By 1918 the Bulgarian positions in Macedonia had deteriorated drastically as the morale of the forces decreased due to lack of supplies and ammunition. Then in May the positions of the First Army in the sector of the Fifth Division were attacked by the Greek Army, which had officially joined the Allied forces in 1917. In the ensuing Battle of Skra-di-Legen at the peak of Yarebichina the Bulgarians lost almost their entire 49th Infantry Regiment. This victory was of little strategic value to the Allies but it sapped the morale of the Bulgarian troops in the sector. After the battle general Nikola Zhekov, general Sholtz and crown prince Boris arrived at the headquarters of the Fifth Division to inquire for the causes of the defeat. They reinforced the division with the 80th infantry regiment and planned a demonstrative attack along the Struma by the Second Army in order to retake the heights. The plan, however, never went into action as the morale of the forces in the Fifth Division was so low that an attack was impossible. General Zhekov then sought to remedy the situations by replacing the commander of the First Army general Dimitar Geshov with the former commander of the Ninth "Pleven" Division general Stefan Nerezov.