Bulgaria during World War II: Difference between revisions
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== St Joseph's School Nelson Girls And Boys == |
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The '''military history of Bulgaria during World War II''' encompasses an initial period of [[neutral country|neutrality]] until 1 March 1941, a period of alliance with the [[Axis Powers]] until 9 September 1944 (on 8 September, Red Army entered Bulgaria) and a period of alignment with the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] until the end of the war. [[Bulgaria]] was a [[constitutional monarchy]] during most of [[World War II]]. [[Tsar]] [[Boris III]] ruled with a [[Prime Minister]] and a [[Parliament]]. |
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St Joes Girls Consist Of Jontz, AnnJann, Rissole, Mayzi, Katiepoo |
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The Boys Are JayJay, LBro, DayDay, Lew, Juice Dik |
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And They Rock My Blue Socks <(-_-)> |
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[[File:Bundesarchiv N 1603 Bild-152, Sofia, bulgarischer Soldat vor Wachhaus.jpg|thumb|150px|A Bulgarian sentry at his post, [[Sofia]], 1942]] |
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==Initial neutrality (1939–1941)== |
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The government of the [[Kingdom of Bulgaria]] under [[List of Prime Ministers of Bulgaria|Prime Minister]] [[Bogdan Filov]] declared a position of neutrality upon the outbreak of World War II. Bulgaria was determined to observe it until the end of the war; but it hoped for bloodless territorial gains, especially in the lands with a significant Bulgarian population occupied by neighbouring countries after the [[Second Balkan War]] and [[World War I]]. However, it was clear that the central geopolitical position of Bulgaria in the Balkans would inevitably lead to strong external pressure by both World War II factions. [[Turkey]] had a [[non-aggression pact]] with Bulgaria. On 7 September 1940, Bulgaria succeeded in negotiating a recovery of [[Southern Dobruja]] in the Axis-sponsored [[Treaty of Craiova]] (see [[Second Vienna Award]]). Southern Dobruja had been part of [[Romania]] since 1913. This recovery of territory reinforced Bulgarian hopes for resolving other territorial problems without direct involvement in the War. |
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==Axis Powers (1941–1944)== |
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{{POV|date=September 2009}} |
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[[Image:Map of Bulgaria during WWII.png|310px|thumb|Bulgaria during World War II.]] |
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[[File:Map of Greece during WWII.png|right|thumb|310px|Bulgarian occupation of Greece (in light yellow).]] |
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Bulgaria joined the [[Axis Powers]] in 1941, when [[Nazi Germany|German]] troops preparing to invade [[Yugoslavia]] and [[Greece]] reached the Bulgarian borders and demanded permission to pass through Bulgarian territory. On 1 March 1941, Bulgaria signed the [[Tripartite Pact]] and Bulgaria officially joined the Axis bloc. With the [[Soviet Union]] in a [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact|non-aggression pact with Germany]], there was little popular opposition to the decision. |
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On 6 April 1941, despite having officially joined the Axis Powers, the Bulgarian government maintained a course of military passivity during the initial stages of the [[invasion of Yugoslavia]] and the [[Battle of Greece|invasion of Greece]]. As German, Italian, and Hungarian troops crushed Yugoslavia and Greece, the Bulgarians remained on the side-lines. The Yugoslav government surrendered on 17 April and the Greek government surrendered on 30 April. Before the Greek government capitulated, on 20 April, the period of Bulgarian passivity ended when the [[Bulgarian Army]] entered Greece and Yugoslavia. The goal was to gain an Aegean Sea outlet in [[Thrace]] and [[Eastern Macedonia]]. The Bulgarians occupied territory between the [[Struma River]] and a line of demarcation running through [[Alexandroupoli]] and [[Svilengrad]] west of [[Maritsa]]. Included in the area occupied were the cities of Alexandroupoli (''Дедеагач, Dedeagach''), [[Komotini]] (''Гюмюрджина, Gyumyurdzhina''), [[Serres, Greece|Serres]] (''Сяр, Syar''), [[Xanthi]] (''Ксанти''), [[Drama, Greece|Drama]] (''Драма'') and [[Kavala]] (''Кавала'') and the islands of [[Thasos]] and [[Samothrace]], as well as almost all of what is today the [[Republic of Macedonia]] and much of Eastern Serbia. During the spring of 1943, the Bulgarian government, after protests led by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and [[Dimitar Peshev]] M.P., succeeded in saving Bulgarian Jews from being sent to Nazi concentration camps. However, the Bulgarian troops rounded up all [[Jews]] in [[Greek Macedonia]] and [[Vardar Macedonia]] and sent them to [[Auschwitz]].<ref>Plaut, J. E. (2000). "1. The Bulgarian Occupation Zone" in "1941-1944: The Occupation of Greece and the Deportation of the Jews" in ''Greek Jewry in the 20th Century, 1912-1983: Patterns of Jewish Survival in the Greek Provinces Before and After the Holocaust''. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. pp. 54-57. ISBN 9780838639115. Retrieved on September 20, 2009.</ref>{{Dubious|date=September 2009}} |
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Bulgaria did not join the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion of the Soviet Union]] that began on 22 June 1941 nor did it declare war on the Soviet Union. However, despite the lack of official declarations of war by both sides, the [[Bulgarian Navy]] was involved in a number of skirmishes with the [[Soviet Black Sea Fleet]], which attacked Bulgarian shipping. Besides this, Bulgarian armed forces garrisoned in the Balkans battled various resistance groups. |
