The Second Battle of Çatalca fought between 3 February 1913 and 3 April 1913 was a major "continuous skirmish" of the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

Background

The

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n advance at the beginning of the

stalled at the Ottoman fortifications at

Çatalca Çatalca () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 1142 km2, making it the largest district in Istanbul Province by area. Its population is 77,468 (2022). It is in Eas ...

in November 1912 at the First Battle of Çatalca. A two-month ceasefire (armistice) was agreed to on 3 December .S. 20 November1912 to allow for peace talks to proceed in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The talks there stalled when on 23 January .S. 10 January1913 an Ottoman

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

returned Unionists to power, with their non-negotiable stance on retaking

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

. Hostilities resumed upon expiration of the armistice, on 3 February .S. 21 January1913, and the Second Battle of Çatalca began.

Battle

The battle consisted of a series of thrusts and counter-thrusts by both the Ottomans and the

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

. On 20 February the Ottomans, in coordination with a separate attack from Gallipoli, charged the Bulgarian positions. Although the Bulgarians repulsed the initial attack with support from the Greek Navy in the Thracian Sea, they were weakened enough that they withdrew over fifteen kilometers to the south and twenty kilometers to the west to secondary defensive positions; but eventually the lines returned to essentially the originals. The Bulgarians then moved a section of their army south threatening Çanakkale. The separate siege of Edirne resulted in its loss to the

on 26 March, sapping Ottoman morale; and with heavy Bulgarian losses to both fighting and

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

, the battle dwindled down and ceased by 3 April 1913. On 16 April a second ceasefire (armistice) was agreed to, ending the last fighting in the war.

Results

The Ottomans held the "Çatalca Line", but failed to advance. The loss of

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

ended the major Ottoman objection to peace and the Treaty of London on 10 June 1913 codified the Ottoman loss of territory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catalca, Second Battle of Battles of the First Balkan War Conflicts in 1912 1912 in the Ottoman Empire Battles involving the Ottoman Empire Battles involving Bulgaria History of Istanbul Province February 1913 in Europe March 1913 in Europe April 1913 in Europe Battle of Çatalca, Second