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Germany and King Ferdinand of Bulgaria squeeze pincers on Serbia at the city of Nisch. Germany and Austria-Hungary began their joint invasion across Serbia's norther border on October 6, 1915. Bulgaria entered the war on the side of the Central Powers on October 14, and invaded Serbia from the east. Nisch fell to the invaders on November 5. The Serbia capital of Belgrade on the Danube and the city of Monastir on the Greek border are marked with initials. Handmade postcard map dated November 12, 1915. Text: Serbien Kopot, Kapot, Kaput (?) Peter bankraft, bankratt (?) Marked are the Adriatic and Aegean Seas, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bulgaria, neutral Rumania, Hungary. Deliblat. (?) Reverse: Unsern tapferen Truppen im Felde gewidmet von der Tintenfabrik Eduard Beyer, Chemnitz i/s - Teplitz i/s. Dedicated to our courageous forces in the field from the ink factory Edward Beyer, Chemnitz i/s - Teplitz i/s

Germany and King Ferdinand of Bulgaria squeeze pincers on Serbia at the city of Nisch. Germany and Austria-Hungary began their joint invasion across Serbia's norther border on October 6, 1915. Bulgaria entered the war on the side of the Central Powers on October 14, and invaded Serbia from the east. Nisch fell to the invaders on November 5.
The Serbia capital of Belgrade on the Danube and the city of Monastir on the Greek border are marked with initials.
Handmade postcard map dated November 12, 1915.

Image text

Serbien Kopot, Kapot, Kaput (?)

[Serbian King] Peter bankraft, bankratt (?)

Marked are the Adriatic and Aegean Seas, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Rumania, Hungary.

Deliblat (?)



Reverse:

Unsern tapferen Truppen im Felde gewidmet von der Tintenfabrik Eduard Beyer, Chemnitz i/s - Teplitz i/s.

Dedicated to our courageous forces in the field from the ink factory Edward Beyer, Chemnitz i/s - Teplitz i/s

Other views: Larger, Back

Sunday, November 19, 1916

". . . the enveloping troops watched as the sky above Monastir turned orange; the enemy had set fire to the quarters they had occupied. Patrols approached the trenches which the Bulgars had tried to dig in the previous weeks; they were empty. A few hours later a young cavalry officer, leading his troop of mounted scouts cautiously forward, was just in time to see the last battery of German guns pulling out of town. His name was Murat; by a fortuitous piece of historical symbolism, a descendant of the captor of Moscow was about to lead a Franco-Russian division to its first conquest. By noon on November 19 the French and Russians and Serbs had all entered the silent and shuttered town. After nine weeks of hard campaigning, Monastir had fallen."

Quotation Context

Along the Salonica Front extending across Greece, the Allied French, British, Serbian, Russian, and Italian army faced a Bulgarian army supported by German troops. The Bulgarians began withdrawing from Monastir on November 18, setting it alight. The liberation of Monastir was the first significant victory for Serbian forces since their country was occupied the year before.

Source

The Gardeners of Salonika by Alan Palmer, page 91, copyright © 1965 by A. W. Palmer, publisher: Simon and Schuster, publication date: 1965

Tags

1916-11-19, 1916, November, Monastir