The mobilization of the Bulgarian army in 1915 - the mobilization of the Bulgarian armed forces after Bulgaria signed a military convention with the Central Powers and was preparing to enter the First World War .
Content
- 1 Mobilization
- 2 Mobilization
- 3 Combat composition of the Armed forces of Bulgaria
- 4 See also
- 5 notes
- 6 Literature
Mobilization
After the Bulgarian government signs a convention with the Central Powers, it becomes clear that Bulgaria will enter the First World War. After signing the necessary documents, the king of Bulgaria Ferdinand I signs a decree on the beginning of mobilization in the country. [one]
After mobilization was announced in Bulgaria on September 21, 1915 , the General Staff began mobilization activities. Particular attention was paid to the western border with Serbia , against which it was planned to deploy armed forces. However, the Bulgarian army at the mobilization stage was at great risk, as the Serbian forces were fully deployed and ready for hostilities. The decisive action of the Serbs against the Bulgarian forces at an early stage of mobilization could lead to very serious consequences for Bulgaria. The Serbian command, realizing that the Bulgarian leadership was mobilizing and pulling troops to the western border, adopted a bold plan of warfare: go on the offensive, defeat the Bulgarian forces at the stage of their deployment, take Sofia and persuade Bulgaria to surrender. However, this bold plan of the Serbian command was rejected by the Entente command, believing that it was still possible to win Bulgaria to its side. [2]
The deployment of the Bulgarian army began on the fifth day after the announced mobilization, the Bulgarian command deployed the main forces against Serbia. The 1st Army was deployed on the northern border for joint action with the allied Austro - German forces . The 2nd Army was deployed farther south for an offensive in Macedonia . In addition to the border with Serbia, the Bulgarian command was forced to send troops to the border with Romania and Greece , since these countries remained neutral and there was a danger that they would take the side of the Entente and invade the borders of the Bulgarian state. The border with Romania was covered by the 3rd Army (consisting of two infantry divisions and two cavalry regiments). The border with Greece was covered by the 2nd and 10th infantry divisions, which were also supposed to counteract the possible landing of the Entente. Only the border with Turkey remained uncovered, since Turkey was part of the Central Powers bloc and was an ally of Bulgaria. [3]
The mobilization of the Bulgarian army took place within 17-18 days, during which time 180 infantry battalions, 203 cavalry squadrons, 62 artillery batteries were formed, and 11 infantry divisions were formed. About 532,000 people were mobilized. The total number of Bulgarian armed forces, together with auxiliary troops, amounted to about 650,000 people. The Bulgarian command created 3 armies: 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The first two were planned to be used in the offensive against Serbia , while the third remained to cover the border with Romania. In total, 12–13% of the total population of Bulgaria was mobilized into the army. During the war, this figure increased to 18%. Quite large forces were mobilized, which allowed the Bulgarian command to successfully solve the tasks of the 1915 campaign, but the fighting took a long, protracted, positional character with the formation of the Thessaloniki Front . [3]
Mobilization
| Time before the war | Mobilization Duration | The number of mobilized |
|---|---|---|
| 20 days | 17-18 days | 180 infantry battalions, 203 cavalry squadrons, 62 artillery batteries, about 650,000 people, total 3 armies |
Bulgarian Armed Forces
- 1st Army: (Commander Clement Boyadzhiev )
- 1st Sofia Infantry Division (commander Yanko Draganov )
- 6th Bdinsk Infantry Division (Commander Asen Papadopov )
- 8th Tunjan Infantry Division (Commander Todor Mitov )
- 9th Pleven Infantry Division (Commander Stefan Nerezov )
- 2nd Army: (Commander Georg Todorov )
- 2nd Thracian Infantry Division (commander Dimitar Geshov )
- 3rd Balkan Infantry Division (commander Nikola Ribarov )
- 7th Rila Infantry Division (commander Vylko Vasilev )
- 11th Macedonian Infantry Division (Commander of the Land of Zlatarev )
- 1st Cavalry Division
- 3rd Army: (Commander Stefan Toshev )
- 4th Preslav Infantry Division (Commander Pantelei Kiselyov )
- 5th Danube Infantry Division (Commander Panayot Byrnev )
- 12th Infantry Division (Commander Georgi Mitov )
- The 10th White Sea Infantry Division (commander Ivan Kolev ) defended the Aegean coast and was directly subordinated to the General Staff of the Bulgarian army. [four]
See also
- Bulgaria in the First World War
Notes
- ↑ G. Markov. Golyamata war. - 1995 .-- S. 180.
- ↑ Pisarev Yu. A. Serbia and Montenegro in WWI. - 1968. - S. 173-174.
- ↑ 1 2 Ignat Krivorov. Military art on the Bulgarian army 1885-1945 . - Sofia: Military Publishing House, 2003. - 125 p.
- ↑ Combat composition of the Armed forces of Bulgaria in the First World War
Literature
- Ignat Krivorov. Military art on the Bulgarian army 1885-1945 . - Sofia: Military Publishing House, 2003. - 125 p.
- Nigel Thomas, Dušan Babac. Armies in the Balkans 1914-18 . - 1. - Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2001. - 48 p. - (Men-at-arms). - ISBN 1-84176-194-X .