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Battle of Bizani
Part of the First Balkan War
The surrender of the Ottoman garrison of Ioannina after the battle
Date 4–6 March [O.S. 19–21 February] 1913 Location Bizani, Greece Result Greek victory, fall of Ioannina
Belligerents
Greece	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Crown Prince Constantine	Esat Pasha
Strength
41,000 soldiers, 105 guns	35,000 soldiers, 162 guns and an unknown number of irregulars
Casualties and losses
284 dead and wounded	2,800 dead 8,600 prisoners

The Battle of Bizani took place in Epirus on 4-6 March 1913. The battle was fought between the Greek and the Ottoman forces during the last stages of the First Balkan War, and revolved around the forts of Bizani, which covered the approaches to Ioannina, the largest city in the region.

At the outbreak of the war, the Greek Army in the Epirus front did not have the numbers to initiate an offensive against the German-designed defensive positions in Bizani. However, after the campaign in Macedonia was over, a large part of the Army was redeployed to Epirus, where Crown Prince Constantine himself assumed command. In the following battle the Ottoman positions were breached and Ioannina taken. The decisive factor for the Greek victory was not numerical superiority, but the solid operational planning that led to a well-coordinated and executed assault and did not allow the Ottoman forces to react.

Background

As the main war effort of Greece was initially turned towards Macedonia, in the Epirus front the Greek army was outnumbered at the outbreak of hostilities in October 1912. After stopping an initial attack by the Ottoman commander Esat Pasha at Gribovo however, the Greeks succeeded in conquering Preveza (21 October 1912) and pushing north to the direction of Ioannina, repulsing an Ottoman attack at Pente Pigadia (Beshpinar). On November 5, a small force from Corfu made a landing and captured the coastal area of Himarë without facing significant resistance, and on December 20 Greek troops improved their positions in Epirus and entered Korçë, north of Ioannina, thus cutting off its last supply route and threatening the city's northeastern flank.

Initial Greek attacks on Ioannina

The terrain south of Ioannina provided excellent defensive ground, further reinforced with permanent fortifications, constructed under German supervision. These were equipped with concrete artillery emplacements, bunkers, barbed wire, searchlights and machine gun positions. The Ioannina fortress area included two major fortresses, those of Bizani and Kastritsa, guarding the main southern approaches, along with a number of smaller forts in a ring around the city, covering the western and northwestern approaches. The forts were well supplied with artillery, totalling some 102 pieces (most of them 87 mm). By December 1912, both sides were reinforced: the Ottomans received part of the Vardar Army, retreating after the Battle of Monastir, bringing their forces up to some 35,000, while the Greeks also brought up the 2nd Division from Macedonia and a number of volunteer regiments, for a total of 25,000 men. The Greeks launched a first attack on the fortress area on 14 December. The Ottomans succeeded in repelling it in a series of actions that lasted until 22 December, and even gained some ground, albeit at the cost of high casualties which depleted their numbers to some 26,000 men.

With operations in Macedonia having been completed, the Greek High Command now turned its attention to Epirus. Three divisions were transferred to the theater, raising the total of Greek troops to 28,000, along with 80 artillery pieces (amongst which twelve heavy 105 mm and 155 mm guns) and six aircraft. Throughout the period, the siege continued actively, with artillery duels, attacks by Albanian irregulars on Greek supply lines, and reconnaissance and bombing missions on the city by the Greek airplanes. At the same time, the hardships of the winter affected the morale of both sides. The Greek Epirus front commander, General Konstantinos Sapountzakis, launched a new frontal attack on 20 January. Although it gained ground, pushing the defenders back into the fort of Bizani, the high casualty rate and the worsening weather resulted in the operation being suspended a few days later.

Battle of Bizani

After this renewed failure, Sapountzakis was relieved of his command and replaced by Crown Prince Constantine. Constantine now proceeded to carefully marshal his forces, bringing up more men and artillery. The Crown Prince formulated a new plan, whereby his army would feint an attack on Bizani from the southeast, while the main effort would be actually directed on the fortress area's southwestern flank.

The Greek artillery began firing a preparatory bombardment on March 4, continuing through the day. It is estimated that the Greeks fired 150 rounds per gun in this bombardment, while Ottoman counter-fire was hampered by lack of ammunition. The assault was launched on 5 March [O.S. 20 February] 1912, by the 4th, 6th and 8th Infantry Divisions against the eastern and western sectors of the defensive perimeter. At the same time the Metsovon Joint Brigade launched a diversionary attack from the north. The first Greek units, under heavy artillery support, breached the defensive line in Tsouka sector at morning, and during the following hours the Ottoman defenses were broken in five locations. As these breakthroughs from different axes threatened to collapse the entire defensive perimeter and to cut off his front echelons, Esat Pasha was forced to keep his reserve troops back and engage them in a defensive role. By 18:00, the Greek 1st Evzone regiment, together with the 9th Battalion of Major Ioannis Velissariou, the village of Agios Ioannis on the southern outskirts of Ioannina.

