THE BATTLE OF LULE BURGAS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1616, 6 December 1912, Page 6

THE BATTLE OF LULE BURGAS.

; ; GRAPHIC ACCOUNTS BV MAIL*

i HOW THE TURKS WERE : ....,;.,.ROIITED.-V ; -.'.- ; - DSSPJERATBHAND TO HANB, :.:r .FIGHTING.: A TEN DAYS' BATTLE. ;. ■ ■ ■.. ~-.. ~7:;.. ■.; .-.-. .- .. :..' ■ . The'; foUowing; accounts'of , the/great ' battle between .the Bulgarians and Turks at Me'.Burgas is.taken from the New . which arrived, : by y'es.ter-. day's'inail:— : ■ ■•.'/.'■. Sofia, November I.■ ■: Details thus far of the rout of the Turkish .army-.at 'Lule Burgas by. the Bulgarians show that the Bulgarian forces were numerically. far inferior. The Turkish ;army-is.'reported to have aggregated ■200,000 men. It included' the garrison 'which had retreated from the captured ■ • • ■ ; fortress i ,of-.Kirk-Killisse, .as well as the •' imaiii"body!*of Turkish! troops, ;which.had ■' i iadvanced from'.'Constantinople.: It coitir : | prised practically the whole of the Turk-. i . troops'''remainirig.. : in Europe, apart . <f rorn the garrisons of , Adrianople, Salon- • Jka,'MonasW,Janina,'Scutari, and a few icther towns. ' ■ : i This great army was under the personal i Nazim Pasha, Minister for ~ IWar and" Commander-in-Chief, - who was ' assisted by;,some; of the .ablest Turkish. ■! generals serving in the, army at the pre- .■ Beiit : moment." '"" "■■' '" ;.'••■"'■ ..'I . The ; fight-opened with the discovery by ' , the Turks of a number of Bulgarian car- 1 'alry_ scouts. The 1 Turks, drew in their Wtposts and "these were closely followed.! by-lines.'.of Bulgarian .skirmishers. , who: I .were succeeded by the -main Bulgarian i army,in'fighting formation. The battle, I which was destined.to last several days,, I .Was soon in progress all along the line. s : The Bulgarian troops repeatedly de- t ; livered'fierce 'attacks,; sometimes at one < point, sometimes at another,, along, the I Turkish line,'extending from!. Lule. Bur- I gas to . Serat.; ■ 'The. Turkish' 'troops of- ' fered a..'stubborh -arid resist- \ flnce,':but were unable to withstand-the [ impetuous..onslaught of the Bulgarians, i and finally they tnrned and fled in great j disorder • towards Tchoriii in the south. ( > The-losses of the Ottoman army are i teportedjto', have been enormous, in dead, j jwounded, and. prisoners, besides ammuni- i "tion«and%other supplies. The. capture of ( : a third Turkish military train near. Lule '.] ißurgas, before the battle,, was an imsnence advantage .to the Bulgarians, as it • ..-. furnished, them with.'more.facilities for th's 1 " transport'of' .'.'their! 'troops .arid sup- , plies .to-the. district where the, fighting ' .'. ■ . took "place. '.'..':. . ~ ... 1 '■.'" ' '•',- - -. , ( , FiflhtFng Terribly Severe. ' i , London,' November 2.—Bulgaria's asser-- ! • ; fcions that the Turks have been, over- ! \, iWhelmin'gly defeated were amply confirni- i ■•' ed to-day. The defeat was a rout. . ' The fighting on the left wing, of, the? j. Turkish Army; according to one of'the s . correspondents, was terribly severe. ~ln their attack on-Lule s-Burgas'the-'Bul-garian troops found Tergut .Shcfket Pasha , . with his troops in-position' on: the !sl opes ; : ibehind the town.-The : Bulgarians brought '■ np six batteries and shelled the position ; on' Monday evening, /October'28.' They then carried out. .an... infantry;,. -attack, ! which.was unsuccessful; .On Tuesday, .the. - Bulgarian", artillery, settled''-down, ■•'•'to' : a , methodical preparatory bombardment, ; t!6' ! •"■■■ whichV the Turkish'artillery replied vigorously."! In the artillery duel no supevi- \ ority-i was'.