Kavala had been occupied by the Bulgarians in October 1912, during the First Balkan War. The Bulgarians wanted to keep it under their rule at all costs in order to secure their coveted exit to the Aegean. Kavala was one of the most important commercial ports in the Macedonian area, with the Greek element, which made up 45% of the population, playing an important role in the city's economic life. The Greek headquarters, for its part, sought to capture Kavala in order to expel the Bulgarians from the wider Pangeo region and thus facilitate operations in Eastern Macedonia and Western Thrace.
With the start of the Second Balkan War (16 June 1913), the Greek fleet blockaded the coasts of Macedonia and Western Thrace, from the mouth of the Strymon River in the west to Aenos (the area beyond Evros) in the east. On 18 June Greek warships were anchored in the Asprovalta area to provide support for the 7th Division, which was operating in the greater Serres area. The northeastward advance of the 7th Division made it pointless for the fleet to remain there, and on 22 June it sailed to the port of Thassos.
The following day, 23 June, part of the Greek fleet was ordered to make decoy transits in front of the port of Kavala. The battleship Hydra and transport ships, which were empty, repeatedly passed in front of the port of Kavala and gave the Bulgarians the impression that the Greeks would land at Keramoti, opposite Thassos. Fearing this possibility, the Bulgarians abandoned the town on 25 June and headed north. On 26 June 1913, the destroyers "Doxa", "Panther" and "Ierax" landed convoys and liberated Kavala without resistance, "amidst the enthusiasm of the inhabitants", as the press of the time wrote.
The incorporation of Kavala into the Greek state would be finally decided in the diplomatic field, during the negotiations for the Treaty of Bucharest (17-28 July 1913). The Bulgarians fought a hard battle to regain Kavala, with the support of Russia and Austria-Hungary. "Greece has so many ports that it does not know how to use them. They will take Thessaloniki. East of Thessaloniki, only Kavala can possibly be a worthwhile port. Dedeagats (today's Alexandroupoli) is worth nothing. It is only fair that Bulgaria should have a port on the Aegean Sea," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov stressed to French Ambassador to Russia Teofil Delcasseur. The scales would eventually be tipped in favour of the Greek position by the German Emperor William, whose sister Sophia had married King Constantine.
Source: Sansimera
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