Chapter 272 Encirclement and Annihilation
After learning that the way back to Kavala had been cut off by a Greek division, Ivanov, as the commander of the Bulgarian army in the direction of Kavala, was speechless for a long time.
After the failure of the attack, the Bulgarian army led by Ivanov originally planned to retreat to Kavala and follow the example of the Greeks in holding on. This way, even if it failed to win the war, it could retain hundreds of thousands of active forces for the Bulgarian army.
In the same situation as him, the Southwestern Bulgarian Army that set out from Petrich suffered heavy setbacks in the initial attack. After learning that Romania and the Ottoman Empire had joined the group, they knew that there was no hope of victory and began to enter a large-scale attack. Retreat phase.
It's just that the retreat of Petrich's Bulgarian army went relatively smoothly. Although there were also Greek troops holding on to the rear, during the retreat, in order to delay the Greek pursuit, Petrich arranged some troops to be responsible for breaking up the rear and sniping. .
During the retreat, the remaining more than 100,000 soldiers had retreated to the vicinity of Petrich after giving up more than 10,000 soldiers.
In contrast, the Kavala army, which was focused on by the Greek military and political leaders, was not so lucky.
Since Kavala is the central city of Bulgaria in East Macedonia, it is also an important Aegean Sea port. After Bulgaria occupied it, this geographically important Aegean Sea port was very important.
Kavala is now valued by the Greek government for the same reason.
After receiving the order from the General Staff, Manujianaski immediately ordered the staff to prepare a combat plan in order to focus on wiping out part of the Bulgarian army near Kavala.
Under normal circumstances, if the enemy concentrates on escaping and does not engage in direct combat with the pursuers, it will be impossible to annihilate a large number of enemy troops.
Since the march basically relies on animal power and manpower, the speed is limited. In the case of one pursuit and one escape, for the pursued, it is just a rout, and most of the troops will still escape.
It was under this circumstance that the Second Division was given special orders to advance quickly with light equipment, throw away almost all heavy weapons, not to entangle with the enemy, and bypass the Ivanov Army Corps from the side to the city of Kavala. After breaking through the enemy's limited troops responsible for guarding the rear, they waited for reinforcements, cooperated with the main force, and strived to completely annihilate Ivanov's army.
Naturally, the Kavala army led by Ivanov could not escape the Greek pursuit so easily.
The current Ivanov Army is in a dilemma. The retreat road is cut off by the second division of the Macedonian Army, and the main force of the Macedonian Army is chasing behind it.
If the second division, which was stuck like a nail in a vital place, could not be dealt with in time, the Bulgarian army would either be surrounded and annihilated, or they would surrender after running out of ammunition and food.
Ivanov, who had no way out, clearly understood his situation. Facing the sudden appearance of a Greek division from the rear, Ivanov's army must go all out.
For the 2nd Division of the Macedonian Army, this was also a tormenting moment.
"Oh! Damn it, the lieutenant got shot!"
"Lieutenant! Lieutenant! How are you?" The soldier hurriedly fired at the incoming Bulgarian soldiers while asking his commander in a panic.
Erhard was lying on the ground, his dilated pupils staring at the sky motionless. The moment the bullet hit his helmet, the huge noise made his ears buzz, and his mind went blank, and he was in a state of confusion. In a state of confusion, it wasn't until a face full of anxiety covered the sky that he suddenly came back to his senses.
His whole body felt like an electric shock. After twitching violently, he finally came to his senses. He pretended to be holding his hands and struggled to stand up from the ground. He cursed loudly and excitedly: "Shit! Shit! Shit!"
Roar loudly and subconsciously, venting the fear in your heart.
For just a moment, a brush with death was such a huge stimulus that even a low-level officer with rich war experience felt crazy.
"I'm fucking okay! Give me my helmet!"
After taking over his helmet, he could see a shocking silver scratch on the khaki ear on the left side, which was the mark of a bullet.
Erhard couldn't help but yelled again: "Shit!" Then he slammed the helmet that saved his life on his head.
Before Erhard could give the order again, a crisp sound of bone cracking reached his ears, followed by a miserable cry: "My hand! My hand!"