As a consequence of the Greek advance, the fortresses of Bizani and Kastritsa were cut off by 16:00 and isolated from the rest of the Ottoman army and its headquarters in Ioannina. As night fell, the forts ceased firing, and their garrisons abandoned them, trying to cut through the rather loose Greek encirclement to Ioannina. Several Ottoman positions capitulated the next morning, although Bizani and Kastritsa continued to resist until after the surrender. Meanwhile, Essat Pasha realized that the battle was lost, and tried to evacuate as many troops and wounded as he could to the north. As the Greeks pressed their advance however, he contacted the city's foreign consulates to seek help in negotiating a surrender. At 23:00 6 March [O.S. 21 February] 1912 he agreed upon the unconditional surrender of Ioannina and the Ottoman garrison to the Greeks. The following day the Greek forces under Crown Prince Constantine were parading through the flag-covered streets of the city.

Aerial warfare

The Greek forces used a small fleet of aircraft, that mainly consisted of Maurice Farman MF.7 biplanes, during the operations. They used an airfield near Nicopolis and performed several reconnaissance and bombing missions with considerable effect. Among the aviators were the notable Greek pilots Dimitrios Kamperos and Michael Moutoussis.

Aftermath

During the battle, the Greek army inflicted some 2,800 Ottoman casualties, losing only 284 of its own. The Greeks captured some 8,600 prisoners, while the remainder of the Ottoman garrison was able to retreat into Albania. The Greeks also captured 108 artillery pieces and large amounts of matériel. On March 16 [O.S. March 3] 1913, the Greek forces entered Gjirokaster, Delvine and the next day Tepelene, at the end of the war they reached a line that stretched from the Ceraunian mountains (above Himarë) in the Ionian coast to Lake Prespa to the east. The success in the Epirus front enabled the Greek headquarters to transfer part of the army to Thessaloniki, in preparation for a confrontation against the Bulgarians.

Legacy

Given the strongly entrenched opposition it faced, the historian Richard Hall cites the battle of Bizani and the fall of Ioannina as the greatest military effort of the Greek army in the First Balkan War. Decisive factor for the Greek victory was not the numerical superiority of the Greek Army during the final assault, but the solid planning of the operations, that lead to a well coordinated and executed assault and left no choice to the Ottoman side to react in time. The surrender of Ioannina secured Greek control of southern Epirus and the Ionian coast, whilst denying it to the newly-formed Albanian state.

Moreover, groups consisting of local women supported the operations of the Greek Army in several ways: transportation of guns, food, clothes and other important supplies. On specific occasions women also participated in the armed conflicts against the Ottoman forces.

References

1. ^ Erickson (2003), p. 304
2. Erickson (2003), p. 234
3. Erickson (2003), pp. 228–234
4. Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization. M. V. Sakellariou. Ekdotike Athenon, 1997. ISBN 9789602133712, p. 367.
5. Király Béla K., Djordjevíc Dimitrije. East Central European society and the Balkan wars. Social Science Monographs. 1987. ISBN 9780880330992, p. 103
6. ^ Hall (2000), p. 83
7. Hall (2000), pp. 62–64
8. Erickson (2003), p. 227
9. Hall (2000), pp. 62–64
10. Erickson (2003), pp. 293–298
11. Erickson (2003), pp. 299–300
12. ^ Hall (2000), p. 84
13. ^ Koliopoulos, John S.; Veremis, Thanos M. (2009). Modern Greece: A History Since 1821. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-1405186810.
14. Erickson (2003), pp. 300–301
15. Erickson (2003), p. 301
16. Erickson (2003), pp. 300–301
17. ^ Erickson (2003) p. 303
18. A concise history of the Balkan Wars, 1912-1913. Hellenic Army General Staff, Army History Directorate, 1998 ,ISBN 9789607897077 p. 196
19. ^ Erickson (2003), pp. 303–304
20. "Aviation in War" (PDF). flightglobal.com. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
21. Schurman, Jacob Gould (1916). "The Balkan Wars: 1912-1913". Project Gutenberg.
22. ^ Hall (2000), p. 85
23. Hall (2000), p. 95
24. Mpalaska Eleni, Oikonomou Andrian , Stylios Chrysostomos. "Women of Epirus and their social status from ancient to modern times" (PDF). Community Initiative Programme. Interreg IIIA Greece-Italy 2000-2006. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 2010-05-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Sources

• Erickson, Edward J. (2003). Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-97888-5.
• Hall, Richard C. (2000). The Balkan Wars, 1912–1913: Prelude to the First World War. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-22946-4.

• Balkan Wars
• Conflicts in 1913
• Battles involving Greece
• Battles involving the Ottoman Empire
• 1913 in Greece