WITH THE BULGARIAN ARMY.

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

WITH THE BULGARIAN ARMY.

- 'UNPARALLELED BRAVERY. IRRESISTIBLE BAYONET CHARGES. Lieutenant Wegener, a correspondent at the front on the Bulgarian side, writes as follows in the San Francisco "Weekly Chroniclo":— Bulgarian headquarters, Thursday, October 31:—I have just returned to headquarters with a train, of the wounded, after spending three days at tho front. For three days and nights I have not been out of my clothes, and my'poor horse could not move another step for sheer exhaustion. . The great final battle entered on a decisive phase on Thursday morning, when the left wing of the Bulgarians ; at Bunarhissar took tho offensive with a j mighty impotus. The preludo to the final clash at arms was the murderous opening engagement, which on Monday resulted very' favourably ' for the Bulgarians, especially on the right wing at 'Liile Burgas. On the left wing, where the Bulgarian offensive started, the Turks by taking. tho offensive from Serai by way of viga, had attempted to meet the danger threatening their lino of retreat. Owing to the Bulgarian advance by way of Serai to Tchatalja, the Turks had also already succeeded in driving back the advance body of Bulgarians beyond Karagae deresi and Bunarhissar. ' Tuesday morning, when a mighty counter attack of the Bulgarians was delivoi- ! Ed against their right wing from a lino running fTom Uskub to Nadjifakli and 'the Heights of Monastirdagh, the front ranks of the Turks were 6imply run down by the startling assault executed with unparalleled bravery, yet they succeeded in keeping up the fight by continually bringing up reserves. Here on this ground bitter forest fighting Taged throughout the day. In tho 'course of the fighting'the Turkish main body degenerated into senseless masses without consistency or power of fighting, ' At the same time the Bulgarian rightLsintAttaokfld JiftJCuiMfilLMito__«it.

