Vardar, Battles of

Two battles in World War I (October 1915 and September 1918) between Serbian forces backed by Allied troops and the Bulgarians, both part of the larger Allied operation surrounding Salonika. The Vardar is a Balkan river, rising in Serbia, flowing northwest then southeast and emptying into the Gulf of Salonika.

October 1915 a joint French and British force moved up the Vardar valley from Salonika to assist the Serbs against the Bulgarians. Outnumbered about four to one by the Bulgarians, the Allied forces fell back and retired into Greece 12 December.

September 1918 the battle opened with a strong offensive by the Serbs and French southeast of Monastir while British forces were attacking on the Doiran-Struma Front. The French and Serbs drove the Bulgarians up the valley until the Bulgarians signed an Armistice at Salonika 30 September.