11,000 Serbs Slain; The Rest In Peril.

New York Times 100 years ago today, July 8, 1913:
Bulgarians Threaten Line of Retreat — 8,000 Wounded Already in Belgrade.
THE GREEKS ROUTED TOO?
Bulgars Say They Have Scattered King Constantine's Army — Servian Old Men Called to Arms.
    VIENNA, July 7.— Eleven thousand officers and men of the Servian Timok Division were killed in the battle with the Bulgarians, in which the division was defeated, according to the Sofia correspondent of the Reichspost. The division consisted of 15,000 men, who were surrounded by a Bulgarian army which outflanked them. Only 4,000 of the Servians survived, and these were taken prisoners.
    According to other newspaper reports, a Bulgarian column composed of 14,000 troops has succeeded in reaching the Servian town of Vranya and is threatening the line of retreat of the Servian army. The Bulgarians presumably were pushed forward from Egri-Palanka,
    A message from Belgrade, by way of Semlin, where the correspondents evade the censor, says that private advices regarding the disaster to the Servian Timok Division and the critical position of the Morava Division have become known in Belgrade and have caused the deepest depression.
    It is added that the Morava Division has been shattered and that the last levy, comprising all males between 18 and 60 years of age, has been summoned to arms.
    Eight thousand wounded, according to this message, have been brought to Belgrade.
    Dispatches to-night from Belgrade show how impossible it is to gather any idea of the real situation from the official statements disseminated there. One dispatch, direct from Belgrade, announces more victories for the Servian troops, who are said to have captured the Bulgarian position at Kitki, on Osigowa Plain, as well as Rujan Heights. It is also asserted that the way to Kostendil now lies open to the Serbs, and that the Bulgarians yesterday tried to cross the frontier near Obrenovao, north of Pirot, but were driven back with heavy losses.
    The mobilization of the Rumanian Army will be completed by Thursday or Friday, according to dispatches from Bucharest. The Rumanian troops will, it is expected, cross the Danube into Bulgaria immediately, and as a result of this step it is assumed that Bulgaria will be compelled either to agree to the Rumanian demands and permit Rumania to occupy the territory she desires or to engage in war.

Meagre Servian Reports.
    LONDON, Tuesday, July 8.— The most important news from the seat of war is the report, confirmed from Sofia, of the appearance of a large Bulgarian force at Vrania, threatening the Servian line of retreat.
    Still more significant, as tending to confirm the belief that the Servians are suffering defeat, is the announcement from Belgrade that only meagre reports are being received from the Servian Army headquarters and that the Government has decided to publish reports only on alternate days. In addition a rigorous censorship on the newspapers is being enforced and, the publication of special war editions has been stopped.
    The Servian wounded describe the battles as almost inhuman in their ferocity, the men throwing away their firearms and using their bayonets as daggers. This accords with the information from many sources of the sanguinary character of the fighting and the wholesale slaughter.
    "Whatever the policy of the European powers may be, little is now heard of attempts to stop the war. The Ambassadorial Conference met in London again yesterday, but apparently did little else than discuss the boundaries of Albania.
    Meanwhile Rumania and Turkey give signs that they will not long be idle spectators, and the Balkan States continue a struggle which will paralyze them for years to come.
    News of the fighting continues to be of a contradictory character. It is almost invariably from official sources in the respective capitals; no independent testimony is available. This applies equally to the struggle between the Greeks and the Bulgarians, and between the Servians and the Bulgarians. A dispatch from Salonika reports that the Greeks have occupied Demir-Hissir and Strumitza, and, according to the most probable reports, the Bulgarian General, Ivanoff, has been slowly retiring before the superior Greek forces northward since his army was weakened by the departure of his right wing to attack Krivolak.
    It should be noted, however, that another dispatch asserts that Gen. Ivanoff, by an unexpected attack, scattered the Greek Army of 80,000, commanded by King Constantine, and occupied Nigrita and other points on the Greek line. It is possible that both reports are correct, and that the one crediting victory to Gen. Ivanoff has reference to a later date, after the Bulgarian commander was reinforced.

Ferdinand Goes to Frontier.
    The Times correspondent in the Balkans, who gives what seems to be the most reliable news of the situation, wires from Sofia that King Ferdinand has left there for the frontier, but that army headquarters remain at Sofia.
    "The Servian border," according to this correspondent, "has been crossed at four points — at Saitchar and St. Nicholas and two intervening points — while the Bulgarians are moving on Pirot and Vrania with the manifest object of cutting the railway.
    "From Egri-Palanka to Kotchana the tide of battle is rising and a long and desperate struggle seems in prospect.
    "The Greeks continue successful. Their capture of Doiran and Serres is admitted at Sofia. The Bulgarians recognize it was an error to leave their forces in the south so weak. This error is being remedied."
    The Servian Minister here denies the report of the defeat of the Timok Division of the Servian Army, and says it on Sunday recaptured the town of Krivolak from the Bulgarians. According to other reports, it is not certain that the Timok Division was engaged in that operation.

Kilkish Another Plevna.
    An interesting detailed report from Greek official sources of last week's operations describes how the Bulgarians by incessant labor had transformed Kilkish into another Plevna, with a surprising extent of trenches, guns, and defenses, and asserts that the Greeks by their successful advance prevented the execution of a plan for a Bulgarian attack on Salonika.

    PARIS, July 7.— The Servian Government to-day made an appeal through its Legation in Paris, for doctors and nurses to aid the Servian wounded, who are so numerous that their care is beyond the surgical resources of Servia.

    ATHENS, July 7.— An official report describing the operations leading to the capture of Kilkish says:
    "The Greek army met with terrible resistance. It had to encounter enormous difficulties in getting the artillery over the rough ground, and constantly needed the assistance of the engineers to bridge the worst parts. The advance of the infantry over the open slopes, which afforded no cover, was most trying.
    "On July 4 the fighting increased in ferocity. The sacrifices were enormous, but, despite this and the fatigue of successive days' fighting, the troops showed heroism worthy of all admiration, and their sufferings were recompensed by a brilliant victory and the complete destruction of the enemy's organization.
    "The operations against Lahana were of a similar difficult and obstinate character. The fighting was desperate, the heights being taken by successive bayonet charges, which proved veritable hecatombs for our heroic regiments."
    The War Minister received a dispatch to-day to the effect that the Greek forces were hotly pursuing and close on the heels of the Bulgarians.

    BELGRADE, July 7.— Dispatches from the front say that the third army rested yesterday, but that now fighting is proceeding.
    An outbreak of cholera is reported from Istib.
    The Greek casualties since the beginning of fighting against the Bulgarians total 10,000 killed and wounded, according to official reports.

    CONSTANTINOPLE, July 7.— The Porte has sent a telegraphic message to the Bulgarian Premier, Dr. Daneff, requesting the evacuation by the Bulgarians of the territory comprised within the Enos-Midia line as soon as possible.
    The necessary preparations for the advance of the Ottoman troops are proceeding.