Victory of will and spirit over Serbian cunning, meanness and arrogance
Outside of the intervention of the Great Powers, this war was at the root of many of the difficult events in the Balkans from the late 19th to the mid-20th century.
On November 2, 1885, Serbia declared war on Bulgaria!
After the Berlin Congress in 1878, already liberated Bulgaria was divided into 5 separate parts. The great powers "decided" to return half of the Bulgarian people under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, naming Southern Bulgaria "Eastern Rumelia" and entrusting it under the rule of the Turkish sultan. Only 7 years later, the Bulgarian people announced the accession of Eastern Rumelia to Bulgaria. Everyone is waiting for an attack from the Ottoman Empire and the whole Bulgarian army is concentrated on our southern border. The Great Powers and Turkey do not recognize the Union, but each reacts in its own way. The liberating Russia withdrew its officers from the Bulgarian army, but there is reason to believe that this decision was not directed against the Union, but indirectly against Prince Bettenberg, who had lost the confidence of the emperor.
Germany, France and Italy remain silent, with only Austria-Hungary informally approving, but this is because it wants to use it as a precedent for violating the decisions of the Berlin Congress and annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina. Britain, on the other hand, believes that in this way Russia's influence in Bulgaria will be disrupted, and that is why it generally supports the Union. Turkey naturally wants to regain control of Eastern Rumelia, but is awaiting a decision from the Great Powers. The Balkan countries are reacting most sharply. Greece is mobilizing and wants to invade southern Macedonia, but meets resistance from Austria-Hungary, which also has aspirations for it. Romania insisted on expansion in southern Dobrogea, but Russia moved two divisions to the border with it and it refused. The most persistent is the Serbian king Milan. As early as 1881, he informed the Great Powers that he would occupy Bulgaria.
Instead of an expected attack by the Turks, however, it attacked none other than Serbia, provoked by the conquering aspirations of the Serbian ruling circles for territorial expansion to the east at the expense of Bulgarian lands, as well as support and influence from the Great Powers, especially Austria-Hungary.
Due to reports from Bulgarian intelligence, only a few days before November 2, the Bulgarian government contacted Serbia and asked specifically if there was a Serbian mobilization on Bulgarian soil. Serbian Prime Minister Milutin Garasanin categorically assured that this was a lie and that Serbia had no army. in border districts.
The next day, November 2, the Serbian army treacherously invaded Bulgaria. This is evidenced by the fact that Serbia declared war only after crossing the border.
The war begins
Serbia's plan is to advance on the Pirot-Tsaribrod road and, after defeating the Bulgarian army, to capture Vidin and Sofia. Then the King of Milan will offer peace under conditions determined by him, and they are:
- The border to be moved along the Iskar River;
- The rest of Bulgaria to be occupied by Serbia;
- The Bulgarian capital to move to Tarnovo;
- Bulgaria to pay a huge monetary compensation;
- Serbian troops to hold a large military parade in Sofia.
Serbia started the war with its two most elite armies, the Nisava and Timosh armies, made up of trained staff officers and sergeants and very well-trained and armed soldiers. The Nisava Army includes 42,000 infantry and 800 cavalry, supported by 16 batteries advancing on Sofia.
The Timosh army is composed of 22,000 infantry and 11 batteries, it is advancing on Vidin. There are 8800 infantry, 600 cavalry and 8 batteries in reserve. The armies are commanded by generals, the divisions by colonels, and the companies by majors and captains. Two more mobilizations were already taking place during the war, and the Serbian army reached 120,000.
And what is the situation with the Bulgarians? As Russia withdraws all its 120 officers serving in the Bulgarian army, most units are left without commanders. This is to some extent offset by the 40 Bulgarian officers who have just graduated from Russian military schools. Along with them came 60 cadets, who were awarded the rank of non-commissioned officer, and they took command of platoons.
During the whole war Bulgaria managed to mobilize 100 thousand infantry. It is armed with rifles left over from the Russo-Turkish War. There are 200 cannons left over from the war, 40 of which are defective. There are not enough cartridges and shells. Only conscripts are dressed in uniforms, the others are in civilian clothes. Food is not provided, the population relies on help.
