The Macedonian front stretched from the mouth of the river Struma lake Butkovo southern reefs of Belasica Lake Dojran over Vardar river south of Gevgelija and west to Kozuv, Zborsko, Preslap slopes of Dobro Pole, slopes of Kajmakcalan, Starkov Grob, remain in the villages to the west Sovich, Kremenitca (Kenali), Prespa - Big City to Lake Ohrid with a length of about 450 km.
Many of the important battles on this front took place in the region of Mariovo, near the mountain peaks and locations as Kajmakcalan, Dobro Pole, Gruniski Vis, Elevation 1050, thus the actual frontline passed through the villages in this region.
This was devastating for the local population with high percentage of civilian deaths and also this is the period of time when many villages in this region ceased to exist. If we add to this the inaccessibility of the region and the poor infrastructure, we can see why this region today is among the least populated regions in Europe.
However, one thing we can meet in abundance in the region of Mariovo is the World War 1 Memorabilia. Unexploded grenades, rifles, helmets, bullets, barbwire and much more WW1 materials can be seen in the houses in Mariovo region. After the war, there were many actions in this region for cleaning the leftovers, but despite of that, even today, almost every year some new “forgotten” depot is found.
Sad but true, during a forest fires in this region, due to large amount of unexploded grenades the wildfire is not extinguished on the ground, but only from air.
Many of the non lethal First World War leftovers, over the years have found their place in homes of the local population, and they were used for various purposes. This is also one of the reasons why many of these objects are still in good condition and trough the region of Mariovo, today we can find many “house museums” with World War 1 Memorabilia.
- More information on organized 4x4 tours in Mariovo region...>
- Dobro Pole 4x4 Excursions ...>
- Kajmakcalan - 4x4 Off Road Experience ...>
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