THE ^AN COCKPIT 100 "CO i<0 rO <D =C0 FURD PRICE w I'l THE BALKAN COCKPIT REGENT BOOKS Demy 8vo. Cloth. Fully Illustrated. Through Unknown Nigeria. John R. Raphael. 15 s. net. A Woman In China. Mary Gaunt. 1 5s. net. The Old East Indiamen. E, Keble Chat- TKRTON. I 2s. 6s. net. Life in an Indian Outpost. Major Casserly. 12s. 6d. net. The Two Americans. General Rafael Reyes. 12s. 6d. net. The Balkan Cockpit. W. H. Crawfurd Price. 1 2s. 6d. net. T. WERNER LAURIE Ltd. 8 Essex Street, Strand, London i f * CONSTANTINE XII, KING OF THE HELLENES. Pg)aGi b THE BALKAN COCKPIT THE POLITICAL AND MILITARY STORY OF THE BALKAN WARS IN MACEDONIA BY W. H. CRAWFURD PRICE WITH AUTOGRAPHED PHOTOGRAPHS AND MANY ILLUSTRATIONS BY H.R.H. PRINCE NICHOLAS OF GREECE AND THE AUTHOR, AND SPECIALLY DRAWN MAPS OF THE MILITARY OPERATIONS. LONDON T. WERNER LAURIE LTD. 8 ESSEX STREET, STRAND PREFACE Several circumstances have combined to retard the publication of these reminiscences of the epoch- making events which have opened a new chapter in Balkan history. Delay in such cases has its advantages. If some vivid impressions are lost, we are, on the other hand, able to correct too hastily drawn conclusions and to appreciate moves on the diplomatic chess-board which were, at the time, incomprehensible. Many excellent and instructive books have been written on the Thracian campaign. Others have arrived to describe the experiences of war corres- pondents with one or other of the rival armies. 1 propose, however, to work along somewhat different lines. Stationed in the capital city of Macedonia, I was able to watch the rise and fall of Young Turkey, the temporary burial of the blood-stained Christian hatchets, the collapse of Ottoman civil and military power, the triumphal progress of the Greek, Servian and Bulgarian armies in Macedonia, the breakdown of the Balkan Alliance and the subse- quent war between the quondam allies. All these passing events I have sought to weave into a story. I have, as far as possible, avoided dry V vi PREFACE military and historical detail, and though the soldier will find much that is instructive, and the historian much that is valuable in the succeeding pages, my object has primarily been to interest the "man in the street," and to bring him into closer touch with the fascinating tale of Macedonian strife. If, with the facts before me, I have had occasion to somewhat severely criticise the Bulgarians, I beg them remember that they have so long feasted upon praise and flattery, that they must not complain if I have found it necessary to suggest that their actions have not always been in keeping with what one had been led to expect from Christian conquerors. To render justice is often to condemn, and if, as I believe, my statements cannot be disproved, then I submit that my criticism has been both fair and merited. The Turks, too, must realise that the motive of this book has necessitated my pointing out their failures and not their virtues. The Constitutionalists did many good things, but these were not instru- " mental in bringing about the Balkan War, The evil that do lives after them the is oft men ; good interred with their bones." Many of us have reason to regret the departure of old and dear Turkish friends, and our regret will—if I mistake not—be shared by many among the Christian populations of Thrace and Macedonia who will henceforth live under alien rule. Greeks and Servians will find little that is un- pleasant in my criticisms. That result is again due PREFACE vii to themselves rather than to any desire on my part to mete out more sympathetic treatment. Neither were faultless. Both had to deal with an enormous and unexpected extension of territory, and "war is hell." But, on the whole, they carried through their difficult task with highly commendable ability and humanity, and their conduct inevitably stands out in sharp contrast to that of their neighbours. My acknowledgments are due to my journal for the use of extracts from my dispatches. C. P. [Note. —The aii-thor had no opportunity of correcting the proofs of this book, as he was at the war while it was being printed.] CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. THE CONSTITUTIONAL REGIME IN TURKEY . I II. THE NURSERY OF DISCONTENT ... 7 HI. THE BEGINNING OF THE END .... 30 IV. "vers la GUERRE" 29 * V. THE GREAT BALKAN WAR ... 43 VI. THE BATTLE OF SARANDAPORON ... 58 VII. THE BATTLE OF KOUMANOVO .... 67 VIII. THE WORK OF THE GREEK NAVY ... 79 IX. THE BATTLE OF YENIDJE'VARDAR ... 86 X. THE TURKISH DEBACLE 96 XI. SALONIKA BEFORE THE OCCUPATION . 104 XII. TOWARDS SURRENDER II3 XIII. THE CAPITULATION OF SALONIKA . II7 XIV. SALONIKA AFTER THE CAPITULATION . 139 XV. FROM USKUB TO MONASTIR . -149 XVI. DEFEAT AND VICTORY 163 XVII. THE BULGARIAN MARCH TO SALONIKA . 