ROUT AT LULE BURGAS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15141, 4 November 1912, Page 7

ROUT AT LULE BURGAS.

AN . UNEXPECTED CLASH. TURKS COMPLETELY BROKEN UP PANIC AND DISORDER. A DISASTROUS HELTERSKELTER. (Received November 3, 5.5 p.m.) London, November 2. The . latest messages, state that 400,000 troops participated in the battle at Lule Burgas. The fight began on Tuesday, and the Bulgarians fought - obstinately. They had wavering success until Wednesday, and thereafter the Turks yielded all along the line. Shevket Torgut Pasha, one of the Turkish commanders, attempted a diversion on Thursday, and landed at Midia, 65 miles north-west of Constantinople, with 20,000 men. He advanced towards Visa, where General Kutchineff, the Bulgarian commander, routed him. Describing the Turkish rout the Vienna Reichpost states that 230,000 participated in the battle, the line of which extended from Visa to Lule Burgas. The Turks* retirement from Baba Eski, and their right wing's attack on Bunar Hissar, led the Bulgarians to bring the. left wing earlier than was expected into contact with the advancing Turks. The shock of battle at this point was extremely violent, and engagements were fiercely fought in the woods, where the Redif battalions or reserves from Asia Minor behaved with great gallantry; but the advance, despite the continual summoning of fresh reserves,' was gradually checked. The Turks' line was completely broken, and, being hemmed in, they retired with heavy loss. Kirk Kilisse Again. It was Kirk Kilisse over again. The Turks began with a courageous rush, then the broken ranks became panic-stricken. The panic spread over an entire army corps. Four divisions were, shattered and dispersed in disorder* The Turks had entrenched several strong lines on either side of Lule Burgas, but the Bulgarian artillery took up a position on the flank,of the entrenchments and shelled the lines.

The rout was complete, threatening the last line of Turkey's defence Chataldja. ' . The Bulgarian infantry showed remarkable contempt for death.

A report from Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, says that the battle was obstinate and decisive. The Bulgarian cavalry, advancing from Kirk Kilisse and Baba Eska, reached Lule Burgas on Tuesday, followed by the. bulk of General Demitrieff' eastern , army and General Kutchineff's army. The combined armies encountered Nazim Pasha's army, both sides having about equal forces.. ]

A great and almost unbroken series of battles ensued, the Bulgarians attacking with the utmost impetuosity, and .eventually, throughout the line, overcoming the Turks' strenuous opposition. , . ~ ' ' '.'.'. ." ' > A Number of Battles. The retreat degenerated into a disastrous helter-skelter, ; the Bulgarian pursuers severely punishing the panic-stricken forces. The wounded are arriving at. Sofia in thousands. All the larger buildings and many residences have been transposed into hospitals. Every bed in the military hospital is occupied, and extra beds are laid on the bare floors. All the Turkish patients are accommodated in beds. The Fatal Night Attack. - Advices from Constantinople state that the Turks held their own well at Kirk Kilisse until the fatal night attack. ' . In the general suave qui peut the Turks discarded their coats and boots. The Vienna newspapers deduce from the movement of the Turkish columns following the Bulgarians' success at Lule Burgas that Nazim Pasha was thoroughly beaten and outmanoeuvred by the flanking attack, and that the line of battle was broken as at Kirk Kilisse. Beuter's Constantinople correspondent reports that the , Bulgarians at Lule Burgas captured two more trains full of provisions and ammunition. The Final Struggle. The Reichpost, in describing the final struggle, says that the decisive stage opened on Tuesday, Monday's bloody initial engagement having ended favourably for the Bulgarian's right wing close to Lule Burgas. The \ Bulgarian left wing, advancing vigorously near Bunar Hissar, passed from the defensive to the offensive. The Turks here had attempted to forestall the advance, threatening the line of retreat from ; Serai to Chataldja, north-west of Constantinople, by taking the offensive from Serai, via Visa against the Bulgarians. A Startling Attack. When Tuesday dawned the Bulgars took the offensive, beginning from a line running from the township of Uskub, nine miles eastward of Kirk Kilisse, to Hajaefakti and Monastirdagh. The foremost Turkish lines were crossed by a startling Bulgarian attack, executed by an unprecedented plan, but fresh reserves enabled the Turks to temporarily reform the lines. A" bitter battle raged the whole day round Woodee and Thatalea, the Turks eventually emerging in formless masses. Simultaneously the Bulgarian right wing attacked the Turks' positions from Lule Burgas .to Babesia, driving the Turks from their fortified lines along the Erkene River back upon Lule Burgas. "To the Knife!'' Most of the positions were stormed at the bayonet point, the infantry being admirably supported by the artillery, which kept the Turks down. The decisive moment was reached by an overwhelming artillery fire, but some of the positions were taken without the artillery's support. The Bulgarians' dash was unexampled. The infantry cried out its battle cry; "No Nost!" meaning, "To the knife !" and translated it into reality, without any concession to modern tactical considerations. Whole regiments, 400 paces from the enemy's lines, threw themselves into a single rush upon the foe without firing a shot or taking cover, each man with his bayonet fixed. Officers were powerless! against the frenzy of the troops, and were obliged to let the men go on.