My Italy

The Messina earthquake caused huge losses to Italy, and it will not take one or two years to heal the wounds.

While Italy was licking its wounds from the Messina earthquake, the Balkan War was still raging.

First of all, as the target this time, Bulgaria is in a very bad situation.

Although Bulgaria took the lead in launching a pre-emptive attack on the Greek army, Bulgaria's military objectives were not achieved.

In the battle of Salonika, Bulgaria, with a superior strength of 210,000, did not annihilate the main force of the Greek army. The 160,000 Greek troops, after fighting in Salonika and Bulgaria, had retreated towards the Thessaly Pass.

In the Battle of Salonika, although Greece was forced to withdraw from Salonika, the main force of the army was retained, and the Greek army paid a price of 27,000 casualties and achieved the result of reducing Bulgaria's 31,000 troops.

In addition to the good combat effectiveness of the Greek army, its superior navy also contributed to such a result.

Bulgaria has a deep understanding of the role of large-caliber naval guns on Greek naval warships in defending the city. It was precisely by relying on the superiority of the navy that the Greek army was able to retain its main force under the Bulgarian offensive.

For Bulgaria, the failure to annihilate the main force of the Greek army in Salonika was a bit blinding.

In order to contain the Greek army, Bulgaria needs to leave at least about 100,000 troops. Deducting the 100,000 pinned troops, Bulgaria's current troops are only about 200,000.

Although the number is large, you need to understand the opponents it will face next. After it declared war on Greece, Serbia and Romania both declared war on it.

At present, Serbia's 193,000-strong army has crossed the border and is heading towards Sofia. On the Romanian side, 210,000 Romanian troops also crossed the Danube and came towards Sofia.

For Bulgaria at this time, the situation is very dangerous. If the armies of the two countries approach the city of Sofia, the battle will not be won no matter how hard it is fought.

Therefore, faced with such a situation, Bulgaria, on the one hand, continues to mobilize more troops, and on the other hand, it needs to prioritize the enemy forces along the way.

For this reason, the Bulgarian military used Preven and Vratsa to delay the Romanian army and gain time to defeat the Serbian army. For this reason, Bulgaria deployed 52,000 troops in Pleven and Vratsa in an attempt to delay the other side.

As for the Serbian enemy forces, led by Bulgarian Army Minister Lieutenant General Mikhail Savov, priority was given to annihilating the Serbian army.

With the battle plan formulated, the Bulgarian army began to take action. After leaving nearly 100,000 troops of the Second Army and the Third Group in Salonika, the Bulgarian First and Third Army units, as well as the Fourth Army, assembled towards Sofia. They will have a big fight with the Serbian army in Slivnica, and prepare to face the Romanian army after defeating the Serbian army.

In fact, the revised plan was a replica of the previous Serbian-Bulgarian war. In that war, Bulgaria defeated the Serbs in just four days and forced them to sue for peace. If not for the warnings of Austria-Hungary and Russia at that time, Bulgaria would definitely have invaded. The southern town of Nis. At this time, Bulgaria planned to let the plot repeat itself. For this reason, the Bulgarian commander Lieutenant General Mikhail Savov had already rushed to Slivnica with the Fourth Army.

Slivnica is a key town in the west of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. If it is captured, the Serbs will invade Sofia. In this way, Bulgaria is under too much pressure.

While Bulgaria was dispatching its troops, the Serbian army had already breached the Dragoman Pass on the border. The Bulgarian 9th Division held off the Serbs for three days at a huge cost of more than 9,000 casualties.

As the commander of the Serbian team this time, General Putnik, the Chief of General Staff, stood at the ruins of the Dragoman Pass and said with emotion. "These Bulgarian soldiers are really tough. They blocked us for three days."

Regarding the commander's words, the other generals surrounding him were about to say something when they saw a staff officer hurried over with a telegram.

"Admiral, this is a telegram from Belgrade. Please read it."

Facing the telegram from the capital, Admiral Putnik took it and read it.

Amid the curious expressions of the people around him, Admiral Putnik suddenly laughed, and then he spoke. "This telegram is Bulgarian intelligence sent from the capital. These Bulgarians want to attack us first and replicate the results of the last war. The Bulgarians are already waiting for us in Slivnica."

When faced with Admiral Putnik's words, a response immediately echoed around him.

"These Bulgarians are dreaming."

"We were careless last time, and we definitely won't be this time."

"Yes, let them dream."

…

Faced with the continuous criticism of Bulgaria around him, Admiral Putnik waved his hand to signal everyone to stop.

After everyone was quiet, Admiral Putnik spoke. "If we want to break the minds of the Bulgarians, we cannot rely on words. We need practical actions. Since Bulgaria is waiting for us in Slivnica, how can we let them down? Next, the whole army will march towards Slivnica "We want Bulgaria to know that the same trick cannot be used a second time."

Under the orders of General Putnik, Serbian troops marched towards Slivnica.

Although Putnik said very grandly that he was not afraid of the Bulgarian army, in actual actions the Serbian army was moving step by step. When they arrived at the village of Perk, ten kilometers away from Slivnica, the Serbian army stopped advancing. And they are digging fortifications here, as if they want to live here for a long time.

Admiral Putnik was obviously the Serbian commander. It's a dragging technique. The Serbian army could afford to wait because it had allies, but Bulgaria could not afford to wait. The Serbian army only needs to stick to its opponent, and when the Romanian army arrives, it will be defeated.

Not only General Putnik knew this, but Lieutenant General Mikhail Savov, the Bulgarian commander, also knew this.

So after learning that the Serbs were building fortifications around the village of Perk, Lieutenant General Mikhail Savov sighed and immediately ordered the Bulgarian army to attack. Originally, he wanted to see if there was any chance to obtain fighter jets while the Serbian army was eager to attack Sofia, but now it seems that the Serbian commander leading the team was not fooled.

Following Lieutenant General Mikhail Savov's order, the Bulgarian troops left the built fortifications and pressed towards the village of Perk. A big battle is about to begin here.