Siege of Vidin (1913)

Siege of Vidin
	Part of the Second Balkan War
Date	12–18 July 1913
Location	Vidin, Bulgaria
Result	Peace Treaty Initial Serb offensive repulsed; Treaty signed before further attacks could continue;
Belligerents
Kingdom of Bulgaria	Kingdom of Serbia
Commanders and leaders
Krastyu Marinov	Vukoman Aračić
Strength
4,200 men; 52 cannons	8,500
Casualties and losses
84 killed and wounded	Unknown

The siege of Vidin was an attempt by the Serbian Army to seize the Bulgarian city of Vidin during the Second Balkan War. The siege took place between 12 and 18 July, 1913.

Background[]

At the war's start, the Bulgarian First Army was situated in north-western Bulgaria. Its advance into Serbian territory was successful between 22 and 25 June, but Romania's unexpected intervention in the war and the Bulgarian Army's retreat from the front against Greece forced the Bulgarian chief of staff to transfer most of the country's troops into the region of Macedonia.^[2] During the retreat via the city of Ferdinand (now Montana), a large part of the 9th infantry division mutinied and surrendered to the Romanians on 5 July.^[3]^[4] Consequently only a small, mostly militia force remained to face the Serbian counteroffensive in the areas of Belogradchik and Vidin.

On 8 July, the garrison of Belogradchik was overrun by the advancing Serbs of the Timok group and a small portion of Bulgarian soldiers who had survived the Serb onslaught retreated to Vidin. The next day, the Serbs entered Belogradchik while their cavalry blocked the land connection to Vidin from the rest of Bulgaria. Near the village of Bela Rada, a bloody battle was fought between the Serbian advanced guard and a Bulgarian reconnaissance squad, which then had to retreat.^[5]^[6]

Surrounding of Vidin by the Serbs[]

By 12 July, the Serbian Timok Army (between 16 and 21 battalions with 54 cannons, including howitzer batteries) surrounded Vidin from all directions. The city was defended by about 1,200 regular troops and 3,000 militia, armed with a total of 52 cannons (most of which were obsolete.) In general, the Bulgarians were poorly equipped and had little ammunition. On 14 July, the Serbs started to bombard the ramparts and the city itself. The Bulgarian commander, General Krastyu Marinov, refused to surrender twice. The relentless bombardment continued for three straight days, causing insignificant military casualties for the Bulgarian side.^[7]

Assault on the fortress[]

In the late afternoon of 17 July, after a lengthy artillery bombardment, a Serbian infantry division attacked the western sector of Vidin, located between the villages of Novoseltsi and Smardan. Two Serbian attacks had been repulsed by the Bulgarians by that evening. On 18 July, the Serbs notified General Marinov of the armistice that had been signed on the same day in Bucharest. Afterwards, the Serbians retreated from the region.^[7]^[8]

Citations[]

^ Darvingov (1925), p. 715.
^ Hristov, pp. 180–185
^ Hristov (1945), pp. 187–188.
^ Darvingov (1925), p. 682.
^ Hristov (1945), pp. 190–192.
^ Darvingov (1925), pp. 692, 696.
^ ^a ^b Hristov (1945), pp. 194–195.
^ Darvingov (1925), pp. 704, 707, 712–713, 715.

References[]

Darvingov, P. (1925). History of the Macedonian-Odrin Volunteer Corps. Nov Zhivot.
Hristov, A. (1945). Historic overview of the war of Bulgaria against all Balkan countries in 1913. Pechatnitsa na armeyskiya voenno-izdatelski fond.

v t Balkan Wars
Background	Nationalism in the Ottoman Empire Albanian Bulgarian Greek Serbian Congress of Berlin Annexation of Eastern Rumelia Serbo-Bulgarian War Greco-Turkish War of 1897 Cretan State IMRO & Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising Macedonian Struggle Young Turk Revolution Bosnian crisis Bulgarian Independence 31 March Incident Goudi coup Italo-Turkish War Albanian revolt of 1912 Balkan League
First Balkan War
Battles	Sarantaporo Kardzhali Pente Pigadia Sorovich Kumanovo Kirk Kilisse Scutari Lule Burgas Yenidje Adrianople Prilep Himara Monastir First Çatalca Kaliakra Merhamli Driskos Elli Korytsa Lemnos Bulair Şarköy Bizani Second Çatalca
Diplomacy and politics	London Conference Albanian Independence 1913 Ottoman coup d'état Treaty of London
Second Balkan War
Battles	Kilkis–Lachanas Doiran Bregalnica Knjaževac Kalimanci Kresna Gorge Southern Dobruja Romanian landings in Bulgaria Vidin Pirot
Diplomacy and politics	Greek–Serbian Alliance Provisional Government of Western Thrace Treaty of Bucharest Treaty of Constantinople Treaty of Athens
Other	1913 Romanian Army cholera outbreak
General
Aftermath	Autonomy of Northern Epirus Sarajevo Assassination and World War I Ottoman–Bulgarian alliance Balkans campaign of WWI Serbian campaign Macedonian front
Atrocities	Carnegie Commission Massacres of Albanians Initial phase of the Greek genocide Places burned down
Participants	Bulgaria Ferdinand I Ivan Geshov Stoyan Danev Mihail Savov Ivan Fichev Vasil Kutinchev Nikola Ivanov Radko Dimitriev Stiliyan Kovachev Georgi Todorov Greece George I Constantine I Eleftherios Venizelos Panagiotis Danglis Pavlos Kountouriotis Konstantinos Sapountzakis Viktor Dousmanis Montenegro Nicholas I Crown Prince Danilo Janko Vukotić Ottoman Empire Mehmed V Nazim Pasha Zeki Pasha Esad Pasha Kölemen Abdullah Pasha Ali Rıza Pasha Hasan Tahsin Pasha Enver Bey Ahmed Izzet Pasha Romania Carol I Crown Prince Ferdinand Alexandru Averescu Serbia Peter I Crown Prince Alexander Radomir Putnik Petar Bojović Stepa Stepanović Božidar Janković Other Balkan states: Albania (Ismail Qemali)
Category