There are only 5 doctors, 20 nurses and 65 paramedics for the whole army. The available forces are divided into two corps. The eastern, located on the Turkish border, and the western - on the Serbian. When the war began, the East marched to Sofia to help the West, which was much smaller and was already fighting elite Serbian armies.
This march is something unheard of and unseen so far and is a real feat. The malnourished, ill-dressed army traveled 500 kilometers in 6 days (to today's Septemvri station by train and then on foot) and joined the already started battles with the invader. In progress, the Eastern and Western corps were reorganized into North and West. The northern one is commanded by Capt. Atanas Uzunov, and the Western - by Major Avram Gudzhev, who had the highest rank in the Bulgarian Army at that time. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief is Prince Alexander Battenberg.
In this situation, the Western Great Powers predict that Serbia will soon defeat Bulgaria. This is also the opinion of Russia, but the officers withdrawn from Bulgaria say that they have left soldiers not fully trained, but with a very high spirit, and they will kill the Serbs to the ground to punish them for their treachery. Subsequent events show that they had good reason to express such an opinion.
Bulgaria has been a free country for only 7 years. Only 85,000 Bulgarians have ever passed through the barracks with a huge shortage of officers and sergeants. There is a lack of command, equipment and ammunition. We don't have a single general. On November 2, 1885, Bulgaria performed a military feat that entered world military history. All Bulgarian soldiers from the Turkish border begin a military march to the Serbian border - lasting 3 days. There is no world equivalent for such an action, and what is approaching are Napoleon's marches. At the border, the Bulgarians did not allow Serbian troops to cross the Dragoman-Slivnitsa line. After the concentration of the Bulgarian main military forces, fierce fighting began in the region of Slivnitsa. After three days of fighting (November 5-7), Serbian troops were defeated and forced to retreat. In the following days, Serbian troops began to suffer defeats in other military sectors as well - near Dragoman, Tsaribrod and others. The defenders of the Vidin fortress under the command of Captain Atanas Uzunov did not allow its capture by the enemy troops. After the defeats at Slivnitsa, Dragoman, Tsaribrod and others. King Milan was forced to appeal to the governments of the Western Great Powers to intervene immediately and stop the advance of the Bulgarians within his country. At the same time, the Serbian ruler ordered his troops to defend Pirot. After two days of fierce fighting (November 14 and 15), they were forced to retreat west to Nis.
The Serbian army is no longer able to fight, and Serbia is facing military pogrom. The road to Nis and Belgrade is open. The captains want Prince Alexander to lead them and take over the Serbian capital. Then Austria-Hungary intervenes to help her. By order of her government, on November 16, the Austro-Hungarian Minister Plenipotentiary in Belgrade, Count R. Kevenhüller-Mech, arrived at the Bulgarian Army Headquarters and insisted that its further offensive be stopped, threatening the intervention of the Austro-Hungarian troops in the conflict. He also threatened Prince Alexander I Battenberg that the entry of the Austro-Hungarian army into Serbia would give Russia a reason to occupy Bulgaria and dethrone it. Because of this diplomatic ploy, the prince ordered an end to the Bulgarian army's offensive in Serbia. Reconciliation talks with Serbia end on December 7th.
Serbia and the entire Serbian elite army has been defeated!
The Serbo-Bulgarian war was also an occasion for Tsvetan Radoslavov to write the Bulgarian "sacred anthem" "Mila Rodino" when he was on his way to Bulgaria to join the war as a volunteer.
A peace treaty was signed in Bucharest on February 19, 1886. Bulgaria, although a winner, did not receive any territorial gains, but its victory played an important role in the recognition of the Union by the Great Powers and Turkey. Apart from being defeated, Serbia is also morally humiliated. The war lasted only two weeks. Instead of appreciating the generosity of the Bulgarians, Serbia harbored a desire for revenge, and when given the opportunity - in 1913 and in 1918 - it brutally took advantage of this opportunity. He seized Bulgarian lands and forcibly Serbized the population in them. This shows that the Bulgarian nobility in 1885-1886 was not appreciated ... The most vile nation in the Balkans are the Serbs!
A homage to the feat of my ancestors! I am proud that there were people in my family who took part in this war to protect my homeland
✝️ A tribute to all the great Bulgarians who gave their lives and defended our Motherland!