-shown- by either side. - Never- - theless; on Tuesday afternoon it' became .! clear to the Turkish commander that the ! ; Bulgarians, were pushing up masses of reinforcements.Jnto the firing liuo to ' give 'weight -to their 'attack; ••■• '•'■" "- ' This"meant' that' the-' position at Lule ! : Burgas was becoming untenable. Tho ' ' Turkish, advance line fell back in admirable 'order to'Torgut, Shefket Pasha's , :.'.■■.' main position on'the left, guarding the j j iron ..railway. bridge across tho River Er- ' j. . kins; .'-The -town -itself remained .unoccu- ' pied by'ei'tlier'side ■ during: Tuesday night- j and throughout Wednesday, when it was !'' set on fire by>the.explosion of-Bulgarian ' . 6heljs,.!!., "..:'.'.:'r, ';.:.. -..,-" -'. : .-■'.. ,"'-■' ' Driven Back! by a Sweeping Fire. '■■ Close battle was' joined -between the op- i • " . posing..foTces.at dawn on Wednesday, and I 1 raged-'-with'equal' fierceness along the' i whole: front for a distance.of twenty miles. ' ,The Bulgarians began by a'determined effort to take.the railway bridge, but the Turkish iroppsJntrenchod. near,the liead of the-bridge idrove them, :batk with a , sweeping fire.. Toward noon the Bulgarian t . .artillery concentrated 'its fire■' on the . centre, of the. Turkish position as a prelude; to "un "assault: The''shrapnel fire ; was perfectly timed, and the-Turkish, in-: fantryY'suffered heavily'. -.Nevertheless, ~ here'as , 'elseivliere' , on.the-field, the losses 'i were only what was to be expected fromthe severity of the battle.' 'Long columns , [of wounded were passed- to the rear, after receiving 'first aid on' tlid field. Thfl.Ttixkish ti'oops offered a very ob-. ' resistance to the Bulgarian at- ' ' ;tack.'The:conflicts'continued until late ion-Wednesday night, with wavering suc- ; cess." Eventually, however, the 1 Turks gave ! :way., all,along,,the, liney. the, Bulgarians icapturing the railway station at Muradli, , : :and .thus""comihah'dihg' the railroad line >to Salonika. ,•'.■.-• Anarchy in Turkey. '.'. ' Berlin; November 2.—Anarchy prevails throughout Turkey, according to dis;•patches from the;'Balkans torday.. Order Exists only w'here the;iriyadefs df' the: Sultan's 'it:, .They have not the. territories theyjj'avo'.'s'e'ized':to: : havo accomplished, much as : yet!'-' 'The- ■■■Tufks, : beaten everj\irh?rc,' T have lost all control..; , . ■ The disgraceful character of.tliedefeats !■. the Snltan's'ytroops- have!. Sustained were' ;.' . just beginning to be learned' 1 fully to^lay; They were not'the,soldiers'fault,'but that of tlie 'Goverriinejit.'!which ,seiit them' into ' battle hopelessljvdisbrganiscd! anjl-unpre- ;!'■ pared. *'' ! %%rl££ £ *'f;'-'£y ' When General Nazlm" pasha' saw" the tide of the conflict turning 'against him at Lule Burgas, he appealed'frantically again and again for reinforcements. -Several irain-load3 of men were rushed forward from Tchorlu, but many of them were unarmed. Others were wounded who had ■previously been sent-to the rear as incapable of further-fighting. The-raw levies whom the Government had insisted on placing at the front, started tho rout. Throwing away guns and Ammunition, they dashed madly for the-rear, fairly (overwhelming the older troops.' who struggled to stand their ground. Many officers . ; tvlio tried to check the panic were killed" ■'. j ; by their own men. . Army a Howling Mob. 'The Turkish army was transformed quickly into a howling, murderous mob, .each man bent only, on safety for himself. The fight resembled ..n. fire-rush in a theatre. Soldiers trampled'one' another in their . haste. Approximately 200,000 . men I swept back in a great wave before the Bui-1 garia-n advance. From their rear—which j should have been their front—the Bulgar- I | ians poured a devastating artillery firej into the Turks' ranks. Whole companies j i were wiped out—the men shot in their • ; backs. -, ■ j' ) . As the flight began to slacken, a strong! force of starving 'mutineers—practically no' provision had teen made by the Gov- - eminent for feeding