Copy of Bulgaria WW1

Bulgaria was planning to capture some land in the Balkans before the actual war started. The only problem was that they weren't big enough to invade such a large land. They needed to have more people on their side. What the Bulgarians did was they made secret alliances with both Germany and the Alliances before the war started. When the war started, they chose to go with Germany with great hopes to capture some land. They declared war on Serbia on October 11th, 1915.

Bulgaria was very effective at the start of the war. They declared war on Serbia and took over the Macedonia capitol, Skopje. This is where they started meeting French forces on the Salonika front. Three days later they had driven a wedge between Greece and Serbia. Greece wanted to stay neutral through-out the whole war but the Bulgarians didn't care much for them. They just wanted land. Greece basically gave Bulgaria the Rupel fortress. Bulgaria made a major offensive attack which got as far as Florina when they started getting bombed by the British. The Bulgarians fought with full force against the two major attacks the British had. The British slowly started to retreat after these attacks. Bulgaria, satisfied with their win, did not pursue.

In the summer of 1918, mutiny and immobilization started to seperate the Bulgarian army. This caused them to not make any progress during the summer. After the summer, the British and the Greeks pushed back the Bulgarians into their home country. On September 25th, 1918, the British attacked the Bulgarians on their soil. The Bulgarians were unprepared due to chaos in the capitol, Sofia. On the 28th, the Bulgarians started to talk about an armistice with the allies. At noon on the 30th, the hostilities ended.

• Bulgaria's role in the Paris Peace Conference was very small even though they basically got beat on for being on Germany's side during the war.
• Bulgaria was forced into signing the Treaty of Neuilly.
• Had to give up land to Yugoslavia and also recognize them as a country.
• Limitted to only 20,000 men for an army
• Ordered to pay 100 million Euros for reperations.
• All of Bulgaria was outraged at the terms and conditions of the Treaty.
• Unfortunately, Bulgaria was in no position to take action.

With all of the Nation-States that were part of the Triple Entente, they all suffered immensely from the war. The reparation costs were so harsh that it was almost impossible for their economies to grow. After the war, two parties that started in the late 1800's, started to grow. By representing peasants and farmers, the Agrarian Party became victorious. The communist party was very close in the race. The leader, Alexander Stamboliiski, had very radical policies. Nationalists were very upset with him giving land to Macedonia and him wanting to have a better relationship with Yugoslavia. The IMRO (International Macedonian Revolutionary Organization) was gaining strength from the Macedonian refugees escaping the Serbian control. The IMRO then got together with a right-winged officer coupe to assassinate Stamboliiski in June 1923.

Bulgaria

Levin Chamberlain

What they did in the War

Role In the War (continued)

Treaty of Neuilly

Reason for Entering the War

Social, Economic and Political Impacts

Critical Question

Why do you think the Bulgarians chose to be allied with the Central-Powers and the Germans instead of the Triple Entente? Who would have you chosen? Explain.

References

Chris Trueman (2000-2012). The Treaty Of Neuilly.

Retrieved from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/treaty_of_neuilly.htm#

Matt Simpson (2009). The Minor Powers During World War 1 - Bulgaria.

Retrieved from http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/minorpowers_bulgaria.htm

The Sophia Echo Staff (2009). Bulgaria Guide - Bulgarian History, Balkans and World War 1.

Retrieved from http://sofiaecho.com/2009/02/01/679425_bulgaria-guide-bulgarian-history-balkans-and-world-war-1

The Balkans