Conditions & fighting on the Doiran Front

[Will O'Brien]

I am researching a chap who was killed on the Doiran front on 25th September 1918. As an aside I am trying to build up a picture of what serving on this front was like with particular reference to the conditions & the style/type of fighting which occurred. Any comments or info would be greatly appreciated.

[armourersergeant]

Salonika was truely the front of 99% inactivity and one percent hell. Many men suffered not from the enemy shell and rifle but from the conditions they had to survive in. From hot to dam cold.

If you visit the web page of the Salonika campaign society you will see some info about it but also the links page gives some good references. Also there is a list of books to get. The only one i have read is 'Gardeners of Salonika' . This painted a truely different picture from that I had imagined before i read it. Also fellow pal Allan Wakefield is releasing a book in september about this theatre of operations, which will be a good read, or he'll never live it down

If you need any specifics i will try to search my records but its getting alittle late now and the beer is just starting to kick in. Also i have read a few articles on the web and one real good one that may be of interest to you , I will look out the links.

If i forget , that is to say i have not posted in the next day or too let me know by PM and i will do it, head like a sieve normally, with beer, much much worse.

regards

Arm.

ps

there are others who will post i am sure with a more complete knowledge than me so....

[awakefield]

Will

From the date of death it looks as if the chap was killed during the pursuit of the Bulgarian Army which began on 21 September 1918 - the 7th Ox & Bucks played no real part in the 2nd Battle of Doiran 18-19 September 1918, as they were with 26th Div, holding part of the line west of Pip Ridge. The action in which your chap could have received wounds and then died was on 24 September when 7th Ox & Bucks were acting as advanced guard for 78th Bde. Close to the village of Izlis (on the Serbian-Bulgarian border) they came under fire from a Bulgarian rearguard of 200 men and 16 machine guns. Attenpts to charge these guns failed and the Ox & Bucks were pinned down until the arrival of British artillery and Greek infantry, the latter outflanked the Bulgarians causing them to withdraw.

Earlier in the Campaign the 7th Ox & Bucks were notable for being the first British unit to be used offensively in Macedonia when they took Horseshoe Hill in August 1916. Subsequently they were to suffer heavy casualties during the 1st Battle of Doiran when they attempted to capture Petit Couronne (8-9 May 1917) - a hill that was the key position in the Bulgarian front line.

As Arm pointed out my book on the British Salonika Force will hit the shops in a couple of months. The 7th Ox & Bucks feature quite strongly due to the existance of a number of published and unpublished firsthand accounts. The idea behind the book is to cover all the major actions and aspects of life - both in the trenches and behind the lines - from the viewpoint of those who served. Hopefully the use of many previously unpublished accounts and photographs will be well received - as I hope will be the narrative written by myself and co-author Simon Moody.

ALAN

[Dimitri]

Hi Will-

As Arm has already mentioned, the Salonika Campaign Society's website has a list of books concerning the campaing. A cope of Price's "The Story of the Salonica Army" can be found here:

http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/memoir/Salonica/salonTC.htm

I have read quite a few and all of them, to an extent, describe the conditions under which fighting took place on the Doiran front. During the entire Salonika campaign, the Doiran sector saw much activity in terms of minor operations. Patrols were carried out throughout the campaign, but the most notable actions are the First battle of Doiran (24 April, 8 May 1917) and the Second battle of Doiran (18 September 1918).

The extreme weather conditions were a constant problem. The excrutiating heat of summer would be followed by rains in spring. The rain would convert roads into mud baths, making supplies extremely difficult to move. There were very few roads and the rail network consisted of only two major lines (one leading from Salonika to Monastir and the other from Salonika to the Struma). Winter brought snow and bringing supplies up to the front was always a menace.

Mosquitoes carying malaria were a major problem, even though the Struma sector was worse and caused many casualties during the first months the Salonika army was stationed there. For this reason a lot of hard labour was done to restrict the mosquitoes' effectiveness by destroying its breeding grounds. At the same time digging started on the defences of Salonika itself (the "bird cage"). In addition to all this, the army had to build roads and communications.

