Battle of Turtucaia

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Turtucaia
partof=Romanian Campaign (World War I)


caption= "The Battle of Tutrakan" by Dimitar Giudzhenov
date=September 2, 1916 - September 6, 1916
place=Turtucaia, Romania (now Tutrakan, Bulgaria)
territory=
result=Central Powers victory
combatant1=flagicon|Bulgaria|1878 Kingdom of Bulgaria
combatant2=flagicon|Romania Kingdom of Romania
commander1=Gen. Panteley Kiselov
commander2=Gen. Constantin Teodorescu
strength1=28 battalions:
55,000
strength2=19 battalions (initially):
39,000
31 battalions (end phase)
casualties1=Dead or wounded:
7,350 [Ген. Никола Недев, България в Световната война 1915-1918, София 2001, с. 80]
8,000According to Zagoritz [http://www.obs.tutrakan.org/private/tutepopeia.html Тутраканска епопея] ]
casualties2=Dead or wounded:
6,160
7,500 [According to Romanian sources [http://www.obs.tutrakan.org/private/tutepopeia.html Тутраканска епопея] ]
16,000According to Zagoritz [http://www.obs.tutrakan.org/private/tutepopeia.html Тутраканска епопея] ] ;
Taken POW:
480 officers and
22,000 [Dragoş Băldescu, [http://transylvanian-numismatics.com/phpBB/download.php?id=343&sid=bd07d1929c0dda11891e8d3bbe42ecce "Bătălia de la Turtucaia (1916)"] , Colecţionarul Român, 24.12.2006]
25,000 soldiers [Glenn E. Torrey, "The Battle of Turtucaia (Tutrakan) (2-6 September 1916): Romania's Grief, Bulgaria's Glory"]
28,000 soldiers [Constantin Kiriţescu, "Istoria războiului pentru întregirea României: 1916-1919", vol. I, pag. 398]
notes=

The Battle of Turtucaia or Battle of Tutrakan ( _bg. Битка при Тутракан), also referred to as the Tutrakan Epopee ( _bg. Тутраканска епопея) in Bulgaria, was a battle during which an outnumbered Bulgarian Central Powers force captured the fortress of Tutrakan ("Turtucaia" in Romanian) from its Romanian defenders.

The Romanian fortress of Tutrakan was built with the aid of French military engineers after 1913, when the town and the whole of Southern Dobruja was annexed by Romania. It featured 151 cannons and 15 strong points and was commanded by General Constantin Teodorescu. The fortification was regarded as "the second Verdun" because of its alleged impregnability. However, the Romanian troops defending the fortress were almost untrained second-rate conscripts and only 3 battalions were part of the active army. They used obsolete weapons and their artillery was compared to a "museum" by witnesses.

The Bulgarian forces (4-th and a brigade from 1-st division) under General Panteley Kiselov, aided by a column of German troops led by Major Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord (whose role was limited to capturing the strong point 2), stormed the fortress in the morning of 5 September, with the Bulgarian artillery opening fire (using 105 mm leichte Feldhaubitze 16, Howitzer) at 6:30 AM and the troops attacking at 8:20 AM. Five strong points were gradually taken during the day, while the Romanians were reinforced by 15 infantry battalions and three batteries from Bucharest.

The attack was renewed on 6 September and the Bulgarian forces entered Tutrakan at around 4:00 PM, completely seizing the town a half an hour later and capturing two flags, 450 officers, more than 22,000 soldiers, 151 cannons and all of the infantry's weapons. However, during the offensive the Bulgarians lost several thousands of soldiers, including many officers, due to General Kiselov's decision to put the commanding officers in front of the subordinate soldiers.

Notes

References

*
* Constantin Kiriţescu, "Istoria războiului pentru întregirea României: 1916-1919", 1922
* [http://www.obs.tutrakan.org/private/tutepopeia.html Тутраканската епопея]