The hand that had just handed him the helmet was already covered in blood. The index finger and thumb that had been cut off by the bullet were hanging by the palm with a trace of skin connected.
"You're going to be fine! You're going to be fine! Climb to the back! After this damn blockade is over, we will heal your hand!" Erhard could only shout words that he didn't even believe.
People keep getting shot, but now no one can pay attention to the fallen comrades beside them. They don't even have time to drag the wounded off the line. There are densely packed Bulgarians in front of them. If they rush up, they will die!
Seeing this, Erhard felt a little lucky. Fortunately, these Bulgarian soldiers were deserters. In order to march faster, heavy weapons such as artillery had long been discarded. Otherwise, the second division would rely on the temporary and simple fortifications to dominate the defense. The superior Ivanov Army did not stand still and wait for reinforcements, but fell into the tiger's mouth.
"We need fire support. If the crazy mortars don't fire support, we are all going to die!" Erhard climbed to the battlefield phone and yelled at the forward observer.
Mortars are light in weight, especially small-caliber mortars, which weigh only a few dozen kilograms. After disassembly, they can be easily hung on horses or mules. This is the only remaining artillery support for the Second Division.
"This is the front-line observation point! Artillery mission! Coordinates 378 to 456, scattered in a bundle! Distance 200! Enemy infantry in attack! High-explosive bombs! Request fire support! Request fire support"
"Repeat! Artillery mission! Coordinates 378 to 456, scattered in a bundle! Distance 200! Enemy infantry in attack! High-explosive bombs! Request fire support! Request fire support"
Frightened by the fierce exchange of fire on the battlefield, the observer was also shouting hysterically at this time.
Just as the Bulgarian soldiers were urged and scolded by the officers and were about to rush to the Greeks, the sound of mortar shells breaking through the air finally came from the air.
The rapid firing of four mortars without counting the consumption of ammunition made the not-so-wide battlefield in front of the Greeks covered with flames and smoke. The sudden fierce bombardment and the death metal storm that burst out after the explosion finally stopped the Bulgarians 80 meters in front of the bushes.
However, the frontal attack was blocked and the Bulgarians were horrified to find that more Bulgarians on the right wing launched an attack!
"Back off! Back off! The Bulgarians want to outflank us!"
The Greek soldiers in the temporary front were a little at a loss for a moment when facing the local soldiers who suddenly appeared on their right wing.
Just when the Greeks were about to retreat in order to adjust the front line, the friction of metal and the roar of the engine appeared on the side and rear of the Greek front. It turned out to be a small number of modified armored vehicles in the Greek army.
"It's our armored vehicle"
More than 30 armored vehicles slowly moved their bulky bodies, and they actually used themselves as cover to provide cover for their own soldiers to make up for the fragile defense capabilities of the temporary defense line.
The Bulgarian soldiers' dense bullets hit the armored vehicles, making a series of metal knocking sounds and sparks.
In order to complete the task of blocking the Bulgarian army, these armored vehicles did not consider their own safety at all.
Inspired by the bravery of the armored soldiers, the Greek soldiers rushed to the armored vehicles quickly, used the body of the vehicle to protect themselves, formed a new line of defense, and blocked the loopholes on the right wing.
The Bulgarian machine gunner immediately turned the muzzle to aim at these newly appeared iron lumps and pulled the trigger fiercely. The dense bullets hit the front armor plate of the armored vehicle, making a ding-dong sound and splashing sparks.
However, this did not prevent the armored vehicles from continuing to play a role. The armored vehicles that were damaged by continuous attacks stopped on the spot and became fixed bunkers, while the armored vehicles that could move continued to move to fill the weak defense line.
As soon as the driver stepped on the brakes, the body of the armored vehicle rushed forward slightly, and then the Maxim machine gun installed on the roof, with the advantage of being high above, made a huge roar, echoing over the green land.
The huge impact force instantly broke the green grass branches and flew everywhere. The bullet trajectories drawn by the tracer bullets suppressed the Bulgarian soldiers on the ground and made them unable to move.
"These armored car soldiers did a great job." The German infantry was full of excitement and joy when watching this scene.
