| Capture of Korytsa | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the First Balkan War | |||||||||
 A Greek lithograph of the capture. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Greece |  Ottoman Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Konstantinos Damianos | Djavit Pasha | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | 24,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Capture of Korytsa by the Hellenic armed forces, happened on 20 December 1912, during the First Balkan War.
During the early stages of the war while the Balkan allies were victorious, the Hellenic Army liberated Thessaloniki and continued to advance west in Macedonia to Kastoria and then Korçë.
The Epirus front was also active and the Ottoman forces under Djavid Pasha placed 24,000 Ottoman troops in Korçë in order to protect north of Ioannina, the urban center of the Epirus region. On December 20, three days after peace negotiations started, [1] the Greek forces pushed the Ottomans out of Korçë. [2]
This would give the Greek forces a significant advantage in controlling Ioannina and the entire area in March 1913 at the Battle of Bizani.
After Ioannina was captured, the town was visited on 17 May, 1913, by Prince George (later George II of Greece). Prince George was welcomed by the Muslim mayor of the town and he visited a Dervish monastery nearby. [3]
Korçë is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipality, in a total area of 806 km2 (311 sq mi). It stands on a plateau some 850 m (2,789 ft) above sea level, surrounded by the Morava Mountains.
Constantine I was King of Greece from 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece expanded to include Thessaloniki, doubling in area and population. The eldest son of George I of Greece, he succeeded to the throne following his father's assassination in 1913.
The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan states' combined armies overcame the initially numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies, achieving rapid success.
The Battle of Pente Pigadia or Battle of Beshpinar, took place on 22–30 October (O.S.), 1912. It was fought between Greek forces under Lieutenant General Konstantinos Sapountzakis and Ottoman forces under General Esad Pasha during the First Balkan War. The battle began when the Ottomans attacked Greek positions at Anogi. Early snowfall prevented the Ottomans from launching a big offensive, while the Greeks managed to hold their ground for six days in the ensuing series of skirmishes.
The Battle of Bizani took place in Epirus on 4–6 March [O.S. 19–21 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.
Leskovik is a town in Korçë County, in southeastern Albania. Historically, until 2015, it was a municipality, after which it became a subdivision of Kolonjë. The town is located close to the Greek-Albanian border. The population at the 2011 census was estimated as being 1,525.
The Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was a short-lived, self-governing entity founded in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars on 28 February 1914, by the local Greek population in southern Albania.
Konstantinos Sapountzakis was a Hellenic Army officer. He is notable as the first head of the Hellenic Army General Staff and as the first commander of the Army of Epirus during the First Balkan War.
The participation of Greece in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 is one of the most important episodes in modern Greek history, as it allowed the Greek state to almost double its size and achieve most of its present territorial size. It also served as a catalyst of political developments, as it brought to prominence two personalities, whose relationship would dominate the next decade and have long-lasting repercussions for Greece: the Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos, and the Army's commander-in-chief, the Crown Prince and later King, Constantine I.
Independent Albania was proclaimed on 28 November 1912. This chapter of Albanian history was shrouded in controversy and conflict as the larger part of the self-proclaimed region had found itself controlled by the Balkan League states: Serbia, Montenegro and Greece from the time of the declaration until the period of recognition when Albania relinquished many of the lands originally included in the declared state. Since the proclamation of the state in November 1912, the Provisional Government of Albania asserted its control over a small part of central Albania including the important cities of Vlorë and Berat.
Christos Adamidis was a Hellenic Army officer and pioneer of military aviation. He was one of the first Greek officers who received aviation training in France and later participated in air operations during the Balkan Wars.
The following is the order of battle of the Hellenic Army during the First Balkan War of 1912–1913.
The Himara Revolt, was a Greek uprising during the First Balkan War that took place in the region of Himara, on November 18 [O.S. November 5] 1912. It successfully overthrew the Ottoman forces of the region, thus securing the coastal area between Sarandë and Vlorë for the Hellenic Army.
In World War I, Albania had been an independent state, having gained independence from the Ottoman Empire on 28 November 1912, during the First Balkan War. It was recognised by the Great Powers as the Principality of Albania, after Turkey officially renounced all its rights in May 1913. Being a fledgling new country, it quickly unravelled and just a few months after taking power, its German ruler, Prince Wilhelm, was forced to flee. After World War I broke out, anarchy took hold of the country as tribes and regions rebelled against central rule. To protect the Greek minority, Greek control was established in the southern districts replacing the Northern Epirote units beginning in October 1914. In response to this, Italy, although officially neutral at the time, also sent troops into the port of Vlorë, while Serbia and Montenegro took control of northern regions. In 1915 Serbia was overrun by combined German, Austro-Hungarian, and Bulgarian forces; the Serbian army retreated across the mountain passes of northern Albania, towards the Adriatic. Italian troops drove the Greeks from southern Albania and brought almost all Albanian territory under their control. Austrian forces invaded in June 1916; Austro-Hungarian forces remained in Albania until the end of the war when a multinational Allied force broke through and pushed them out in 1918.
The Northern Epirote Declaration of Independence occurred on February 28, 1914, as a reaction to the incorporation of Northern Epirus into the newly established Principality of Albania. The region of Northern Epirus, which corresponds to modern-day southern Albania, came under the control of the Greek forces during the Balkan Wars of 1912–13. However, the subsequent Protocol of Florence assigned it to the newly established Albanian state, a decision that was rejected by the local Greek population. As the Greek army withdrew to the new border, a Panepirotic Assembly was organized by the representatives of Northern Epirus in Gjirokastër. Given the fact that union of Northern Epirus with Greece had already been dismissed by the European Great Powers, they decided that only autonomy or alternatively an international occupation would be appropriate for the region. Finally, Georgios Christakis-Zografos, the head of the assembly, declared the independence of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.
The Italian protectorate over Albania was established by the Kingdom of Italy during World War I in an effort to secure a de jure independent Albania under Italian control. It existed from 23 June 1917 until the summer of 1920.
Ioannis Velissariou was a Hellenic Army officer and hero of the Balkan Wars. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in the military history of modern Greece. He had a decisive role in the Battle of Bizani during the First Balkan War (1912–1913), forcing the Ottoman Army to surrender unconditionally.
The Battle of Driskos, took place on 26–28 November (O.S.), 1912. It was fought between Greek forces under General Dimitrios Matthaiopoulos and Ottoman forces under General Esad Pasha during the First Balkan War. The battle began when a unit of Greek Redshirt volunteers attacked the Ottoman defensive line at Mount Driskos, Epirus.
The Medal for the Greco-Turkish War of 1912–1913 is a campaign medal of Greece for participation in the First Balkan War.
The history of Northern Epirus from 1913 to 1921 is characterized by the desire for "enosis", or union with the Greek national state, among the Greek minority residing in this region of southern Albania. Additionally, the irredentist aspirations of the Hellenic kingdom to annex the region are noteworthy.