The capturing of Edirne fortress

On March 24, 1913 the Second Bulgarian Army, supported by two Serbian divisions, began the attack for seizing the impregnable fortress of Edirne. The town was fortified by the Ottoman Empire under the management of German engineers on the eve of the Balkan War (1912-1913). The defense line consisted of three fortified positions. The first was 9-11 km away from the town, and the second and the third – 1- 3 km. The positions had 24 stone forts, stationary big-calibre battery, trenches, wire entanglements and land mines. Its garrison numbered 65 000 Ottomans and officers, 524 guns and 20 heavy machine-guns. Against them the Bulgarian forces set 120 000 Bulgarian and 40 000 Serbian soldiers. They had 1300 guns. The plan of the military headquarters was the attack to begin at night. The assault continued to March 26, 1913 and the fortress was seized. 14 Ottoman generals, 2 000 officers, 50 000 soldiers and 413 guns were captured. The Bulgarians lost less than 2 000 soldiers in the attack.