On 6 December 1915 the Bulgarian army attacked the British 10th (Irish) Division on the Kosturino ridge in Macedonia, close to the Greek border. The Irish battalions, already weakened by a blizzard and frostbite, fought off several assaults but had to retreat into Greece and back to Salonika. The battle lasted until 12 December and ended in a Bulgarian victory.
From Gallipoli to the Balkans
Bulgaria joined the Central Powers in October 1915 and invaded Serbia, and Britain and France sent troops to Salonika in Greece to help. The British 10th (Irish) Division, worn down and under strength after Gallipoli, began landing there on 5 October. In November it went into the line in the mountains around Kosturino, on the right of the French, and its task was to hold on as long as possible while the French withdrew.1
The weather struck first. On 27 November rain turned to snow and then to a blizzard that lasted three days, and the men on the bare ridge had almost no shelter. By the end of November more than 1,600 men had been evacuated from the division; the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association counts 1,656, of whom 998 had frostbite. The Irish Times puts the frostbite cases at more than a thousand before a shot was fired.2
Rocky Peak
Bulgarian artillery began to shell the British positions on 4 December. On 6 December, after a heavy bombardment, the Bulgarian infantry attacked, and the British fought off several assaults. Rocky Peak, an exposed hill in front of the British line, was overwhelmed.3
The main blow fell on 7 December, when the Bulgarians attacked the whole division in overwhelming numbers. It was the worst day of the war for the 5th Connaught Rangers: 138 men were killed, many in hand-to-hand fighting, and 130 were taken prisoner.4
Back into Greece
Outnumbered and short of artillery, the British and French fell back. The division withdrew south across the frontier into Greece and made a hard retreat to Salonika with few rations and pack animals. The battle lasted from 6 to 12 December and ended in a Bulgarian victory.5
The sources count the cost differently. Alan Wakefield, writing for the Western Front Association, gives about 300 dead and 800 wounded or taken prisoner; The Irish Times gives 1,500 casualties, including 300 dead.6
