Battle of Dobro Pole

Battle of Dobro Pole
Part of the Vardar Offensive in the Balkans Theatre of World War I
Dobro Pole plateau on Nidže mountain, where the battle and breakthrough took place
Date 15–18 September 1918 Location Dobro Pole (present day Greece and North Macedonia) 41°02′06″N 21°53′06″E / 41.035°N 21.885°E / 41.035; 21.885 Result Entente victory
Belligerents
Central Powers:  Bulgaria  Germany	Allied Powers:  France  Serbia  Greece
Commanders and leaders
Georgi Todorov Friedrich von Scholtz	L. Franchet d'Espèrey Živojin Mišić Petar Bojović Stepa Stepanović Panagiotis Gargalidis
Units involved
11th Army[Note 1] 2nd Division 3rd Division	Allied Army of the Orient  France 11th Colonial Division 17th Colonial Division 122nd Infantry Division  Serbia 1st Army[Note 2] 2nd Army ' Greece Archipelago Division 3rd Infantry Division 4th Infantry Division
Strength
1 army 158 artillery pieces	3 divisions 2 corps 3 divisions 566 guns
Casualties and losses
2,689 dead 3,000 captured 50 artillery pieces	1,850 dead 200 dead 158 dead

The Battle of Dobro Pole (Serbian: Битка код Доброг Поља, romanized: Bitka kod Dobrog Polja; Greek: Μάχη του Ντόμπρο Πόλε, romanized: Máchi tou Dóbro Póle), also known as the Breakthrough at Dobro Pole (Bulgarian: Пробив при Добро Поле, romanized: Probiv pri Dobro Pole), was a World War I battle fought between 15 and 18 September 1918. The battle was fought in the initial stage of the Vardar Offensive, in the Balkans Theatre. On 15 September, a combined force of Serbian, French and Greek troops attacked the Bulgarian-held trenches in Dobro Pole ("Good Field"), at the time part of the Kingdom of Serbia (present-day Greece and North Macedonia). The offensive and the preceding artillery preparation had devastating effects on Bulgarian morale, eventually leading to mass desertions.

Despite being outnumbered and poorly equipped, certain Bulgarian units offered fierce resistance, delaying the Entente advance in Zborsko. However, the collapse of the front line enabled the Allies to assault Bulgarian positions from multiple directions and eventually quell the last pockets of resistance. The Central Powers' defeat at the Dobro Pole played a role in the Bulgarian withdrawal from the war and opened the way for the subsequent capture of Vardar Macedonia.

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