The Battle of Bizani (Greek: , Mchi tou Bizanou; Turkish: Bizani Muharebesi) took place in Epirus on 46 March [O.S. 1921 February] 1913. The battle was fought between Greek and Ottoman forces during the last stages of the First Balkan War, and revolved around the forts of Bizani, which covered the approaches to Ioannina, the largest city in the region.
At the outbreak of the war, the Hellenic Army on the Epirus front did not have the numbers to initiate an offensive against the German-designed defensive positions in Bizani. However, after the campaign in Macedonia was over, many Greek troops were redeployed to Epirus, where Crown Prince Constantine himself assumed command. In the battle that followed the Ottoman positions were breached and Ioannina taken. Despite having a slight numerical advantage, this was not the decisive factor in the Greek victory. Rather, "solid operational planning" by the Greeks was key as it helped them implement a well-coordinated and executed assault that did not allow the Ottoman forces time to react. Furthermore, the bombardment of Ottoman positions was the heaviest in world history up to that time.
The First Balkan War (Serbian: Први балкански рат, Prvi Balkanski rat; Bulgarian: Балканска война; Greek: Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; Turkish: Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro) against the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan states' combined armies overcame the initially numerically inferior (significantly superior by the end of the conflict) and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success.
The war was a comprehensive and unmitigated disaster for the Ottomans, who lost 83% of their European territories and 69% of their European population. As a result of the war, the League captured and partitioned almost all of the Ottoman Empire's remaining territories in Europe. Ensuing events also led to the creation of an independent Albania, which angered the Serbs. Bulgaria, meanwhile, was dissatisfied over the division of the spoils in Macedonia, and attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 June 1913 which provoked the start of the Second Balkan War.
1913Mar, 4
First Balkan War: The Greek army engages the Turks at Bizani, resulting in victory two days later.
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Events on 1913
- 21Feb
Balkan Wars
Ioannina is incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars. - 25Jun
Great Reunion of 1913
American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913. - 3Jul
Great Reunion of 1913
Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact Pickett's Charge; upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors. - 4Jul
Great Reunion of 1913
President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913. - 16Aug
HMS Queen Mary
Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary.