The Second Bulgarian army which at the beginning of the war had advanced against Adrianople attacked this city on 22 and 23 Oct. 191Z but had been unable to carry any of the important defensive works. The right wing of the First Bulgarian army, however, was pushed on 23 October to the Tunja Valley north of Adrianople; by the 29th its left wing had reached the Maritza Valley south of Adri anople. The fortress was now completely surrounded. Still another Bulgar force had crossed the Rhodope Range and inflicted a de feat on the Turks at Kirjali on 20 October. Part of this force then advanced and joined the other Bulgarian troops before Adrianople. A special division under General Todoroff in the meantime had invaded Macedonia along the Struma and Mesta vallies, captured the Kresna defile and occupied Bilk on the Salo nica-Dedeagatch Railroad. This move com pletely severed the western from the eastern Turkish army. General Todoroff then advanced on Demir Hissar and from there to Salonica; on his arrival, however, that city had already capitulated to the Greeks. Other detachments of his forces occupied Kavalla 15 November and Serres on the 20th. After the victory at Kiriali the Bulgars pursued the Turks in the direction of Jumuljina, captured this town on 22 November and finally forced the Turks who had made a stand north of the village of Mer hanli to surrender on 27 November, taking 12,000 prisoners.
The siege of Adrianople in the meantime had been carried on without any definite re sults. Almost 50,000 men of the First and Second Serbian armies had joined the Bulgars in the beginning of November 1912, but even the combined forces still possessed insufficient artillery to compel surrender. Every attempt of the Turks to break out, however, was re pelled. Coincident with these Bulgarian suc cesses were equally important successes on the part of the Serbian armies. On 19 Oct. 1912 they crossed the frontier and after a two days' battle inflicted a severe defeat on the Turks near Kumanovo on 24 Nov. 1912. Stra rim was occupied on the 22d, Kratovo on the 26th, and on the same day Uskub was aban doned by the Turks, who were so demoralized that they left behind some 120 guns and large quantities of stores and munitions. Both the Third and Fourth Serbian armies had been equally successful. Mitrovitza and Prishtina were taken on 22 Oct. 1912, Novi Bazar on 27 October, Plevlje on the 28th and Nova Varosh on 5 November. After the fall of Uskub the Serbians pushed the Turks further back toward Monastir. Doiran was taken on 5 November and Salonica, already in the hands of the Greeks, was entered by the Serbs on the 8th. Perlepe, on the road to was occupied 6 November after a two days battle. Two divisions of General Yankovitch's army were dispatched in the middle of Novem ber across the snow-covered mountains to ward the Adriatic Sea. They captured Alessio
18 November and reached Durazzo on the 28th (1912). Five divisions of the First Serbian army supported by other detachments resumed their attacks on the Turks in the vicinity of Monastir. After a battle lasting four days the Turks were completely routed and Mon astir was occupied by the Serbs. Most of the Turkish troops were either killed or captured, and only small bodies succeeded in escaping toward the south.
The Montenegrin forces throughout Octo ber and November 1912 were chiefly occupied in operations in northern Albania which finally resulted in the complete investment of Scutari. Although the Turkish troops caught there were prevented from breaking out, the artillery at the disposal of the besiegers was too feeble to reduce the place. During seven weeks of the war the Montenegrins, though fighting with great valor and determination, and de feating the Turks in almost every encounter, only succeeded in capturing Tuzi (14 October), Berane (16 October), Ipek (31 October), and the insignificant harbor of San Giovanni di Medusa (16 November). When in the middle of November Serbian detachments appeared in central Albania a Montenegrin brigade was sent south to co-operate with them, but before the end of the month was recalled to assist in the siege of Scutari. Hence, when the armistice was signed, Scutari, the objective of the whole Montenegrin campaign, still re mained in the hands of its Turkish garrison.
The Greeks, from the commencement of the war, had made the capture of Salonica their chief aim. Crossing the frontier on 18 Oct. 1912, they captured Elassona on the 19th, decisively defeated the Turks on the 22d at the Sarantoporos Defile, captured Serfije on the 23d and Verria on 29th. As the Greeks approached nearer and nearer to Salonica the Turks made one more attempt to make a stand along the line between Yenidje Vardar and Platt bridge. But the effort proved fruitless, and on 8 Nov. 1912, Hassan Tahsin Pasha saw himself compelled to surrender Salonica with its garrison of about 30,000 Turkish troops to the Greek Crown Prince. Five Greek divisions were now detached to assist the Serbian troops fighting near Monastir, where they arrived in time to capture large numbers of Turks who had attempted to flee southward after their defeat before Monastir. During December the main army of the Greeks advanced toward Janina after beating the Turks at the Sangoni Pass. Previous to this the western Greek army had come up from the south by way of Arta, captured Prevesa, a small fortress, on 4 Novem ber, Mount Metsovo on the 14th, and reached the vicinity of Janina on 28 Nov. 1912. Throughout December 1912 the Greeks unsuc cessfully endeavored to capture this town, though they had no difficulty in repulsing every attempt of the Turks who assumed the offen sive.