Battle of Kosturino (and specifically 6/Leinster involvement)

[nr369]

Hello all,

Would anyone be able to help me out with learning more about the Battle of Kosturino. I had a relative who fought there in 6th Leinster Regiment and I can't find a decent account of the battle. If anyone knows what the Leinsters specifically went through in the battle, all the better, but an overall account would also be much appreciated.

Thanks

[MartinWills]

You may want to take a look at two sources.

Firstly there is the Official History - You will need Military Operations - Mesopotamia (Volume 1) - probably best to make a request via the inter library loan system.

Secondly there is "Under The Devil's Eye" by Wakefield and Moody - which recently went out of print - again any good library should be able to obtain a copy.

Hope this gives you a good start.

The area is pretty steep and rugged but realtively unchanged - even the villages probably haven't changed greatly. If you know where to look you can still find shallow sangers in the area constructed by the French. The British were in the area for no more than around 6 weeks during which the weather turned very cold - particularly for troops who still had what might be thought of as "summer" kit.

I might add that the Leinsters were not to the fore in the action of Kosturino Ridge, but did form a key part of the line established after the action from the shore of Lake Doiran towards (If I remember correctly) Causli or thereabouts as the retreat was made through the Dedeli pass before the British forces retreated into the Birdcage area.

[Guest]

You may want to take a look at two sources.

Firstly there is the Official History - You will need Military Operations - Mesopotamia (Volume 1) - probably best to make a request via the inter library loan system.

Secondly there is "Under The Devil's Eye" by Wakefield and Moody - which recently went out of print - again any good library should be able to obtain a copy.

Hope this gives you a good start.

The area is pretty steep and rugged but realtively unchanged - even the villages probably haven't changed greatly. If you know where to look you can still find shallow sangers in the area constructed by the French. The British were in the area for no more than around 6 weeks during which the weather turned very cold - particularly for troops who still had what might be thought of as "summer" kit.

I might add that the Leinsters were not to the fore in the action of Kosturino Ridge, but did form a key part of the line established after the action from the shore of Lake Doiran towards (If I remember correctly) Causli or thereabouts as the retreat was made through the Dedeli pass before the British forces retreated into the Birdcage area.

Martin, i noticed this post and thought i would pick your brains - im writing a dissertation on the British Salonika Force and wondered if there are any sources/research guides/museums or anything of interest you could suggest to me. i already have Under The Devils Eye, The Gardeners of Salonika and various other. Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Thanks

[MartinWills]

There is a good bibliography on the Salonika Campaign Society website - beyond that you are into resources such as the IWM; National Army museum, National Archive and possibly the Liddle collection at Leeds, not to mention relevant unit and divisional histories.

Can I ask what drew you to the BSF?

Martin