The Balkan Wars  On 20th February 1913,
however, the Bulgarians attacked the city with substantial military force.
The Greek army that was supporting Nigrita, forced the Bulgarians out of
Serres, after a three day ruthless battle.
After the historic battles in Kilkis and Lahanas, the Bulgarian governor of Serres, General Voulkof, was ordered to abandon the city with all the Bulgarian authorities and headed back to Sofia. In fact, on 21st June, Voulkof left Serres and headed towards Sidirokastro, where, according to some information, the Bulgarian army was directed while it was retreating. Indeed, all the Bulgarian troops from the eastern side of Strymon (44 battalions) had gathered in Sidirokastro after the announcement of the Bulgarians’ defeat in the battles of Kilkis and Lahanas. On 26 June, the seventh and sixth Division (in other words, troops of Manousakis’ army) attacked the Bulgarians and had a ruthless battle, which ended on 27th June. The Greek Divisions won and Ivanov’s army retreated towards Stromnitsa. Meanwhile, before the Bulgarians left the city, they carried out their avenging fury very obvious on the civilians. They slaughtered the Metropolitan of Sidirokastro, two priests, a hundred elders and many women and children. Moreover, the Metropolitan was found horribly mutilated by the Greeks. The hair on his face and head had been removed, which showed the way his was tortured before his death. Unfortunately, similar incidents happened again in the city, in 1917.
Meanwhile, the Greek army, after managing to repair Strymon’s bridge, speeded up its advance towards Serres. In the early afternoon of the 29th of June the army entered the city, which was burning and liberated Serres by the double foreign yoke. The Constitution of the 10th Division, which is based in Serres, coincided with the glorious period of the Balkan Wars (1912-13). The inhabitants of Serres seem to have some sympathy towards the heroic 10th Division, since they have used that name to call the main road of their city. The 10th Division was constituted under the order of King Constantine on 22nd March 1913, just before the war against the Bulgarians broke out. The purpose of this constitution was the reinforcement of Macedonia’s Army, in view of the danger deriving from the Bulgarians’ attitude, who thought of themselves as the only winners against the Turks. The 10th Division was very active during the Greek-Bulgarian War of 1913 and wasted plenty of blood in order to liberate Macedonia. During the Second Balkan War the Division’s losses were 17 dead and 38 injured officers, and 239 dead and 914 injured soldiers. It also took part in the Greek-Turkish War (1912-22) and in the Greek-Italian War (1940-41). The fortified narrow passage of Roupel, which is between Aggistro Mountain and Beles, is very well known from both World Wars. (Strymon River flows in this narrow passage and the Greek-Bulgarian border is near its northern exit). Because of the strategic importance, after the Second Balkan War, a deterrent system of forts was constructed. The strongest one was that of Roupel, which is in the northern exit of the narrow passage. During World War I it was occupied on 26th May 1916 by the Bulgarian-German forces, under the following conditions: At 9.45, the Commander of the fort, major Mauroudis, stopped the advance of two Bulgarian regiments of the 7th Division, which after spending the morning in the border, advanced on the fort. While major Mavroudis was following instructions he started shooting against those regiments, which resulted in the check of their advancement. However, after he consulted the Minister of War, he was ordered to yield the fort, since it was under a German officer’s command. So, the fort was yielded together with its artillery to the German officer, Til. In 1941, the Germans, in their effort to enter Greece, turned their attention towards Beles again and mainly towards the fort of Roupel. The attack against this fort was one of the greatest moments during World War II. The Germans paid a lot of attention to Roupel. However, the Greeks’ resistance was very effective. The German attacks were kept on being repulsed, starting at 6 o’ clock in the morning on 10th April, when the hostilities stopped and the fort was yielded because of the Germans’ invasion in Greece. The organized armed national resistance in our country during the period of occupation 1941-44, started from Kerdylia, in the Prefecture of Serres. On 17th October 1941, the Hitleresque forces were informed that the armed Greek guerilla force «Ulysses Androutsos» walked through Saint Dimitirios monastery, near the villages at Ano and Kato Kerdylia. Then, they surrounded the area and arrested almost every man and boy, who was then executed on a hill, where the «Cemetery for those who fell for the Nation» can be found today. In total 250 people, between the age 15 and 60, were killed. Then, the barbarous conquerors set the villages on fire and sent the women and children away. Nowadays, only dilapidated houses can be seen, whereas the churches of the villages and the Cemetery remain in tact. The execution of the 250 Kerdylians was the first execution that took place in Greece. However, Nigrita suffered untold loosed during the German occupation. After a conflict between the German conquerors and the Greek guerillas of he national resistance, the Germans set the electrical wiring on fire, burnt a large part of the city and arrested all the men, children and women in order to execute them. But after the mediation of the archimandrite Constantine Kardamenis, the women and children were set free, whereas the men were taken to Kalokastro village. Forty of these men were sent to concentration camps in Germany, whereas the rest were set free. The Germans’ revulsion was rendered to Saint Nikitas’ miracle, which is honored by the inhabitants of Nigrita. Apart from the German occupation troops, the Prefecture of Serres had to cope with the Bulgarian conquerors, who destroyed everything that was Greek and showed their implacable hatred and abysmal malice with torments, imprisonments, persecution, and murders throughout their occupation. |
Before the Bulgarians
left Serres, they destroyed Strymon’s bridges, showing down the advance
of the Greek army, which didn’t manage to liberate the city. Serres threw
itself on the mercy of comitadjis who once again slaughtered innocent people
and burned the city. Around 18 churches got burnt and hundreds of people
were slaughtered. These horrifying scenes were continued until the afternoon
of the 28th June, when the Bulgarians started making a move towards Sofia,
because they had heard that the Greek army was approaching. As they were
leaving they arrested many of the city’s elders, Papapavlou the
Headmaster, Ghrysafis the doctor, Fokas the chemist, Stamoulis the manager
of the Bank of Athens, etc. Their dead bodies were found later on the way
to Limbunovo.