168 XVIII. THE GRECO-BULGARIAN WRANGLE . -185 XIX. THE GRECO-BULGARIAN WRANGLE—continued 199 XX. THE LAST DAYS OF KING GEORGE OF GREECE 220 XXI. THE SERBO-GRECIAN ALLIANCE . .231 XXII. THE WAR OF THE ALLIES . -243 ix X CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE XXIII. THE STAB IN THE BACK 263 XXIV. THE OPENING MOVES • XXV. THE BATTLE OF KILKICH 284 XXVI. THE CAPTURE OF DOIRAN . XXVII. STRUMNITZA AND DEMIR HISSAR 316 XXVIII. MOUNTAIN WARFARE 328 XXIX. BULGARIAN ATROCITIES 345 APPENDIX .... 361 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Constantine XII., King of the Hellenes Frontispiece A Retrospect, King- Peter at Salonika during the Turkish Regime ...... An Escort of Turkish Gendarmery in Macedonia Greek Tobacco Growers in Macedonia Macedonian Vallach Peasants A Bulgar-Macedonian School at Pozar Albanian Volunteers The Theatre of Operations in Macedonia {map) The Greek Army—An Outpost Action The Greek Army— In the Trenches After Koumanovo—Author snapped unawares while photographing Refugees at Salonika Turkish Cruiser Messudiyeh at Salonika Turkish Cruiser Geoi'gtos Averoff aX Salonika Yenidje-Vardar {map) The Greek Army—Artillery in Action The Greek Army—On the Shores of Lake Yenidje The Greek Advance on Salonika {map) Pashitch The Greek Army—Scouting The Greek Army—At Rest Venezelos H.R.H. Prince Nicholas of Greece The Spot where King George fell King George's last Birthday H.R.H. Prince Alexander of Servia The Heliograph at work Bulgarian Shell embedded in a Tree The Serbo-Bulgar Campaign {map) xi xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Prince Alexander of Greece and Prince Aage of Denmark dig a Drain from their Tent at Livournovo Facingpage 260 Bridge over the Struma River at Derbend ... „ 260 Houses in Salonil<a „ 276 The Battle of Kilkich {map) ,,282 George, Duke of Sparta „ 286 Stores abandoned by Bulgarians „ 304 Bulgarian prisoners of war „ 304 Advance of Greek Left after Doiran .... „ 314 King Constantine at Hadji Bejlik .... „ 320 The Greek Prince in the Field „ 322 In the Kresna Pass—Greek Sappers make a Road for the Passage of Artillery „ 330 In the Kresna Pass—A Pontoon Bridge built by Greek Engineers „ 330 At Salonika—The Turkish Mayor congratulates King Constantine on the Greek Victories ... „ 34^ — At Livournovo King Constantine in meditation . „ 340 — The Town of Serres Destroyed by the Bulgarians . „ 348 THE BALKAN COCKPIT CHAPTER I THE CONSTITUTIONAL REGIME IN TURKEY " " Though the Star and Crescent had floated for centuries over the Government offices, though fez- crowned governors meted out Oriental justice in the Turkish tongue, and though, in town and country, the evidences of power denoted the supreme place held by the Moslems, it must not be supposed that the subject races of Macedonia ever considered these other than the signs of a temporary occupa- tion, or that they failed to ceaselessly work, pray, and agitate for the day when, to their certain belief, the Turk should be sent back to Asia. Nor is it possible to dissociate these ideas of territorial expan- sion from the critical situation which continued to exist in the Orient until the Balkan War sealed the fate of Mohammedan power in Europe. The Christian races hated the Turk, who, knowing this, not only strove to safeguard his position, but further sought to impress upon his neighbours a due appreciation of his predominant force. The attitude of Bulgaria and Greece to Turkey was irrevocably bound up 1 A 2 THE BALKAN COCKPIT with the relations of their co-rehgionists to their governors within the Ottoman Empire itself. When, in November, 1908, the first delegates to the new Ottoman Parliament arrived at Constanti- riot. I heard Moslem nople, Constitutionalism ran events that had deputies speak of the glorious ushered in an era of equality for all the myriad races of the Empire. I saw turbaned Turkish Hodjas, smock-frocked Greek and Bulgarian priests, and gabadined Jewish Rabbis unitedly heading trium- air was rent with phal processions, the while the " shouts of Brotherhood." that Two years later one could have safely said whatever conscientious endeavour the Turks may have put forth to act up to their fraternal promises, their efforts had been singularly unsuccessful. It may be held that their actions were misinterpreted ; the it may be advanced that, do what they might, Mohammedans could never have convinced their fellow-citizens of the honesty of their intentions; but the fact remains that ere twenty-four fleeting months had passed, inter-religious strife was more acute, and the mutual mistrust of Moslem and Christian was, if anything, greater than before the Constitution. There was evident an entire lack of confidence which even the Turks no longer attempted to conceal. During the summer of 19 10, in explain- the ing the Government's point of view to me, unseen head of the Young Turkish Party informed me that they wanted the Christians to look upon " them as a Paternal Government." The vital importance of the admission doubtless escaped him, difference but I was forcibly impressed by the A RETROSPECT.