were located. However his initial intention to march west to Dyrrhachium failed after unexpected difficulties in the Byzantine rear. The army which was led by Gonitsiates was ambushed by the Bulgarian commander Ivats and was completely destroyed. That defeat forced Basil II to pull back swiftly. The rest of the Byzantine army entered Pelagonia, but Ivats avoided engaging it, and Basil II retreated undisturbed to Thessaloniki. Aftermath The battle of Bitola deprived Basil II of the great success achieved at the beginning of a campaign which might have destroyed the Bulgarian state as early as 1015. However the devastation which the country suffered that year was a prerequisite for the final fall of the First Bulgarian Empire in 1018. References 1010s in the Byzantine Empire 11th century in Bulgaria Battles involving the First Bulgarian Empire Battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars in Macedonia Military history of North Macedonia Conflicts in 1015 1015 in Europe History of Bitola Ambushes in Europe