Where is Salonika?

Salonika is a city on the coast of northern Greece beside the Aegean Sea. 

Today, it is called Thessaloniki, and it is Greece’s second-largest city. 

 

In 1915, Salonika was very important because it had a large port, and a railway line into Europe.  This allowed the Britain and its allies to bring in soldiers, weapons, food, and medical supplies by sea, which was much safer than traveling overland.

Salonika was a secure base from which they could try to help Serbia* and open a new front against the enemy. For Bulgaria and Germany, stopping the Allies at Salonika was important because it protected their control over the Balkans** and kept key land routes between their countries open.

 

* Serbia  was an ally of Britain and had successfully resisted the attacks of the Austro-Hungarian Army in the opening months of the First World War. But, in October 1915, the combined forces of Austria, Germany and Bulgaria overwhelmed her armies and conquered the country. The Allies tried to help Serbia but arrived too late.

* The Balkans is a name used for a region in south eastern Europe. It includes several countries, such as Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and others, which are close together and share parts of their history and geography.

The Balkans are named after the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina), a range running through Bulgaria. Before and during the First World War, the Balkans were important because many countries there had tensions with each other, and events in this region helped lead to the war.