artillery, both heavy and light.
-
3:17 - 3:19The Greek troops in the battle,
are shown on the map: -
3:19 - 3:22the 5th and 6th regiment of the Archipelago division,
-
3:22 - 3:25the 7th and 8th regiment of the Cretan division,
-
3:25 - 3:27and the 1st regiment of the Serres division.
-
3:27 - 3:30The Greeks were also supported by a French division.
-
3:30 - 3:34The offensive began at 5 in the morning on 16 May.
-
3:34 - 3:35By the afternoon of the 17th,
-
3:36 - 3:37the Greeks occupied Skra.
-
3:38 - 3:40The Bulgarians resisted fiercely
-
3:40 - 3:43resulting in casualties being high
for the Greek troops as well. -
3:43 - 3:46The number of dead reached 434
-
3:46 - 3:49while the injured reached 1,925.
-
3:49 - 3:51Not only did the Bulgarians suffer hundreds of dead,
-
3:51 - 3:54but 2,000 of them were also taken captive.
-
3:55 - 3:59"FALLEN IN BATTLE 1916-1918
CYPRIOT VOLUNTEERS
PVT APOSTOLOU K. APOS.
PVT KATSARIS CHR. GRIG.
PVT IKONOMIDIS LEON.
PVT IKONOMIDIS I. CHRYS.
PVT PAPACHRISTODOULOU A. D. " -
4:01 - 4:05That was the first and last epic battle of the Greek Army in WWI.
-
4:05 - 4:08A second battle is fought a few months later,
-
4:08 - 4:10in September 1918.
-
4:11 - 4:15The Battle of Doirani is fought between
18-19 September. -
4:15 - 4:18The British cooperated with the Greek Army
-
4:18 - 4:21and attacked the Bulgarian forces near Lake Doirani.
-
4:21 - 4:26On the one side the Bulgarian forces
amounted up to 45,000 men. -
4:26 - 4:29On the other side was the British 22nd division
-
4:30 - 4:33supported by the Greek Serres and Cretan divisions,
-
4:33 - 4:36amounting to a total of 75,000 soldiers.
-
4:37 - 4:38The battles lasted for 2 days,
-
4:38 - 4:41during which the upper hand was
constantly changing between both sides. -
4:41 - 4:44Eventually the Bulgarians won a tactical victory
-
4:44 - 4:46which is evident from the number of casualties.
-
4:46 - 4:49The British and Greeks had 6,500-7,500 dead
-
4:49 - 4:52while the Bulgarians had only suffered 2,700.
-
4:52 - 4:54Three days before the Battle of Doirani,
-
4:55 - 4:56on 15 September,
-
4:56 - 4:59the Serbs and French had defeated
the Bulgarians and Germans -
4:59 - 5:01at the Battle of Dobro Pole,
-
5:01 - 5:02in modern day Skopje.
-
5:02 - 5:06The allied army kept marching towards Bulgaria.
-
5:06 - 5:08The Bulgarians signed a truce and surrendered
-
5:08 - 5:12in the camp where a riot broke out after this defeat.
-
5:12 - 5:15This caused the Bulgarians in Doirani to withdraw
-
5:15 - 5:19and the Greeks and British occupied the regions of
-
5:19 - 5:24Only the British Royal Air Force attacked
the columns of retreating Bulgarians. -
5:24 - 5:26Resulting in the Bulgarians suffering some casualties.
-
5:26 - 5:30This formally ended the battles on the Macedonian Front.
-
5:30 - 5:34Greece was one of the countries
with the least military losses -
5:34 - 5:36since it entered the war quite late.
-
5:36 - 5:40Casualties amounted to a total of 27,000 men
on the battlefields -
5:40 - 5:41more specifically:
-
5:41 - 5:436,000 dead and missing
-
5:43 - 5:45and 21,000 injured.
-
5:46 - 5:49However difficulties hadn't started
for the Greek Army yet. -
5:49 - 5:51After constant wars:
-
5:51 - 5:532 Balkan Wars and a World War,
-
5:53 - 5:57it was called to carry out another feat,
-
5:57 - 5:59the one on the Asia Minor Front,
-
5:59 - 6:04which was Greece's opportunity to fulfill
the dream of Great Greece. -
6:04 - 6:06A dream that would prove to be a nightmare
-
6:06 - 6:11for the Greek population and for the
other Christian populations in Asia Minor. -
6:15 - 6:20Cognosco Team
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- Title:
- Greece's participation in the First World War - The unknown battles
- Description:
-
Website: https://cognoscoteam.gr
Find us on Facebook: / cognoscoteam
E-mail us: cognoscoteam@yahoo.comMusic Source:
The Final Battle - Epic Orchestral Music:
• The Final Battle - Epic Orchestral Music
Video source:
World War Recreation -WW1 war reanactment Battle of Doiran 1918 възстановка на битката при Дойран /:
• World War Recreation -WW1 war reanact...
Ο ΠΡΩΤΟΣ ΠΑΓΚΟΣΜΙΟΣ ΠΟΛΕΜΟΣ ΕΓΧΡΩΜΑ ΕΠΕΙΣΟΔΙΟ 1 ΚΑΤΑΣΤΡΟΦΗ:
• Βίντεο
- Video Language:
- Greek
- Duration:
- 06:39
Anastasios Anagnostou edited English subtitles for Η συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος στον Α' παγκόσμιο πόλεμο - Οι άγνωστες μάχες | ||
Anastasios Anagnostou edited English subtitles for Η συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος στον Α' παγκόσμιο πόλεμο - Οι άγνωστες μάχες | ||
Anastasios Anagnostou edited English subtitles for Η συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος στον Α' παγκόσμιο πόλεμο - Οι άγνωστες μάχες | ||
Anastasios Anagnostou edited English subtitles for Η συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος στον Α' παγκόσμιο πόλεμο - Οι άγνωστες μάχες | ||
Anastasios Anagnostou edited English subtitles for Η συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος στον Α' παγκόσμιο πόλεμο - Οι άγνωστες μάχες | ||
Anastasios Anagnostou edited English subtitles for Η συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος στον Α' παγκόσμιο πόλεμο - Οι άγνωστες μάχες | ||
Anastasios Anagnostou edited English subtitles for Η συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος στον Α' παγκόσμιο πόλεμο - Οι άγνωστες μάχες | ||
Anastasios Anagnostou edited English subtitles for Η συμμετοχή της Ελλάδος στον Α' παγκόσμιο πόλεμο - Οι άγνωστες μάχες |