head of which was just
south of Gradsko, and his front very largely conformed to the
convolutions of this and the Vardar River. On his right, from before
Strumitza Station, the British continued the line to the north of Lake
Doiran.

It will seem somewhat strange that, though the British were the first
to disembark in Saloniki in the first week in October, 1915, two
months should elapse before they took any prominent part in the
fighting. The British commander, General Mahon, reached Greece on
October 12, 1915, to be followed a month later by General Munro, but
the British made no move of any importance. There were some trifling
encounters with outposts, and these had been magnified into battles by
the dispatches from Greece, but the truth was that the French had
borne the brunt of the struggle on the Tcherna, perhaps because they
were then more numerous than the British, who were not actively
engaged in force until the first week of December. Their trenches,
north and West of Lake Doiran, among bleak hills covered with snow,
spread out fanwise in the direction of Strumitza, which they had taken
over from the French when the latter had gone up the Vardar to
Krivolak.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

BULGARIAN ATTACKS--ALLIES CONCENTRATE AT SALONIKI

On December 5, 1915, the Bulgarians gave the first indications of
their preparations to break through the thin lines of the Allies. On
that date the British were to have their first taste of heavy
fighting. The Bulgarians delivered a massed attack at two points; one
at Demir Kapu, another against the British positions on the
Rabrovo-Doiran road.

The first assault of the enemy succeeded in gaining a foothold in the
British trenches, but the British were presently able to regain their
positions and drive the Bulgarians back. Here again it was obvious
that the hearts of the Bulgarian soldiers were not in this fighting.
Most of the British soldiers had never seen any fighting before, yet
they were able to accomplish what the fierce Serbians had not been
able to do; drive a superior force of Bulgarians back at the point of
the bayonet. Numbers of the Bulgarians were taken prisoners, willingly
enough, it seemed, and they told their captors that up to the actual
fighting, until they actually saw the troops they were engaging, they
had been under the impression they were to fight Greeks.

This first attack made the British commander realize, however, that
the enemy opposing him