Under the Devil's Eye

The British Military Experience in Macedonia, 1915–18

Alan Wakefield, Simon Moody

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781473899032
• eBook ISBN: 9781844682669
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

"A fantastic overview of one of Britain's untold stories from the Great War"—the Salonika Campaign that pitted Allied forces against the Bulgarians (Burton Mail).
The authors have researched the Salonika Campaign in every detail, from the arrival of the first British troops in 1915 to final victory. During this period large numbers of British and Allied troops were tied up in the strategically vital Balkans. Salonika was converted into a vast military base and over 70 miles of defensive works were created.
We learn of the disappointments of the British XII Corps offensive in April/May 1917 (The First Battle of Doiran) and the more successful aggressive raiding in the Struma Valley. Using firsthand accounts, a vivid picture of life in the British Army is painted, with the roles of the Royal Flying Corps/RAF and RNAS well covered.
The campaign drew to a victorious conclusion with the defeat of the Bulgarians in 1918 but the British Salonika Army remained in place until 1921. The effect of this slow demobilization is also covered.
"This impressive work demonstrates vividly that the Allied involvement in this region was anything other than a 'sideshow.' This would be a superb book to add to any Great War collection." —Great War Magazine
"The authors have addressed one of the great omissions by historians covering WWI. This is a well-researched study of a subject that has received far less than its deserved attention. The photo-plate section is well selected and maps in the body of the book help in the understanding of this unfamiliar part of WWI—Very Highly Recommended." —Firetrench

Notes

1.		For an overview of British strategy between 1914-1918, see chapter 4 (The Western Front: Right or Wrong? British Strategy in the First World War) in Forgotten Victory – The First World War: Myth and Realities by Gary Sheffield (London, 2001), p.64-86.
2.		During this conflict, Bulgaria was defeated by a coalition of Serbia, Greece, Rumania and Turkey. The territorial settlement that followed stripped Bulgaria of territory she had gained from the First Balkan War of 1912. The chief beneficiary of the settlement was Serbia.
3.		For details of British and French strategic planning and diplomatic contacts with Balkan states during 1914 and 1915 please see Chapter 2 of The Gardeners of Salonika by Alan Palmer, (London, 1965), p.17-37.
4.		Alan Palmer, The Gardeners of Salonika, (London, 1965), p.30.
5.		A Short History of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, (RAOC School of Instruction, 1925), p.13.
6.		W D Mather, ‘Muckydonia’ 1917-1919 –Being the adventures of a one-time ‘pioneer’ in Macedonia and Bulgaria during the First World War (Ilfracombe, 1979), p.27. (William Denton Mather served with C Coy, 8/Ox & Bucks Light Infantry).
7.		C Stoneham & B Freeman, Historical records of the Middlesex Yeomanry 1797-1927 (London, 1930), p.153.
8.		W E Bruges, Macedonian Memories – An RFA Officer’s Experiences, The Mosquito, No.126, June 1959, p.40.
9.		G W Holderness, Cyclists in Salonika, The Mosquito, No. 129, March 1960, p.4.
10.		S F Hatton, The Yarn of a Yeoman, (London, 1930), p.109.
11.		Owen Rutter, The Song of Tiadatha, (BSF Library-Salonika, 1919), p.30-31. The inspiration for this poem came from a copy of The Song of Hiawatha, by Henry Longfellow, found by Rutter in a dugout in Macedonia.
12.		H C Day, Macedonian Memories, (London, 1930), p.34.
13.		The former White Star liner Britannic actually sank on 21 November 1916, after striking a mine off Kea Island in the Aegean.
14.		NA, WO95/4831, War Diary of the 10th Divisional Cyclist Company, October 1915 – December 1916.
15.		NA, WO95/4836, Report on Operations in Serbia, between the 4th and 11th December 1915, both dates inclusive.
16.		NA, WO95/4835, War Diary of the 6th Leinsters, October 1915 – August 1917.
17.		RHRM, Typescript memoir of Captain G Nicholson, 10th Hampshires.
18.		NA, WO95/4833, War Diary of the 30th Field Ambulance, October 1915 – August 1917.
19.		NA, WO95/4833, War Diary of the 32nd Field Ambulance, October 1915 – August 1917.
20.		NA, WO95/4806, War Diary of 25 Casualty Clearing Station, May 1915 – January 1919.
21.		NA, WO95/4838, War Diary of the 31st Infantry Brigade, October 1915 onward.
22.		This was the 11th (Macedonian) Division formed in late September 1915. It should be remembered that Bulgarian Infantry Divisions numbered between 24,000 – 33,000 men, much larger than their British equivalents.
23.		NA, WO95/4835, War Diary of the 5/Connaught Rangers, October 1915 – August 1917.
24.		Figures from C Falls, Military Operations – Macedonia,...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Arrival at ‘Salonique’
• Into a Serbian Winter
• The ‘Birdcage’
• Moving Up Country
• The First Battle of Doiran – April 1917
• The First Battle of Doiran – May 1917
• Warfare along the Struma
• Life in the Front Line
• Life Behind the Lines
• Medical Provision and Hospital Life
• War in the Clouds
• The Second Battle of Doiran
• Victory and Beyond
• Epilogue
• Appendix
• Notes
• List of Sources