. Lule Burgas from Eski Baba to the west and Xenikezi to the south-east, and drove ; the Turks from their fortified positions on Telan dere Ajvali dere and Ergene . River back to Lule Burgas. ; The Bulgarian infantry was splendidly supported by their artillery, which at critical moments succeeded in holding down the Turks by annihilating with the help of their guns. Most of the Turkish positions were taken by assault with the baj-onet, yet some Turkish positions were stormed and taken by the Bulgarian infantry without any preliminary action or support from their artillery. The bravery of the Bulgarian infantry is, as I have already said unparalleled, and tho tactical achievements resulting from it surpass all that one could believe possible in this respect.. "Now for the Knife." The Bulgarian infantry, without the least concession to the scruples of modern tactics, applies its battle cry of "Na Nos" (now for the .knife) to conditions of reality, that is to say, to its tactics. Four hundred pacesand still further from the enemy's liiies whole regiments rose like one man, hurled themselves in one solid charging mass on the enemy without halting, still firing and despising all cover. . - ... Every man of the Bulgarian infantry literally thirsts to get at the Turk with his knife or bayonet, and officers are powerless against this burning frenzy. All attempts to hold the troops to the leash are. fruitless. Ono regiment that had not yet been ordered up to the firing line, but was held in line formation as reserves, hurled itself on tho enemy solely on the order of a sergeant which rose, above the cries of battle.- The men heeded not a whit the officers' orders-to halt and lie down. The same spirit fills the breasts of tho newly-formed reserves of the third line, who go into battle in civilian clothes, with cartridge belts girded about them and armed with Mannlicher rifles and bayonets. . ' The. mountain districts particularly furnish regiments of men of all ages, .which are unequalled for toughness, reliability, and soldierly, enthusiasm. The Bulgarian army and regimental leaders supported by officers of a corps of recognised excellence, adapted themselves with a wide .measure of understanding to this spirit of the men. They did not feel compelled to dampen the ardour of the i Bulgarian common soldier by exaggerated 'methodical leadership. They, only sought to give it suitable and a general collective direction in Tuesday's -fierce engagements. The result was successful for the Bulgarians, both at Bunarhissar and Lulo ,Burgas, -yet they had struck no decisive blow, for' the Turks had brought up* the whole of their reserve to hold the Bulgarian advance in check. Attack Enemy's Centre, ..Early Wednesday morning strong Bulgarian forces had been brought up by forced marches from the troops investing Adrianople. The Bulgarian army then advanced to make an attempt to break through the centre of the enemy's position. The Bulgarian attack fell partly on the Turkish troops drawn up in the forest region south of. tho. road from KirkKilisse to Visa, and partly on tho Turks in entrenched positions north-west of Lule Burgas. After heavy forest fighting and continually repeated murderous bayonet assaults, the Bulgarians succeeded by midday in breaking through the Turkish, position, and, in cb-opsration with the attack delivered simultaneously at Lule Burgas, in rolling up the whole of the Turkish wins . here. In the early hour 9 of- the afternoon-, they began a creneral retreat on the line of the Lule Burgns'-Bedirequi Railway. • and in the direction of Tcherlu. The Bulgarians immediately took up the pursuit: in this quarter. They continued to press the enemy with extraordinary energy throughout the night. The result was the Turkish retreat degenerated into a wild flight. The Turkish troops on this wing were totally dispersed; At the same ti-.mo on their, own left wing south-east of Bunarhissar the Bulgarians had completely enthe Turks from the north-rost. When dawn broke to-day a d°cis ; ve attack unon the risrht flank of t*>e Turk* was delivered; from the line. ■ TJrunbeilivisn was hravily shaken by the fighting which had <rone on licfore. The Turkish troops could not withstand" the overwhelming 1 flank attack of the Bulgarians, -and stooped, nKandoning their line of retreat l.vr way of Serai. Almost totally masses of • Turks retired in disorder l>v way of CongnTa and Topcikooi, in a directly south line on Tchorlu. Here, also the Bulgarians took un the pursuit immediately with energy. By a parallel movement nnd continual outflanking movement along the Turkish main Une r-oin-imrnientinns bv way of Sevai. Tetarkeui. and Tcherkes.akeui. they soiHit to cut off the enemy's, retreat to the Chatelja. lines before Constantinople. Burning Villages. The' Turkish losses are-enormous. Their line of retreat can. be traced by a long trail of discarded weapons and objects of equipment, and, it is sad to say, also by the. burning" villages and the bodies of massacred Christians. The Bulgarians captured numerous guns, ; ma.ny thousand rifles, quantities of ammunition, and two railway trains. During the second day's fighting the Bulgarian infantry, advancing at the charge, were thrice hurled back. Yet, undismayed and unshaken by the 'appalling, firs of.the enemy, the Bulgarians started a charge .for the fourth time, and finally captured the heights of Kavak Dere after, a terrible fight at close quarters. " . . A dramatic incident was narrated by Seagraoff, a well-known Macedonian band leader. Seagraoff, seeing a Turkish captain lying wounded on the battlefield, went up and asked him compassionately where he was wounded. The Turk's answer was to draw his revolver and fire straight at Seagraoff, whose cheeks were pie Toed by the bullet. In a fury, the Bulgarian soldiers hurled themselves on. the Turk, who was literally hacked to- pieces. Three Turkish officers, prisoners of war, sleep beside me. One of these, a captain, who speaks German, said to me to-day: . "Wo were not ready when the declaration of war took place, and wo believed the Bulgarians would strike their principal blow at Adrianople. We were convinced that the Bulgarian! army would waste its blood before Adrianople, giving us time to complete our concentration. Tho Bulgarian attack on Kirk Kilisse came as a complete surprise to us. Our men fought very bravely, but unfortunate conditions existed in our commands. Blunders of Commanders. . "Many commanders were only appointed on the outbreak of the war, and did not know what they could exact from the troops. . Many divisions of reserves were insufficiently instructed. Yet they were employed as if they were seasoned troops, Ono commander would want to remain on the defensivo and another would want to attack. And so it happened that one part of the army advanced while another remained where it was, and generally chaos resulted. The Bulgarians were irresistible in their bayonet charges. When a hundred men fell before a quick volley another couple of hundred men continued to charge over the bodies of their comrades. ."I can/fully confirm these remarks from my own observation. Thus I saw .two battalions of Bulgarians charge at Aven Ajvali and Milloti. Before Adrianople the Bulgarians advanced at double in ' eolid masses, in which the Turkish shrapnel rent great gaps. Nevertheless the storming party was not stopped in its onward rush. The gaps immediately filled up and the charge went on. This took place in Hie unsheltered country before an enemy keeping up a murderous fire from wellprotected positions. It was not mere human courage, but contempt of death, bordering on fanaticism. I still shudder when I think of its awe-inspiring, superb sight."