Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole 1918

Twentieth-Century Battles

by Richard C. Hall

With the transfer of German units to the western front in the spring of 1918, the position of the Central Powers on the Macedonian front worsened. Materiel became scarce and morale among the Bulgarian forces deteriorated. The Entente Command perceived in Macedonia an excellent opportunity to apply additional pressure to the Germans, who were already retreating on the western front. In September, Entente forces undertook an offensive directed primarily at Bulgarian defenses at Dobro Pole. Balkan Breakthrough tells the story of that battle and its consequences. Dobro Pole was the catalyst for the collapse of the Central Powers and the Entente victory in southeastern Europe--a defeat that helped persuade the German military leadership that the war was lost. While decisive in ending World War I in the region, the battle did not resolve the underlying national issues there.

Genres: World War I, Military History

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Shrike58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ranging rather wider than the title suggests, this monograph covers the whole of Bulgarian nationalist aspirations prior to 1945 with particular emphasis on Sofia's participation in the Great War. Considering that there is really nothing else available that goes into as great detail on the topic you can say that beggars can't be choosy, but there are a sufficient number of really disconcerting typographical errors that the publisher did Hall no favors.

Actual rating: 3.5.

Originally written: November 8, 2019.

[Bill Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book about a rarely discussed front of WWI, presented primarily from the perspective of Bulgaria, the primary Central Power on the Macedonian Front (Salonikan Front to the Entente). I found the book very readable, striking a pretty good balance between giving enough detail and bogging down in trivia. The title is misleading as the book covers the entire involvement of the Bulgarians and their allies and enemies in Macedonia from the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 through the catastrophic (for the Central Powers) battle of Dobro Pole and the collapse of the Bulgarian Army. Recommended for those wanting to dive deeper into the Great War in places other than Northern France.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of a little-known battle of a little-known front of World War I. The Macedonian front doesn't get a lot of ink in English speaking countries (or elsewhere, I'd wager) but this is a readable and thorough account of that front's final battle, written from the point of view of the main Central Power's protagonist there: the Bulgarians. A worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in WWI, if only for the subject's obscurity. The book is actually well-written and provides the whole context to the First World War in the Balkans.

The book gets 3 stars from me for 2 reasons. It certainly could have used a good editor. In fact, some of the sentences are so mangled that one has to wonder if the author's first language is English. Additionally, the maps suffer in quality and quantity. Dozens of places are mentioned in the text that don't appear on any map. The maps themselves have little detail and aren't terribly helpful to the reader who is trying to follow the campaigns. The author should have been aware that most readers aren't familiar with southern Balkan geography.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is much broader than the title suggests, as it covers The Macedonian Front in WWI, and provides a history of the Bulgarian efforts to "recover Macedonia" from the period of the Balkan wars through WWI, and the efforts of both the Central Powers and the Entente in the Balkans. Well researched but it could have been more readable, and was a bit repetitive. But very informative about a little know part of WWI in the US, perhaps because we were never at war with Bulgaria in WWI.