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Concept
Bulgaria during World War I
Summary
The Kingdom of Bulgaria participated in World War I on the side of the Central Powers from 14 October 1915, when the country declared war on Serbia, until 30 September 1918, when the Armistice of Salonica came into effect.
After the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913, Bulgaria was diplomatically isolated, surrounded by hostile neighbors and deprived of Great Power support. Negative sentiment grew particularly in France and Russia, whose officials blamed Bulgaria for the dissolution of the Balkan League, an alliance of Balkan states directed against the Ottoman Empire. Bulgarian defeat in the Second Balkan War in 1913 turned revanchism into a foreign policy focus.
When the First World War started in July 1914, Bulgaria, still recovering from the economic and demographic damage of the Balkan Wars, declared neutrality. Strategic location and a strong military establishment made the country a desired ally for both warring coalitions, but its regional territorial aspirations were difficult to satisfy because they included claims against four Balkan countries. As the war progressed, the Central Powers of Austria-Hungary and the German Empire were in a better position to meet these demands. Bulgaria entered the war on the side of the Central Powers, invading Serbia in October 1915.
Although the smallest of the Central Powers, Bulgaria made vital contributions to their common war effort. Its entry heralded the defeat of Serbia, thwarted the goals of Romania, and catalyzed the Ottoman war effort by providing a land and rail link from Germany to Istanbul, that is, on Via Militaris.
Though the Balkan theatre saw successful campaigns of rapid movement by the Central Powers in 1915 and 1916, the conflict degraded into attritional trench warfare on both the Northern and the Southern Bulgarian Fronts after most Bulgarian goals were satisfied. This period of the war further damaged the economy, creating supply problems and reducing the health and morale of Bulgarian troops.
Official source
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