Even though hard labour and weather were everyday living conditions, the boredom the soldiers had to face was the major factor of their state of morale. A lot of effort was put into orchistrating shows, activities and such like to keep the rank and file occupied, since leave for Salonika itself was rare, while leave to go back to Britain was almost unheard of.

The battle front itself was quite deadly. Open a map and look at the positions of the British troops facing the Bulgarians on the Doiran front and you will notice that inevitably, attacking troops had to face a mamouth task. The Bulgarians, dominated the high ground, had a sophisticated trenching system and were tough fighters.

The terrain in this part of Greece is dominated by hills, valleys and mountains made out of hard rock. Many casualties were cause by the regular artillery exchanges by fragmented rocks which were as deadly as the shells themselves.

I hope that this small description proves interesting. Many people forget the role the Salonika Army played in the war. Let us not forget that the first enemy country to capitulate was the Bulgarians. This opened up the western side of the Central powers to attack and following the successes on the Western Front brought about the end to the war. All the best

Dimitri

[Will O'Brien]

Arm/Alan/Dimitri

Many thanks for all the info provided & the link to the Salonika Campagin Society. A very interesting site indeed ................Alan your book sounds like it's going to be excellent. There are a number of local men who I'm researching who served with the 7th Ox & Bucks so it will be nice to read a book where they feature heavily...............What's the title so I can look out for it post September.

[awakefield]

Will

The title of the book : Under the Devil's Eye - Britain's Forgotten Army at Salonika 1915-1918. To be published by Suttons at the end of September. The Devil's Eye of the title is the nickname given by British troops to the Bulgarian OP on top of the Grand Couronne at Doiran.

You may also notice from the SCS website that I happen to be the current chairman of that organisation. We are always on the lookout for new members!

ALAN

[paul guthrie]

There was going to be a trip there in July run or sanctioned by SCS and hosted by a Huw Rudge, a UK friend & I signed up but it fell through, as always Alan let me know if one comes up again, thanks.

I kept your fine article in Battlefields Review, late & lamented, will sure get the book.

[Will O'Brien]

Will

The title of the book : Under the Devil's Eye - Britain's Forgotten Army at Salonika 1915-1918. To be published by Suttons at the end of September. The Devil's Eye of the title is the nickname given by British troops to the Bulgarian OP on top of the Grand Couronne at Doiran.

You may also notice from the SCS website that I happen to be the current chairman of that organisation. We are always on the lookout for new members!

ALAN

Alan..........I shall keep my eye out for this......It's my birthday soon after its published so I might even con Mrs O'B into buying it for me

[domsim]

Dear Will

Martin Marix Evans' book " Forgotten Battlefronts of the First World War" published in 2003 by Sutton has a good section on the Doiran front. It contains lots of original maps in colour, WW1 photographs and contemporary photographs of the sites today, many taken by Alan and his colleagues.

This is also generally a good book to own as it is very well produced (should be in the reviews sectrion this!)

[Will O'Brien]

Dear Will

Martin Marix Evans' book " Forgotten Battlefronts of the First World War" published in 2003 by Sutton has a good section on the Doiran front. It contains lots of original maps in colour, WW1 photographs and contemporary photographs of the sites today, many taken by Alan and his colleagues.

This is also generally a good book to own as it is very well produced (should be in the reviews sectrion this!)

Domsim

Thanks for the heads up on this book also

[MartinWills]

I am researching a chap who was killed on the Doiran front on 25th September 1918. As an aside I am trying to build up a picture of what serving on this front was like with particular reference to the conditions & the style/type of fighting which occurred. Any comments or info would be greatly appreciated.

William Simms, by any chance?

[Will O'Brien]

William Simms, by any chance?

Martin

No it was a chap called Bertram Compton who was a Lance Corporal with the 7th OBLI