List of places burned during the Balkan wars facts for kids

The Balkan Wars (1912-1913) were two short but important conflicts in Southeast Europe. They involved several countries like Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia fighting against the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and later against each other. These wars changed the map of Europe and led to a lot of destruction. Many towns and villages were burned down, either completely or partly, during these conflicts. This list tells you about some of the places that suffered from these fires.

Why Places Were Burned

During the Balkan Wars, armies often burned down villages and towns. This happened for different reasons:

• Sometimes it was to punish people.
• Sometimes it was to make it harder for the enemy to get supplies or shelter.
• Sometimes it was just a terrible result of fighting.

These actions caused huge problems for the people living there. Many lost their homes, their belongings, and even their lives.

Places Burned During the Balkan Wars

Many areas were affected by the fires and destruction during the Balkan Wars. Here are some examples of towns and villages that were burned.

Monastir Province

In 1912, during the occupation by the Serbian and Greek armies, many villages in the Monastir province were burned. This area is now known as Bitola in North Macedonia. A British relief fund estimated that about 80% of the Muslim villages in this province were destroyed by fire.

Villages in the Raionovo Area

In the autumn of 1912, Bulgarian groups led by a person named Donchev attacked three villages: Raionovo, Planitsa, and Kukurtevo. In just one day, they burned 345 Turkish houses. More than 700 people died in these attacks.

Kilkis

The town of Kilkis in Greece was almost completely destroyed on July 4, 1913. The Greek army was responsible for this. Kilkis had about 13,000 people living there before the war. After the burning, 74 people were found dead. Also, more than 40 Bulgarian villages in the countryside around Kilkis were burned.

Serres

On July 11, 1913, the city of Serres in Greece suffered greatly. Out of 6,000 houses, about 4,000 were destroyed by fire. A special commission that looked into the events found that the Bulgarian army was mainly responsible for this destruction. Serres had a population of about 30,000 people, and around 200 people died there.

Doxato

The town of Doxato in Greece was attacked on July 13, 1913. Out of 270 Greek houses, only 30 were left standing. About 500 people died in Doxato during this event.

Giannitsa

In 1912, the Turkish part of the town of Giannitsa in Greece was almost completely burned down. This happened when the main Greek army occupied the town.

Strumica

Between August 21 and 23, 1913, the town of Strumica (now in North Macedonia) was burned. Both the Turkish and Greek parts of the town were set on fire by the Greek army before they retreated from the area.

Havsa and Nearby Villages

In 1912, the Turkish part of Havsa was almost entirely burned by the Bulgarians. A mosque and a Muslim cemetery were also damaged. Near Havsa, two other Turkish villages, Soyoutli-dere and Iskender-keuï, also saw over 150 houses burned. The people living there had to leave their homes and flee to other areas like Anatolia and Adrianople.

Yenimuhacir

The Bulgarian village of Yenimuhacir (also known as Bulgarköy) near Keşan was completely destroyed on July 7, 1913. All 420 houses in the village were burned. The village had 2,132 people, and 450 of them died.

Osmanlı

In 1913, the Bulgarian village of Osmanlı, also near Havsa, was destroyed. All 114 houses were burned by returning Turks. This was likely in revenge for earlier events against Muslims in Havsa. The people living in Osmanlı fled to Adrianople and lost their farm animals.

Hasköy

In 1912, the Turkish part of the village of Hasköy, near Havsa, also suffered. Only 25 out of 55 houses in the Turkish section of the village survived the fires.