On September 16, 1918, the Entente units launched a massive offensive against the Doiran position. It was defended by the 9th Pleven Division.
By the beautiful Doiran Lake, the Entente has amassed colossal forces - 4 English, 2 Greek and one French division. The 9th Pleven is alone. There are no reserves. Knowing the balance of forces, our people are preparing to die. Many officers put on their ceremonial uniforms, the soldiers put on the white shirts they had prepared for the last time.
On September 16, 350,000 shells were fired at them, including gas shells, but General Vazov's fortifications still had their say - 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 this moment, 220 artillery guns began to spit fire. General Vazov did not spare the shells - there was no time left. 400 Bulgarian mortars turned the slopes of the hills into hell. 440 machine guns simply mowed down the advancing troops. The Bulgarians, who had escaped from the bunkers, maintained such dense fire that only 20-30 percent of the attackers reached the trenches. And there they are met with a terrible and crushing counterattack with a knife.
The enemy is stopped and put to flight, which soon covers the entire Doiran front. More than 10,000 bodies in British uniforms remain on the battlefield. The desperate British General Milne sends the two reserve divisions on a detour through Belasitsa to try to break through between the 9th Pleven and 11th Macedonian divisions. Ours let them go 50 meters and kill them point blank with their machine guns and flamethrowers. 10,000 Greeks burn on the slopes of Belasitsa.
On September 19, General Milne collects everything that can carry weapons to replenish his depleted units. But the last attack is also drowned in blood. The enraged Bulgarian artillery mows down with drum fire, and for the first time uses gas shells. This was the bloodiest battle in the entire First World War, with the highest density of casualties per kilometer of front. In no war had the British suffered so many casualties at once as at Dojran.
In all this slaughter, the Ninth Pleven Division suffered only 494 killed and 1,208 wounded. On September 20, intelligence reported to General Vazov that there were no enemy units in front of him. He asked Sofia if he could advance on Thessaloniki, which was no longer defended by anyone. He was not allowed to do so. Thanks to the Dojran victory, however, in the armistice agreement being prepared there, Bulgaria, which had lost the war, was saved from occupation.
In 1936, a meeting of veterans of the First World War was organized in London. The Bulgarian delegation was led by the specially invited General Vladimir Vazov. At Victoria Station, she was personally greeted by the Mayor of London, holder of the highest English noble title. General Vazov was housed in Lord Harboly's castle, where Napoleon had resided. 3,000 reserve soldiers and 200 battle flags participated in the veterans' parade. When our delegation appeared, Field Marshal Lord Milne commanded:
"Take down the flags! General Vazov is passing by - the winner of Doiran!"
The Bulgarian victory at Doiran - the greatest in our entire 14-century history - is studied in all military academies. It recorded an incredible statistic: nearly 70 thousand killed by the Entente against less than 500 dead Bulgarians. Seven divisions - completely destroyed by one.