Battle of Doiran ( 1918 ) The third Battle of Doiran was fought from 18 September to 19 September 1918 , with the Greeks and the British assaulting the positions of the Bulgarian First Army near Dojran Lake . The battle was part of World War I and took place in the Balkan Theatre . The battle ended with the Bulgarians repulsing all attacks . Prelude . The Greeks and the British set off from their base at Thessaloniki at the same time as the Serbs and the French . The Greeks and the British , under the command of George Milne set off the attack on the Bulgarian positions at Dojran while the Serbs and the French under the command of Franchet d ' Esperey went to penetrate the Bulgarian defences in the Vardar Valley . The Greeks and the British were aiming to capture the Bulgarian positions in the hills above Dojran Lake . This was not the first time the Allies had attacked Dojran - in 1916 , an Anglo - French attempt was repulsed by the Second Thracian Infantry Division ; the British had twice failed to capture it in 1917 . The fortification s were well built ( by Bulgarian engineers ) , the Bulgarians having spent the first months of 1916 and early 1917 strengthening the positions . The terrain around the area was rough , the fortifications being surrounded with three miles of scrub and rocks . Part of the defences were the dangerous Pip Ridge and the Grand Couronné . The battle . On the left , the British XII Corps made up of the 22nd and 26th Divisions , reinforced by the Greek Seres division was to attack the difficult Pip Ridge . The British concentrated 231 pieces of artillery , including heavy 8 inch howitzers . The bombardment took place over two days , included gas shells and concluded with a rolling barrage behind which the infantry was to advance . The British spent the time before the battle practicing and preparing for the assault . Facing them was the Bulgarian 9th Pleven Division with 122 guns , in very well prepared defenses , commanded by General Vladimir Vazov . On September 18 , the British XII Corps attacked with the 66th and 67th Brigades of the 22nd Division and the Greek Seres Division . The Bulgarian first line of trenches was overrun , and the Seres Division penetrated to the second line . The Bulgarians responded with heavy artillery fire and counter - attacks that recaptured the ground lost . Meanwhile the British 66th Brigade ' s 7th South Wales Border battalion lost heavily and failed in its attacks . Attacks by its the 11th Welsh Regiment and 9th Border Regiment did not go well either . The British 67th Brigade ' s 12th Cheshire Regiment followed by the 9th South Lancashire Regiment and 8th Kings Shropshire Light Infantry ( KSLI ) charged into withering Bulgarian artillery and machinegun fire . the 67th Brigade lost 65 % of its soldiers . At the end of the day the XII Corps was back at its starting point . On September 19 , the XII Corps attacked again . Because the XVI Corps attacks north of the lake had failed , the XII Corps would attack alone . The Greek Seres Division repeated the previous day ' s performance , taking some Bulgarian trenches before being thrown back by heavy artillery , machine gun fire and counterattacks . The British attacked with the 77th Brigade , the weakened 65th Brigade , and later the 2nd French Zouaves . The 66th Brigades and 67th Brigades were fit only for defensive duties and did not participate . The 77th Brigade took some Bulgarian trenches , but it was in an exposed position , being hammered by artillery and eventually retreated before the Bulgarians counter - attacked . The brigade suffered about 50 % casualties . The 65th Brigade ' s attack failed also , as did the French Zouvaves . Meanwhile , also on September 18 , the British XVI Corps attacked with the Greek Cretan Division , and the British 84th Brigade in support . They faced the Bulgarian 1st Macedonian Brigade with 24 guns and 64 machine guns . The Greek division attacked with two of its regiments up front and a third in reserve , supported on its flank by the 84th . Firing in support were six batteries of British artillery . The British 85th Brigade in reserve . At 0500 the Greeks attacked , clearing out the Bulgarian outpost line . They then had to move across a long plain to attack the Bulgarian positions on a series of hills that overlooked the plain . The Greeks recklessly attacked across the plain , and penetrated the Bulgarian lines but were thrown back with heavy artillery , rifle , and machinegun fire . The British artillery deployed behind them to provide fire support . The Greeks rallied and made several more attacks on the Bulgarian lines with the same result as the first time . By the evening the Greeks withdrew followed a few hours later by the British artillery . The XVI Corps did not attack on 19 September due to casualties . The attack failed due to the lack of artillery support , problems with inter - unit communication and the reckless first attack by the Greeks . Casualties . The Allies ' losses totalled between 6 , 559 and 7 , 819 British and Greek soldiers , against 2 , 726 for the Bulgarians . Most of the British and Greek loses were to the XII Corps and Seres Division , with less than 1 , 000 coming from the XVI Corps and Cretan Division . Retreat . Several days after the battle , the British realized the Bulgarian fortifications were quiet . The Greek and British armies advanced only to find the Bulgarian positions abandoned . The Serbs and French armies had defeated part of the Bulgarian army in the Vardar valley and were advancing towards Doiran . This prompted the command of Army Group Scholtz to order the Bulgarian First Army to retreat so that it would not be cut off from the rear . The British were weary and pursued slowly , and Bulgarian rear guards fought well enough to allow the rest of their troops to get away . The British Royal Air Force did attack the retreating Bulgarian columns inflicting some casualties . Aftermath . The Allies continued to advance into Bulgarian - held territory and some said the Bulgarian army had mutinied and were threatening Sofia . On September 30 , the Bulgarians surrendered to the allies in Thessaloniki in order to avoid occupation . The British paid great honor to General Vladimir Vazov when in 1936 he arrived in Victoria Station in London , by lowering the flags of all their regiments who participated in the battle . The chairman of the British legion Major Goldy said in his speech : “ He is one of the few foreign officers whose name features in our history ” . Notes . < div class = " references - small " >