The Morava Offensive Operation ( bg, Моравска настъпателна операция), ( sr, Битка на Морави) was undertaken by the Bulgarian First Army between 14 October 1915 and 9 November 1915 as part of the strategic offensive operation of Army Group Mackensen against

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

in 1915. Under the command of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Kliment Boyadzhiev Kliment Boyadzhiev ( bg, Климент Бояджиев; 15 April 1861 – 15 July 1933) was a Bulgarian general during the Balkan Wars and First World War. Biography Born in Ohrid, he studied in an elementary school there. After the liberatio ...

the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...

seized the fortified areas of Pirot,

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

and the valley of the river Morava. As a result, the Serbian forces were compelled to retreat towards Kosovo and Metohija. In the beginning due to the harsh weather, strong resistance of the defenders and the tough terrain the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n advance was slow but because defenders were greatly outnumbered, there was a Bulgarian breakthrough near Pirot in 10 days and the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

retreated to the

Timok The Timok (Serbian and Bulgarian: Тимок; ro, Timoc), sometimes also known as Great Timok ( sr, Велики Тимок, Veliki Timok; ro, Timocul Mare), is a river in eastern Serbia, a right tributary of the Danube. For the last 15 k ...

. The battle continued for 27 days and the Bulgarians penetrated up to 90 km deep into the Serbia's territory. The

lost 6,000 men; 60 guns and a large amount of military equipment.

Footnotes

Sources

* *Атанас Пейчев и колектив, 1300 години на стража, Военно издателство, София 1984. Morava Morava Morava Conflicts in 1915 1915 in Bulgaria 1915 in Serbia October 1915 events November 1915 events {{World-War-I-stub