the troops in tlie field —came upon and attacked a:"war ■ corre-'' spondentf, train. Their officers and tho ; .correspondents beat off the attack with their revolvers. Frantic as was their pursuit, the Bulgarians were literally outrun by the'fugi- ' fives. It was not until the. latter were safely out of range ..of the enem/s fire that their officers began to restore a degree of order among them: ...... The few Turkish detachments at Lule Burgas which did fight fought like madmen. They neither. gave. nor, accepted I miarter. When their ammunition wos.exhansted they continued to resist.with bay-. ; ojicis, knives, and even with their fists find teeth. Some shot themselves. : rather than surrender. There were spots where dead Turks lay literally in heaps, with circles of Bulgarian corpses around them. Ten Days' Battle. Budapest, November" 2.—A battle com- ! parable with any in the world's history | 1 was drawing to its close before the gate's of Constantinople to-day. On both sides ' —Bulgarian. andJCuriish'sSiearli^'fiOJLQOJLi.

men have been engaged. Fighting began ten days ago, and has raged almost continuously ever since. The battle front was about; thirty mUes long at first. Then it stretched to nearly one hundred.. To-day. .it had narrowed again to about thirty, as the sea hemmed the'combatants in on either side. .' Of the loss in killed and wounded only the vaguest estimates could be made. "Military men here surmised, however, from the little they have learned definitely, that on both sides the figure-.will approximate 75,000 men. Ten days ago it would have been taken for granted here that the Turks, realising that their last line of defences had been reached, that their capital itself was besieged, and that one more defeat would be their last, would fight to the last man. But this was not the opinion of the best judges to-day. Tho persistency with which they have, been beaten has shattered the general faith in the Ottoman troops prowess. ; ' i , ~' ■The Turkish War Office continued; it was true, to issue hopeful bulletins concerning what was progressing _ at the front. ■ The army's east wing, it was asserted; was winning; the west wing was holding its own. But no attention- was paid.to these assertions here. The known facts make it certain that they were ' War One Great Battle. . The Turco-Bulgarian war thus far has, not been exactly a war, but one great battle. Skirmishing began as soon as the Bulgarians crossed the, frontier. The skirmishing grew hotter as they approached Kirk Kilisse, and Adrianople. On Wednesday, October 23, the skirmishing had become a battle. The scene of the heaviest fighting was in the' vicinity of Kirk •Kilisse and Adrianople .■ until, Saturday night. • Over Sunday there was a lull in the' main battle, though skirmishing still went on. , On Monday, October 28, the struggle was fiercer than ever. Tho Turks were in strongest force near Lule Burgas. Here the day's fighting favoured the Bulgarians, though there was no decisive advantage. Further east the Turks drove the Bulgarians back. ;' .' ■■ . On Tuesday the Bulgarians attacked the ■ Turks' west wing.with such.fury that, by nightfall, the latter were forced back upon Lute-Burgas itself. Reinforced the following morning (Wednesday) by detachments from Belgrade, the Bulgarians so violently attacked the ..Turkish line that by afternoon the Ottoman- . west wing crumpled under the assault, and began a retreat which quickly degenerated into a night.