Siege of Odrin (1912–13)

The Battle of Odrin or Siege of Odrin (Обсада на Одрин, Опсада Једрена, Edirne Kuşatması) was fought during the First Balkan War, beginning in mid-November 1912 and ending on 26 March 1913 with the capture of Edirne (Adrianople) by the Bulgarian 2nd Army and the Serbian 2nd Army. The loss of Edirne delivered the final decisive blow on the Ottoman army and brought to a close the First Balkan War. A treaty was signed in London on 30 May. The city was re-occupied and kept by Turkey in the Second Balkan War.

The victorious end of the siege was considered an enormous military success because the defenses of city were carefully developed by leading German siege experts and were dubbed 'undefeatable'. The Bulgarian army, after 5 months of siege and two bold night attacks, took the Ottoman stronghold.

The victors were under the overall command of General Nikola Ivanov, and the commander of the Bulgarian forces on the Eastern sector of the fortress was General Georgi Vazov, brother of the famous Bulgarian writer Ivan Vazov and General Vladimir Vazov.

One early use of an airplane for bombing took place during the siege: the Bulgarians dropped special hand grenades from one or more airplanes in an effort to cause panic among Turkish soldiers. Many young Bulgarian officers and professionals who took part in this decisive battle of the First Balkan War, later played important roles in the politics, culture, commerce and industry of Bulgaria.



Final battle
The final battle consisted of two night attacks. Preparations for the battle included covering all metal parts of the uniforms and weapons with tissue, in order to eliminate any shine or noise. The several armies that took part in the siege were put under joint command, creating a prototype of a front. Some light artillery pieces towed by horses followed the advancing units, playing the role of infantry support guns. Attempts were made to perturb all Ottomans' radio communications to isolate and demoralize the besieged. Beginning on 24 March 1913 the external fortifications were captured in one night, and in the next night the fortress itself fell into Bulgarian hands. Early in the morning of 26 March 1913 the commander of the fortress, Mehmed Şükrü Pasha, surrendered to the Bulgarian army and thus ended the siege of Odrin.

After the surrender, large parts of the city, especially the houses of Muslims and Jews, were subjected to looting for three days. However, it is disputed who actually carried out the looting; some accounts accuse the Bulgarian army and other sources accuse the local Greek population.

The Bulgarian achievements up to this point were fairly summarized by a British war correspondent: "A nation with a population of less than five million and a military budget of less than two million pounds per annum placed in the field within fourteen days of mobilization an army of 400,000 men, and in the course of four weeks moved that army over 160 miles in hostile territory, captured one fortress and invested another, fought and won two great battles against the available armed strength of a nation of twenty million inhabitants, and stopped only at the gates of the hostile capital. With the exception of the Japanese and Gurkhas, the Bulgarians alone of all troops go into battle with the fixed intention of killing at least one enemy." There were a large number of journalists who reported on the Siege of Adrianople, whose accounts provide rich details about this event.

Serbian units involved were the 2nd army under command of general (later vojvoda, equivalent to Field Marshal) Stepa Stepanović (two divisions and some support units) and heavy artillery (38 siege cannons and howitzers of 120 and 150 mm purchased from French Schneider-Canet factory in 1908) dispatched because the Bulgarians lacked heavy artillery (though they were well supplied with Krupp-designed 75 mm field artillery).

Coming of the Serb forces
Serbian forces under the command of General Stepa Stepanović arrived on 6 November 1912. In the place Mustafa Pasha (railway station outside of Odrin), General Stepanović immediately reported to the supreme commander General Nikola Ivanov. The Serbian Second army was formed from the Timok Division without the 14th Regiment, the Second Danube Division reinforced with the 4th reserve regiment and the Second Drina artillery division. There was a total of 47,275 Serbian troops with 72 artillery guns, 4,142 horses and oxen and 3,046 cars.

The arrival of the Serbian soldiers greatly improved the morale of the Bulgarian troops at Odrin. Both Serbian divisions were immediately sent to the front. The Timok Division strengthened by a Bulgarian regiment occupied the north-western sector between the rivers of Maritsa and Tundzha. Its sector was 15 km long. The Danube Division occupied a 5 km long stretch of the western sector between the Maritsa and Arda rivers. A combined brigade was formed from the Timok Cavalry Regiment and the Bulgarian guard Cavalry Regiment to scout the Maritsa valley.