801 MT COY ASC
Balkans 1916
From January to March 1916 the construction of the Birdcage line continued apace, then in April the French and British moved up country and limited engagements with enemy patrols took place. The commander of the British contingent, General Mahon, was replaced by the younger and more dynamic General Milne. In June the British sector of the line ran from the mouth of the R. Struma East of Salonika north along the valley to L Butkova then west to Yanesh. The British sector was extended west between Lake Doiran and the River Varda in July. The British Salonika Force now consisted of five divisions: 10th,22nd,26th,27th and 28th. In the summer of 1916 the refitted Serbian army arrived in Salonika along with Italian and Russian forces.
Image - French troops in the town of Monastir after it's successful capture in October 1916 the only French success of a difficult year.
In August 1916 the Bulgarians went on the offensive, advancing down the Vardar valley and into the Struma valley, the offensive was finally halted at the end of August. In September Sarrail’s planned Autumn offensive begins to the west of the Vardar, the Serbs supported by the French take Kajmackalan, Florina and Monastir. The first British offensive action is the assault on Horseshoe Hill at the end of August, followed by the battle of Machukovo and the successful capture of the villages of Karajakoi zir Karajakoi Bala, Yenikoi and Bairakli Jum’a in the Struma valley. The Roumanians were finally persuaded to enter the war but were defeated in a short campaign. By December 1916 the fighting had died down at the end of relatively successful year for the allied forces in the Balkans.