The armored vehicles that suddenly appeared, at the cost of loss, finally temporarily supported the defense line of the Greek soldiers.
The addition of this group of troublemakers changed the situation on the battlefield instantly. Facing the iron monsters like iron turtles, the Bulgarian soldiers without too many heavy weapons felt helpless. With the firepower advantage of the Greek infantry who stabilized the front line, the first wave of Bulgarian soldiers' offensive was finally disintegrated.
"Hit them hard! Don't let them run away easily!" Captain Ehard, whose face was covered with mud, did not look embarrassed at all when the front line almost collapsed just now. He excitedly pulled the trigger at the Bulgarians who began to flee.
"Run! Run! Run quickly!" Some people kept pulling the trigger while shouting for the Russians to run faster.
The Greeks, who had just been pinned to the ground, even got up and half-knelt to fire at the Bulgarians' backs, as if they wanted to completely vent the fear of death that had just enveloped their hearts.
The Bulgarians broke contact, and the gunfire finally stopped. The Greek soldiers did not pursue them. Anyway, their mission was just to stop the Bulgarian soldiers, and time was on their side.
On the battlefield, the Greek soldiers did not dare to relax. Almost all of them took shovels and dug trenches desperately. Without the urging of officers, the soldiers dug deep into the soil consciously.
After more than a month of trench warfare, the soldiers deeply understood that every deeper the trench, their lives would be safer.
Although there was not enough time and manpower for the soldiers to build a complete trench fortification, neither the Greek soldiers nor the fleeing Bulgarians who were to face next would have too much heavy firepower.
This was good news for the Greeks who were waving shovels.
There was no need to lay out multiple trenches or reinforce the breastworks of the trenches, which reduced a lot of work for the Greeks.
However, even if there was not enough time and manpower to build a complete trench fortification, the Greeks still built a complete trench with shoddy work for the sake of their own lives.
The trench, which has begun to take shape, was carefully dug into an irregular curve according to the requirements in the excavation tactical manual. The excavated soil was used to pile up the parapet and back wall at the front and rear of the trench, and gaps were left on the parapet at intervals. The gap serves as a preparatory fire point for the machine gun.
At the rear of the trench, the machine gun firepower point that has been constructed is slightly higher to have a better field of vision and shooting range. Sandbags are used to build parapets on both sides in front of the firepower point. Cut logs are placed on the two parapets as beams, and then Then use the excavated soil to pile up soil slopes at the front and rear of the parapet for reinforcement, and you can get a machine gun firing port with good shooting range and good defense.
Glancing at a water-cooled Maxim standing here, Katpolis thought for a while and then added: "I hope those Bulgarians are more sensible and don't come to cause trouble for us."
Ludvik laughed and joked: "At that time, we will wait until the main force of the legion comes to join us, and we will kill all the main troops on the Aegean coast of Bulgaria and weaken the strength of the Bulgarian Army as much as possible."
As a veteran machine gun shooter, Ludvik was given this brand new gift.
"It's just that the number of bullets is a little less." Vogt shook his head with regret.
In order to pursue mobility with light equipment and simplicity, the Second Division naturally did not have sufficient ammunition to supply Maxim heavy machine guns.
In positional defensive battles, the advantage of the water-cooled heavy machine gun's continuous firepower is self-evident.
Apart from mortars, this is the only thing the Greek soldiers of the Second Division can rely on.
In the next day and a half, the Second Division firmly held its position. The Bulgarian soldiers almost went crazy, charging towards the Second Division's simple defense line, hoping to deal with the Greek soldiers facing them.
The soldiers of the 2nd Division did not sleep a wink for almost two days. They were always vigilant and carefully guarded against Bulgarian sneak attacks in the middle of the night, firmly blocking Ivanov's army.
On the afternoon of July 12, the main force of the Macedonian Army officially completed the encirclement of Ivanov's Army.
After several days of fleeing, the soldiers of Ivanov's legion were exhausted, their retreat was cut off, and their logistical supplies were cut off. In desperation, Ivanov led his troops to surrender dozens of kilometers outside Kavala. One hundred and sixty thousand soldiers were captured.