The Macedonian campaign

by Luigi Villari

I know that some definite proposals were made to the Bulgarians, and in any case it is certain that the idea of a separate peace with her, to be obtained in this way, was in the air. In June, 1918, General Bartlett, the United States Military Attaché at Athens, came to Salonica, and it was believed that his presence there had something to do with the rumours of the possible intervention of the United States in the Balkans. America had never declared war against Turkey or Bulgaria and had no troops in Macedonia, and although Turkey had immediately broken off diplomatic relations with her, diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and America continued through the whole of the war, and an American Chargé d’Affaires continued to reside at Sofia. There was much speculation in the Entente countries as to the reasons for this attitude on the part of the United States, and even in America the public could not understand it. In the spring of 1918 some members of the American House of Representatives and of the Senate had presented a motion to Congress in favour of a declaration of war against those two States, but President Wilson requested the authors of that motion to suspend all discussion on the subject, without giving any reason for his request, and nothing more was said about the matter. The above-mentioned general had come to Salonica to call on General Franchet d’Espérey and the other Allied Commanders, and he visited various sectors of the front, including our own. Although he maintained the utmost reserve regarding the attitude of his country in connexion with Bulgaria, he ended by saying that in America it was believed that the cause of the Allies in the East might be better served by keeping the threat of declaring war against Bulgaria hanging like the sword of Damocles over the head of that State, instead of actually declaring it. In fact, Bulgaria strongly desired to avoid a break with the United States; she now began to realize that the defeat of the Central Empires was possible if not probable, and she hoped to see the United States at the future Peace Conference, if not as a friend, at least as a benevolent neutral who would defend her from the extreme retribution of the Allies, especially of Serbia, Roumania and Greece. In the meanwhile, Mr. Murphy, the American Chargé d’Affaires at Sofia was able to conduct an active, although prudent propaganda, in favour of a separate peace, hinting that the sooner the Bulgarians abandoned the now hopeless cause of the Central Empires, the better would be the conditions which the Entente would offer them.

The shrewdest observers of the Balkan situation did not yet believe in the possibility of a Bulgarian secession, and to many it seemed unjust to sacrifice Serbia or Roumania in favour of Bulgaria. Some concessions might have been offered her at the expense of Turkey, but it should not be forgotten that even with Turkey the possibility of a separate peace was contemplated, and this was not conceivable if the concession of Turkish territories to Bulgaria were to be the object of negotiations. As long as Greece was under Constantine, neutral, and pro-German, the possibility of giving Bulgaria some Greek territory in Eastern Macedonia might be considered—Cavalla, Drama, Serres, etc.—but the Bulgarians already occupied these places, and from the moment that Greek soldiers had begun to co-operate with the Allies, such proposals could not be entertained without the consent of Greece, who would never have given it. General Mombelli was convinced that the talk about separate peace with Bulgaria had no serious foundation and that the Bulgarians would never decide to take the fatal step until they were first convinced of the marked superiority of the Allies; they had not yet that absolute conviction, and it was therefore necessary to persuade them by means of a military defeat. General Franchet d’Espérey was of the same way of thinking, and he told the writer that the Bulgarians would be more likely to abandon their Allies “après la pile que je vais leur flanquer quand mes préparatifs seront terminés.”

The French national fête of the 14th of July was celebrated in Salonica with special solemnity, and King Alexander of Greece was also present. In spite of the weak effectives available and the limited space, the spectacle proved fairly imposing and made a good impression on the public. The feeling of victory was now in the air. Our success on the Piave had raised the moral of all the Allies, and on July 15th the last German offensive was launched, which after three days of small successes, was repulsed by the great counter-offensive of Marshal Foch beginning on the 18th. I remember that when I congratulated a French General on this victory, he replied: “Mais ce sont les Italiens sur le Piave que nous ont donné le premier exemple.”

CHAPTER XIV
ON THE EVE OF THE OFFENSIVE

As soon as General Franchet d’Espérey reached Salonica he undertook to execute the offensive planned by his predecessor. But he encountered very decided opposition on the part of his own Government, as well as on that of the other Allied Governments. The former did not believe in the possibility of a successful offensive on the Macedonian front, and it seems not to have had too much confidence in General Franchet d’Espérey himself. It refused to send him reinforcements, and limited itself to supplying him grudgingly with some artillery and other material, but always in insufficient quantities. Britain and Italy adopted a similar policy. Nevertheless he insisted on the advisability of making the attempt. Two months were needed for the preparations, and in spite of the opposition of the Governments, he at once took them in hand. During the month of July at the Allied Councils many members were doubtful, and believed that better results might be obtained by attempting to secure a separate peace with Bulgaria. The diplomatic and military commission before breaking up ordered General Franchet d’Espérey to go ahead with his preparations, but forbade him to commence the offensive without a definite authorization from the Governments. At the beginning of August nothing had yet been decided, and the British and Italian Governments were still opposed to the idea of an offensive. General Guillaumat in Paris had supported the projected operation in his conversation with members of the French Government and had succeeded in convincing M. Clemenceau. At the beginning of September he went to London and Rome to speak in favour of the plan, but it was not until September 11th that the Commander-in-Chief in Salonica was authorized to attack when he thought it advisable. There was, however, so little confidence in the success of the plan that General Guillaumat, who then had no Command, had instructions to hold himself in readiness to proceed to Macedonia by aeroplane to relieve General Franchet d’Espérey in case of failure.

Let us now see what were the respective conditions of the two opposing armies. The enemy front was divided geographically into four sectors—Albania, Monastir, Vardar-Doiran, and Struma—against any one of which the attack might be launched. The Albanian sector offered some advantages, inasmuch as it was less provided with defensive works. But General Franchet d’Espérey did not wish to begin operations on a large scale in that area because the Italian XVI Corps was not under his orders; moreover, and this was the principal reason, communications were so difficult there as to render the transport of troops in large numbers impossible. An advocate of the action of the French G.H.Q. states that General Ferrero refused to make use of Essad Pasha for the operations in Albania, and almost blames him for it,[39] but General Franchet d’Espérey had no more confidence in the assistance which that shady adventurer might afford to the cause of the Allies than had General Ferrero, and they were both right.[40]

AREA OF THE FRANCO-SERB GROUP.

To face p. 213.

In the Monastir sector it was possible to attack in the direction of Pribilci-Kichevo-Gostivar-Kalkandelen (Tetovo), or towards Prilep-Babuna-Veles, or Prilep-Gradsko-Negotin. But here the enemy defences were in the highest possible state of efficiency, and as this was one of the sectors in which an attack was always expected, the Bulgaro-Germans held themselves constantly in readiness for it. The same objections applied to the Vardar-Doiran area, which has always been one of the traditional routes for Macedonian invasions, and was the only one provided with a railway throughout its whole length.