The First Balkan War #023. The importance of positional forms of fighting and new tactical methods of warfare

The initial plan of the Turkish command was built with the expectation of defense, did not provide for any offensive operations until all forces were concentrated. The character of the eastern (Thracian) theater also contributed to this. From Adrianople to the east, a number of rivers flow in a meridional direction, which, on the one hand, contribute to defense, and on the other, provide an opportunity for action on the flanks of the enemy. As they approached Constantinople, the Turkish ground forces were able to operate in full communication with the navy. Starting from the Midia—Rodosto line, the Turks could create a number of deep defensive strips with partial or complete reinforcement by long-term defensive structures. The former Chataldzhinsky position could remain the rear defensive line, but it was re-equipped and reconstructed. Under these conditions, the Constantinople direction in the first period of the war could turn into a secondary one, actions here could be carried out with the aim of gaining time to fully mobilize the armies on the western front and defeat the Allied forces. With such a plan of action, the Bulgarian army would have been faced with the need to allocate part of its forces to the fortress of Adrianople, while the rest of its troops would have been frozen in front of fortified positions protecting the approaches to Constantinople. Then Turkey would be able to create a double superiority of forces in Macedonia.

But the Turkish command showed complete operational helplessness, scattered its forces. The unpreparedness for active offensive operations in the eastern theater and the improvisation of the offensive at the last moment after the declaration of war led to the fact that the Thracian theater actually became the main one, and the Turkish armies, after the very first battle here, had to switch all their attention to protecting the immediate approaches to Constantinople, leaving the western theater of war to itself. Only the fortresses of Adrianople, Scutari, Ioannina and the Chataldzha positions defended for a long time, stubbornly and successfully against the Allied armies, which was facilitated by the weakness of the siege artillery of the Allied armies, the inconsistency of their actions, and the inability to organize an attack on fortified positions.

Already in the Balkan War of 1912, the peculiarity of the war of 1914-1918 was clearly revealed — the emergence of positional forms of struggle, entailing the stabilization of the fronts. The Chataldzha operation also showed that modern infantry and artillery fire radically corrects the balance of forces between the advancing and defending troops, and that infantry artillery alone is not enough to attack fortified positions. The experience of the Balkans has shown that positional forms prolong the war, cause exhaustion and complete exhaustion of the whole country, which actually happened to Bulgaria and its army. She came out of this war more exhausted than the defeated Turkey.

This war emphasized the increased role of some tactical elements and suggested their great importance in the future war. These elements include wire fences, hand grenades, and machine-gun fire. 1xBet Bonus Code India - Sports & Casino Bonus. Use the 1xbet promo code india and get an exclusive 1xBet welcome offer of 120% up to 33,000 to 66,000 INR. T&C Apply. A promo code of 1xBet is a series of numbers and letters that you enter into a specified voucher box to get a good deal. If you want to know how to use 1xBet promo codes, you will be asked to enter it when registering as a new customer to receive a sign-up bonus.

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