Battle of Balkaya

Background

The Battle of Balkaya was fought on September 6, 1200 BC, outside Balkara (page does not exist) during the Balkaya War (page does not exist). Geta (page does not exist) sought to storm the city, destroy the allied command, and reach Constantinople (page does not exist) by the following evening. The defenders consisted primarily of British troops under Wellington (page does not exist), supported by the French Army (page does not exist) under Napoleon (page does not exist).

The position at Balkara guarded the eastern approaches to Constantinople and included the Balkara Citadel (page does not exist), a fortified complex later associated with the Vigil of the Seven Towers (page does not exist). Its defense was also politically important to the Coalition (page does not exist), whose leaders feared that a Thracian victory would separate the British garrison from the advancing French army.

Eve of battle

On September 5, Geta established his main position approximately two kilometers from Balkara. At 8:30 p.m., heavy rain began to fall, raising doubts about whether the incendiary projectiles used by his siege engines would ignite. A priest performed sacrifices at the camp and predicted victory. The ceremony was later recorded in the Rites of the Red Spear (page does not exist), a military religious tradition attributed to Geta’s reign.

Inside the British command tent, Wellington organized the defense with the Earl of Uxbridge (page does not exist), Rowland Hill (page does not exist), Thomas Picton (page does not exist), and the Byzantine general Ansila (page does not exist). Wellington ordered the troops to hold the city until Napoleon’s expected arrival the following evening. Fifteen kilometers to the south, the French army advanced by forced marches. Ney (page does not exist) and Soult (page does not exist) advised Napoleon to withdraw after an earlier defeat, but he continued toward Balkara.

Deployment

On the morning of September 6, Geta divided his forces into three sectors. Langaro (page does not exist) commanded the center, consisting of 4,000 soldiers and 50 ballistae, with orders to capture Balkara. On the right, Sirmo (page does not exist) deployed 20,000 soldiers, 200 archers, and 30 light ballistae. The left was held by Abrupoli (page does not exist) with 15,000 soldiers, 100 archers, and 30 ballistae.

Geta retained 14,000 men as a reserve under his direct command. Pleuratus (page does not exist) commanded a 14,000-man cavalry force. Meanwhile, Moskon (page does not exist) pursued the French from a position 15 kilometers west of the battlefield. His deputy, Zolte (page does not exist), proposed dividing the pursuing force, but Moskon rejected the plan because he intended to prevent Napoleon from joining Wellington.

The allied defense included troops commanded by Pack (page does not exist) and Lambert (page does not exist). The British cavalry was placed under Uxbridge, while the French relief force approached through wooded ground west of the Thracian position.

Battle

At approximately 1:00 p.m., Pack continued to hold the approaches to Balkara while both armies observed troops approaching from the west. A British officer identified the distant French soldiers as “bluecoats,” estimating their distance at four to five miles.

At 1:30 p.m., Geta ordered Sirmo to attack with his 20,000 soldiers. Uxbridge responded by sending Somerset’s cavalry (page does not exist) against Langaro’s central force with the cry “SCOTLAND FOREVER!” The cavalry destroyed the Thracian ballistae but was then counterattacked by 500 Thracian horsemen. The British formation, exhausted from the assault, was destroyed. During the fighting, Picton was struck in the head by an arrow and died after falling from his horse.

At 3:30 p.m., Wellington ordered Lambert to withdraw one hundred paces. Pleuratus interpreted the movement as a general retreat and launched his cavalry. Lambert formed 15 infantry squares, which the Thracian cavalry surrounded without finding an opening. Bayonets and musket fire repelled repeated attempts to break the squares. At 4:30 p.m., Geta recalled the cavalry and committed 3,000 infantrymen against the British position.

At 4:40 p.m., Pack withdrew from Balkara. Wellington reportedly responded at 5:00 p.m. with the prayer, “Give me night, or give me Napoleon.” Believing that victory was imminent, Geta ordered a scribe to send a dispatch to Gabrovo (page does not exist) announcing that the war had been won.

At 5:20 p.m., Geta learned that the French army was within three kilometers of the battlefield. He sent 2,000 troops from Coson (page does not exist)’s command to observe the advance and launched a final attack with 14,000 soldiers of the Thracian Guard (page does not exist). Wellington ordered his remaining brigades to maintain the line, despite Uxbridge’s report that many soldiers had only five rounds of ammunition each.

Napoleon then attacked from the woods against the Thracian left flank. The movement disrupted Geta’s final assault, and the Thracian Guard panicked when Marshal Ney’s Cavalry (page does not exist) charged its exposed position. The collapse developed into a general rout. Geta abandoned the field at 7:35 p.m. At 8:00 p.m., Napoleon and Wellington met to mark the liberation of Balkara.

Casualties and aftermath

The battle ended at approximately 9:30 p.m. Thracian losses were estimated at 25,000 killed or wounded, 9,000 prisoners, and 5,000 deserters. The Coalition reported 5,000 killed, 14,000 wounded, and 5,500 missing. The high number of missing British troops led to the creation of the Balkara Roll of the Fallen (page does not exist), an early effort to identify casualties from the battlefield.

At 11:00 p.m., on the beaches of the Troad (page does not exist), Eisenhower (page does not exist) and Bradley (page does not exist) celebrated the victory and planned the Troad Counter-Offensive (page does not exist). The meeting connected the defense of Balkara with the wider Coalition campaign and established the battle as a turning point in the war.