On September 16, 1918, the Entente units began a massive offensive against the Doiran position . It is defended by the Ninth Pleven Division.
By the beautiful Doiran Lake, the Entente has gathered colossal forces - 4 English, 2 Greek and one French division. Ninth Plevenska is alone. There are no reserves. Knowing the balance of power, ours prepare to die. Many officers put on their parade uniforms, the soldiers put on their recently prepared white shirts.
On September 16, 350,000 shells were fired at them, including gas shells, but the fortifications of General Vladimir Vazov still speak for themselves — we give 9 killed and 40 wounded. At 5:00 a.m. on September 18, three English and one Greek division went on the attack.
At that moment, 220 artillery barrels start spewing fire. General Vazov does not spare the projectiles - there is no time left. 400 Bulgarian mortars turn the slopes of the hills into hell. 440 machine guns straight up mow down the advancing. The Bulgarians who escaped from the bunkers maintained such a dense fire that only 20-30 percent of the attackers reached the trenches. And there they are met with a terrible and crushing knife counterattack.
The enemy was halted and turned in flight, which soon covered the entire Doira front. More than 10,000 corpses in British uniforms remain on the battlefield. Desperate British General Milne sends the two reserve divisions in a detour through Belasica to try to break through between the 9th Pleven and 11th Macedonian divisions. Ours drop them at 50 meters and kill them at point blank range with their machine guns and flamethrowers. 10,000 Greeks burn on the slopes of Belasitsa.
On the 19th of September General Milne mustered all that could bear arms to fill up his allotted units. But the last attack is also drowned in blood. The enraged Bulgarian artillery mows down with drum fire, for the first time it also uses gas shells. It is the bloodiest battle of the entire First World War, with the highest density of casualties per kilometer of front. In no war did the English give so many victims at once as at Doirand.
In all this felling, the Ninth Pleven gave only 494 killed and 1208 wounded. On September 20, intelligence reported to General Vazov that there were no enemy units in front of him. He asks if Sofia should advance to Thessaloniki, which is no longer protected by anyone. They don't allow him. Thanks to the Doira victory, however, in the armistice agreement being prepared there, Bulgaria, which lost the war, was saved from occupation.
In 1936, a meeting of the veterans of the First World War was organized in London. The Bulgarian delegation is led by the specially invited o.z. General Vladimir Vazov. At Victoria Station, she was met personally by the Mayor of London, holder of the highest English noble title. General Vazov was lodged in Lord Harbolly's castle, where Napoleon was staying. The Veterans Parade features 3,000 reservists and 200 battle flags. On the appearance of our delegation, Field Marshal Lord Milne commanded:
"Take down the flags! General Vazov passes by - the winner of Doiran!"
The Bulgarian victory at Doiran - the greatest in our entire 14-century history - is studied in all military academies. She recorded an incredible statistic: nearly 70 thousand killed by the Entente against less than 500 dead Bulgarians. Seven divisions - completely destroyed by one.