-. "■„,,./ i By Thursdav morning the Turkish east wirig, previously victorious, began to give ground. The- Bulgarians pursued hotly, nnd this retreat, too, was soon a rout. AH day long the Bulgarians drove their enemy farther and -farther down the narrowing peninsula toward Constantinople. By nightfall the Bulgarian, line extended, roughly; from Midia on the Black Sea coast,-to Bodosto, on the. Sea of Marmora. ■It was steadily advancing. - . Men. Fought-like .Enraged Beasts. The manner'in which the troop's have fought;' according, to men who. witnessed parts of the battle, most of them wounded, who have been sent- to the rear, was like nothing seen hitherto in the history of modern war. The Bulgarians seemed maddened at the sight of the enemy. Their officers: could not control them. Tactics were thrown to the .winds. They rushed the Turkish positions,! firing their guns.as they ran, and howling with rage. i The' Turks ' stopped / practically.';.not; : a single ' Bulgarian charge. Those 1 which failed to reach the Turkish lines,-, failed simply bscause the charging columns we're annihilated. 'Whole lines of running men disappeared in the face of the Turk•islv fire, as a puff of smoke is blown .away by tlie wind. .'But' more lines' invariably followed'. '■'-. .'As the Bulgarian, attacking,_-parties ! swarmed over the Turkish fortifications .the soldiers dropped their empty guns and drew their knives. The Turks, until ;their rout began)' met their assailants more than half-way. Stabbing, scratcliintr,' and.biting they fought, like demons. These encounters ended only when one parry or the other was completely wiped n.ut. Few prisoners were taken until after tho Turkish flight began. During the fighting no. one thought of surrender. It'was kill'or be killed. :'•' .-' '- The Bulgarians won by superior slaying power, arid this superiority was mainly due to the superiority of the Bulgarian commissariat. Of provisions there was no,. scarcity''for ■ the Bulgarian troops, though they had to be snatched on the run. To the Turkish War Office it seemed n2v>r ro have occurred that' tli« soldiers would have to be fed- on the field.. ■ "We had been starving for- eight days," said one Turkish oflicpr, captured during the Ottoman' troops' flight, "and it was impossible for the soldiers, worn out and with empty stomachs, to fight longer. ■ . Reports of Turkish .Atrocities. Sofia.' Bulgaria, November .' 2.—Before evacuating. Bunarhissar, the Turkish! troops shut up '200 Bulgarians in the barracks and set fire to the building, according to the newspaper "Mir." Alt the Bulgarians perished. The Turkish troops, according to the same newspaper, . ate also massacring Bulgarian residents in the Struma valley. . Carload after carload, of 'wounded Tolled into.Sofia to-day frooiv the front. Tho ferocity'of the-fighting between the. Bulgarians' and Turks was easy to imagine from the nature of the victims' wounds. The.bayonet and the knife had.evidently figured extensively in the struggle. Gunshot wounds were to be expected, - as. a German surgeon, who volunteered.his services for hospital work here remarked, but .the use of cold steel,'he said) he had supposed was out of date. _ | Bulgaria's population will ■ bear the marks of its struggle with the Turks for a generation. Practically every man of fighting -age in the country is at tho I front, and an appalling proportion of them will be crippled for the rest of thedr lives. '. . ; !■.'.".", '.!.-', ■', ''.-,....■-.''■■ The Turks, are''by no ineans fully armed | with modern weapons-:,-Many are ; using old r fashioned ,large-calibre ■ guns. , They are-not;very effective at long range, but much of- the!figbting .in northTeastern has been-at close quarters,- and, .fired, at'.-.'a distancoysometimes of only a few feet, trie older weapons are more deadly than", the. new.. '■■'■ That this! is. the ..case • was -made plain by the huge holes which, the 'heavy softnosed bullets:' Ji'ave'. torn., in. the flesn of many of tho.wounded;.by-shattered, splintered bones and by profuse hemorrhages. Even worse than the ■ bullet wounds are the bayonet, stabs and .knife slashes from which "large numbers of the Bulgarians are suffering.