Morava Offensive

The Morava Offensive Operation in Serbian (Bulgarian: Моравска настъпателна операция), (Serbian: 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 in 1915. Under the command of Lieutenant General Kliment Boyadzhiev the Bulgarians seized the fortified areas of Pirot, Niš and the valley of the river Morava. As a result, the Serbian forces were compelled to retreat towards Kosovo and Metohija.

Morava Offensive
Part of the Serbian Campaign (World War I)
Date 14 October 1915 – 9 November 1915 Location front from Leskovac to Negotin, Serbia Result Bulgarian victory
Belligerents
Bulgaria	Serbia
Commanders and leaders
Kliment Boyadzhiev	Stepa Stepanovic
Strength
First Army: 195,620 men; 116,569 rifleman,108 machine guns, 422 cannons [1]	Second Army – 5 infantry divisions: c.90,000 rifleman, 94 machine guns, 248 cannons [2]
Casualties and losses
1,906 killed, 10,637 wounded, 925 missing[3]	6,000 casualties

In the beginning due to the harsh weather, strong resistance of the defenders and the tough terrain the Bulgarian advance was slow but because defenders were greatly outnumbered, there was a Bulgarian breakthrough near Pirot in 10 days and the Serbs retreated to the Timok.

The battle continued for 27 days and the Bulgarians penetrated up to 90 km deep into the Serbia's territory. The Serbs lost 6,000 men; 60 guns and a large amount of military equipment.

Footnotes

1. Българската армия в Световната война, vol. II , pag. 892–905; Държавна печатница,София 1938
2. Българската армия в Световната война, vol. II , pag. 918–921; Държавна печатница,София 1938
3. Българската армия в Световната война, vol. IV , pag. 1028; Държавна печатница,София 1940

Sources

• DiNardo, Richard L. (2015). Invasion: The Conquest of Serbia, 1915. Santa Barbara: Praeger.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Атанас Пейчев и колектив, 1300 години на стража, Военно издателство, София 1984.