Geographically Greece is a blessed and at the same time cursed place. Its position was, over the years, a "trophy" for all sorts of conquerors who wanted to control the passage to Asia or the Middle East, but also to gain access to the sea.
By Giorgos Dymenos
SOURCE:Gazzetta
At the same time, the Hersonissos of the Aimos only by chance did not receive the nickname as the "silicon warehouse of Europe", as territorial claims on both sides and the Ottoman occupation, led its people to long-term hostilities, which essentially ended in the middle of the last century
From the fall of Constantinople to the end of World War II, when we hear the word "slaughter" or "looting" our mind automatically goes to the Turks or the Germans, as we suffered a lot from both. But for many decades our country was called upon to face yet another mortal danger, the Bulgarians.
Entire areas of eastern Macedonia and Thrace were faced with annihilation, at the altar of the redemptive policy of our neighbors, which started from the Treaty of Saint Stephen. It was in 1878 that "Greater Bulgaria" was created for the first time, a state that was maintained for a short time, but for decades encouraged its expansionist tendencies.
Despite this and in the face of the common enemy, the Turks, our homeland allied itself with them in the First Balkan War, with the aim of shaking off the Ottoman yoke.
From October 1912 to May 1913, Greek arms, on land and sea, triumphed and liberated millions of our compatriots. But the allies became enemies and Bulgaria, which defined itself as a "Great Power", attacked Greece, and not only, with the aim of expanding its borders.
For about a month (from June 29 to July 31, 1913), the army of our country will write new "golden pages" in its history and incorporate the greater part of Macedonia and Thrace into the "metropolis".
But the Bulgarians, like anyone who considers himself invincible, broke out into the civilian population to avenge the humiliating defeats they suffered on the battlefield. It was June 30, 1913, when Doxato, located just outside of Drama, will experience the disaster.
It is a town in the center of the plain, where tobacco production and trade flourished. In October 1912 it was occupied by the Bulgarians, but during that time (summer of 2013) they saw the Greek army liberating one city after another. Sidirokastro, Kavala, Serres and the next target is Drama.
Parts of the 7th Division were ordered to move in this direction and gradually, in July, the blue and white flag will wave in many cities (Xanthi, Komotini, etc.). But in between, the soil will be dyed red by the blood of the innocent.
On Friday, June 28, remnants of the retreating Bulgarian army tried for the first time to enter Doxato. But the locals were waiting for them and with the help of Captain Panagiotis and his men, they repelled the attack.
The next day everything seemed calm and the defense relaxed, as the Greek army approached. However, on the 30th of the month, the day of the Holy Apostles, several Bulgarian horsemen appeared on the outskirts of the town and the veil of death began to cover Doxato.
In fact, the Komitatzides managed to convince the Muslims of the region that Turkey had allied with them against the Christians and moments later unfolded moments taken from Dante's Inferno.
The Bulgarians broke into houses and killed indiscriminately. Little girls or women were raped in front of their dead parents and husbands respectively, while children, old men and priests met a horrible death.
The bellies of pregnant women were opened and the fetuses mashed and few managed to take up arms and react or even escape from the fury of the conquerors.
It is characteristic that many invaders wore white butcher's aprons, as they did not want to stain their uniforms, having killed most of their victims with swords and spears. They wanted to decapitate them and torture them to death, while some of the inhabitants were beheaded or crucified!
In the afternoon, when their thirst for blood was quenched, they set fire to the houses, after first taking those valuable objects they found and leaving. The tragic tally of what happened on June 30, 1913 was 650 dead, a frighteningly large number.
The Bulgarians sought the following dawn to return to Doxato, with the aim of erasing the evidence of the horrors they had committed, but they were informed that the Greek army was nearby and there was not enough time. So they left hastily, together with several Muslims who wanted to avoid any revenge of the Greeks, since they were accomplices in their crimes.
Unfortunately, they were met by residents who took them prisoner, without ever receiving any information about their fate. Apparently they were lost in the concentration camps of the time.
On the 1st of July the Greek soldiers entered Drama and were informed of what happened at Doxato. They immediately rushed there, where the survivors welcomed them as liberators and were the first to see the horrible sight of hundreds of dead people lying everywhere.
They were joined by some foreigners, such as the British Captain Cardall who wrote about it in the Daily Telegraph. "On entering the city, the first thing that caught my eye were the packs of dogs devouring human flesh. The completely destroyed city appeared deserted, so I was forced to call out repeatedly for some of the ruins to appear.
All the corpses were pierced by the lance and bore traces of incredible mutilations. The walls of the houses were stained with blood, to the height of six feet from the ground, which is explained, according to the survivors, by the fact that the unfortunate victims were not slaughtered immediately, but were killed by spears...
A similar response was sent by Crawford Price to the working Times. "It wasn't hard to deduce the truth about what happened in Doxato. Many tortured victims were rescued, as the events relate, including a youth, who, in spite of all the ten spears which they received, was still alive, as well as many small children in the hospital bearing wounds on the head, sustained by the swords of the Bulgarian horsemen".
Doxato will be targeted by the Bulgarians in 1917 as well, while in 1941 the Nazis will also indulge in massacres and looting, in retaliation for the saga of resistance.
Today it stands proudly at an altitude of 100 meters and with a population of just over 2,000 souls, while the state has given it the title of "Heroic and Martyr City", for the suffering it suffered in the hostilities of the last century.