Battle of the Rupel Gorge

After the defeats at Lachanas and Kukush at the beginning of the war, the Bulgarian Second Army under General Nikola Ivanov withdrew north towards Belasitsa. To provide cover, the army divided into three groups guarding the routes through Strumitsa, the Rupel Gorge and the Mesta valley. The central group, comprising the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Balkan Division, the 1st Brigade of the 10th Composite Division, and the Serres and Drama Brigades under General Ivan Sarafov, took up positions south of Rupel between the villages of Vetren and German. Pursuing the Bulgarians, the Greek army also split into two groups. The main forces formed the western group, which, after the Battle of Doiran, advanced towards Strumitsa across the Belasitsa ridge and was then to move through Petrich into the Bulgarian rear in the Rupel Gorge. The eastern group, comprising infantry divisions under General Emmanouil Manousogiannakis, aimed to attack the gorge head-on.

The Bulgarians lost the battle and withdrew north. The Greeks captured some Bulgarian artillery but did not pursue Sarafov's troops, who managed to retreat through the Rupel Gorge. The western Greek group had captured Strumitsa as early as 25 June but lacked sufficient time to cut off their retreat.