Macedonian front
The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and with insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia and was complicated by the internal political crisis in Greece (the National Schism). Eventually, a stable front was established, running from the Albanian Adriatic coast to the Struma River, pitting a multinational Allied force against the Bulgarian army, which was at various times bolstered with smaller units from the other Central Powers. The Macedonian front remained stable, despite local actions, until the Allied offensive in September 1918 resulted in Bulgaria capitulating and the liberation of Serbia.
1917[edit]
By spring 1917, General Sarrail's Allied Army of the Orient had been reinforced to 24 divisions, six French, six Serbian, seven British, one Italian, three Greek and two Russian brigades. An offensive was planned for late April, but the initial attack failed with significant losses, and the offensive was called off on 21 May.[31] To put more pressure on Athens, the Venizelists and the Entente occupied Thessaly and Isthmus of Corinth, dividing the country. After an attempt to occupy Athens by force, which caused the reaction of the local royalist forces and ended in a fiasco in December (see Noemvriana), the Allies established a naval blockade around southern Greece which was still loyal to King Constantine, causing extreme hardship to the people in those areas. Six months later, in June, the Venizelists presented a list of conditions, resulting in the exile of the Greek king (on 14 June, his son Alexander became king) and the reunification of the country under Venizelos. The new government immediately declared war on the Central Powers and created a new army.[32]
Armies in Thessaloniki, First World War
Macedonian front, front line
Military camp near Thessaloniki, First World War
Trenches, Macedonian front, World War I
British soldiers in a trench
Frenchman instructing Serbian in the use of a trench mortar, 1916–1917
The Monument of the Alliance for the Split of the Macedonian Front, during the 94th anniversary, in Latomeio, Kilkis (constructed in an area donation of Christos Karathodoros)
