As you know, in 1877, the Russian Empire entered the war with the Ottoman Empire, with the goal of helping the Bulgarians. It was attended by several thousand volunteers who went to shed blood for the Slavic brothers. More than 200,000 Russians have laid their heads for the liberation of Bulgaria. For their children and grandchildren, Bulgaria’s participation in the First World War against the Entente, of which Russia was a part, was a real blow. This article is devoted to the events that took place on the Balkan Peninsula from 1915 to 1919.
Background
1908 was marked by the proclamation of the Bulgarian kingdom. Ferdinand of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty became its ruler. After this, the young Bulgarian state, which recently gained independence, decided to become a large country in the Balkans, expanding its borders.
In 1912, she joined the Allied neighbors in the war against Turkey. In 1913, the Ottoman Empire was defeated. Under the London Peace Treaty, part of Macedonia and Thrace were annexed to the Bulgarian kingdom, which gave the country access to the Aegean Sea.
Second Peninsular War
The victory did not bring peace to the inhabitants of the Balkans, since the allies immediately became enemies and began to divide the territories that Turkey lost.
A new war broke out in which Ferdinand the First had to conduct military operations not only against the Turks seeking revenge, but also against Greece, Serbia, Romania and Montenegro.
Bulgarian forces were defeated. The country lost not only some areas of Macedonia and Thrace, but also the original Bulgarian territories. Both Ferdinand and part of Bulgarian society sought revenge, which caused Bulgaria to enter the First World War.
Neutrality
In the first days after the outbreak of World War I, Bulgaria stated that it did not support any of the warring parties. However, the government understood that only participation in hostilities could help restore lost territories.
The search for allies began. The country's leadership was ready to support any side of the conflict, which would promise to give Bulgaria a larger piece of the “Balkan pie” in case of victory. At the same time, Prime Minister Radoslavov promised the Russian ambassador that his country would not oppose his liberator.
Involvement in the war
In early 1915, banks in Austria and Germany provided Bulgaria with new loans in the amount of 150 million marks. In addition, these countries provided financial assistance to political forces that advocated the need to enter the war against the Alliance alliance.
In the summer, the Central Powers declared that if Bulgaria came out on their side, it would receive Thrace, all of Macedonia, Southern Dobrudja, and also receive a military loan worth 500 million marks.
Another reason that prompted Ferdinand the First to violate neutrality was the success of the Austro-German forces against Russia and Turkey in the Dardanelles operation.
The entry of Bulgaria into the First World War
On September 6, a convention was signed by the foreign ministers of Germany and Bulgaria in Sofia. According to this document, Bulgaria pledged to send 6 divisions to the front, which were to take part against Serbia and act under the command of the German Field Marshal. For this, the country received a loan of 200 million marks, part of the territory of Macedonia and the land that Greece and Romania withdrew under the Bucharest Peace Treaty.
First company
On October 14, 1915, the Bulgarian kingdom declared war on Serbia, officially speaking out against the Entente, of which Russia was a part.
Her 4 infantry divisions entered the battle against the Serbian army. October 24, they occupied Pirot, inflicted serious losses on the enemy and captured 60 guns.
On November 10, 1915, Bulgarian forces occupied Nis and merged with the Austro-German armies.
A major battle took place at the Macedonian town of Krivolak. As a result, the Anglo-French divisions retreated, which gave the Bulgarians the opportunity to try to surround the Serbian forces. However, the latter managed to escape, and the remaining parts were evacuated to the island of Corfu.
Thus, Serbia was completely occupied by the German-Austro-Bulgarian armies. In addition, the Central Powers managed to capture Montenegro.
1916 year
After the events presented above, the only force of the Alliance of the Entente in the Balkans remained a corps of 150,000 people stationed in Thessaloniki. The evacuated units from Serbia came to their aid.
At Lake Doiran, 4 Allied divisions repeatedly attacked the Bulgarians, hoping to break through their front. The latter staunchly defended themselves, and the Anglo-French troops suffered serious losses.
On August 17, the Bulgarians went on the offensive near the Struma River. The French troops failed to detain them, and the attackers went to the Aegean coast. The Bulgarians managed to capture about 4,000 square meters. km This operation was of great importance, as it foiled the advance of the Entente, but in the fall, luck began to change the Bulgarian command.
Romanian company
In the early years of World War I, Romania remained neutral. However, on August 27, she had to break it. Having declared war on Austria-Hungary, Romania received reciprocal notes from Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The latter formed the Danube army, which moved towards Tutrakan. Despite the support of the Russian troops, the Romanians suffered defeat after defeat.
On November 23, the Danube army crossed the Danube. After fierce battles with the Russian-Romanian troops on December 7, the German-Bulgarian units entered Bucharest.
1917 company
In the last years of World War I, the Bulgarians fought on several fronts at once. In the spring of 1917, hostilities began near Lake Doiran. As a result, the losses of the British opposing the Bulgarians amounted to 12,000 people.
However, Greece entered the war in the summer, after which the Central Powers refused to take active action on the Thessaloniki Front.
1918 Campaign
In early May, a peace treaty was concluded in Bucharest. Bulgaria passed South Dobrudja and some other territories that previously belonged to Romania.
On September 14, 1918, the battle began, which went down in history as the “Doiran Epic”. For several days, the Bulgarians restrained the onslaught of 6 British and Greek divisions, inflicting losses in the amount of 7,000 people.
Despite this, a few days later they were in a difficult situation and began to retreat. Soon, the departure took on a panicky character.
77,000 soldiers, 5 generals, 1,600 officers, 500 guns, 10,000 horses and others were captured. The British were preparing for the invasion of Bulgaria. Amid all this, the soldiers rebelled. The unrest began.
Surrender
The command of the Bulgarian army tried to stop the retreat by harsh methods. However, by September, about 30,000 soldiers had refused to fight, and some of them went to Sofia.
Realizing the danger of the situation, in the autumn of 1918 Bulgaria entered into a truce with the states of the Entente. Under the terms of the agreement, the Bulgarian army left all the occupied territories of Greece and Serbia.
In other words, Bulgaria in the First World War, the first of the countries belonging to the Central Bloc, left the war.
Effects
After the signing of the treaty, King Ferdinand abdicated the Bulgarian throne. Monstrous human losses adversely affected demographics even many decades later. During the First World War, the country was not only unable to regain the lost territories, but also lost part of its own.