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The Bulgarian government was forced by Germany to declare a token war on the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]] on 13 December 1941, an act which resulted in the [[Bombing of Sofia in World War II|bombing of Sofia]] and other Bulgarian cities by Allied aircraft. |
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[[File:ВОЙВОДАТА ЛЕСЕВ.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Local soldiers in Vardar Macedonia, recruited in the Bulgarian Army, welcoming the IMRO vojvoda Petar Lesev, by his return from Sofia.]] |
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The German invasion of the Soviet Union caused a significant wave of protests, which led to the activation of a mass guerrilla movement headed by the underground [[Bulgarian Communist Party]]. A resistance movement called [[Fatherland Front (Bulgaria)|Fatherland Front]] was set up in August 1942 by the Communist Party, the [[Zveno]] movement and a number of other parties to oppose the then pro-Nazi government, after a number of Allied victories indicated that the Axis might lose the War. Partisan detachments were particularly active in the mountain areas of western and southern Bulgaria. In August 1943, after a visit to Germany, Bulgarian Tsar Boris III died suddenly, and his six-year-old son [[Simeon II]] succeeded him to the throne; a council of regents was set up because of the Simeon's age. The new Prime Minister, [[Dobri Bozhilov]], was in most respects a German puppet. |
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Bulgaria had maintained diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union while being a member of the Axis Powers. In the summer of 1944, after having crushed the Nazi defence around [[Iaşi]] and [[Chişinău]], the [[Soviet Army]] was approaching the Balkans and Bulgaria. On 23 August 1944, Romania left the Axis Powers and declared war on Germany, and allowed Soviet forces to cross its territory to reach Bulgaria. On 26 August, the Fatherland Front made the decision to incite an armed rebellion against the government, which led to the appointment of a new government on 2 September. Support for the government was withheld by the Fatherland Front, since it was composed of pro-Nazi circles, in a desperate attempt to hold on to power. On 5 September, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria and invaded. Within three days, the Soviets occupied the northeastern part of Bulgaria along with the key port cities of [[Varna]] and [[Burgas]]. The Bulgarian Army was ordered to offer no resistance. On 8 September, the Bulgarians changed sides and joined the Soviet Union in its war against Nazi Germany. |
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==Allies (1944–1945)== |
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{{Main|Operation Frühlingserwachen|Battle of Drava|Nagykanizsa–Körmend Offensive|Vienna Offensive}} |
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[[File:Prilep1944.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Meeting of Bulgarian soldiers and Macedonian partisans in [[Prilep]], autumn 1944. In the same city on 11 October 1941 the resistance against the Bulgarian occupation of Macedonia started.]] |
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Garrison detachments, led by Zveno officers, overthrew the government on the eve of 9 September, after taking strategic points in [[Sofia]] and arresting government ministers. A new government of the Fatherland Front was appointed on 9 September with [[Kimon Georgiev]] as prime minister.War was declared on Germany and its allies at once and the weak divisions sent by the Axis Powers to invade Bulgaria were easily driven back. In Macedonia, the Bulgarian troops, surrounded by German forces, and betrayed by high-ranking military commanders, fought their way back to the old borders of Bulgaria. Unlike the Communist resistance, the right wing followers of the [[Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization]] (IMRO) saw the solution of the [[Macedonian Question]] in creating a pro-Bulgarian [[Independent State of Macedonia|Independent Macedonian State]]. At this time the IMRO leader [[Ivan Mihailov]] arrived in German reoccupied Skopje, where the Germans hoped that he could form an Macedonian state on the base of former IMRO structures and [[Ohrana]]. Seeing that Germany had lost the war and to avoid further bloodshed, after two days he refused and set off.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=R8d2409V9tEC&pg=PA239&dq=puppet++State+in+Macedonia++1944+mihailov&hl=bg Hitler's new disorder: the Second World War in Yugoslavia, Stevan K. Pavlowitch, Columbia University Press, 2008, ISBN 0231700504, pp. 238-240.]</ref> Under the leadership of a new Bulgarian pro-Communist government, three Bulgarian armies (some 455,000 strong in total) entered Yugoslavia in September 1944 and moved from Sofia to [[Niš]] and [[Skopje]] with the strategic task of blocking the German forces withdrawing from Greece (under the command of Major Georgi Marinov Mandjev from the village of Goliamo Sharkovo, Elhovska Okolia). Southern and eastern [[Serbia]] and Macedonia were liberated within a month and the 130,000-strong [[Bulgarian First Army]] continued to [[Hungary]], driving off the Germans and entering [[Austria]] in April 1945. Contact was established with the [[British Eighth Army]] in the town of [[Klagenfurt]] on 8 May 1945, the day the Nazi government in Germany capitulated. |
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==Consequences and results== |
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As a consequence of World War II, a Communist regime was installed in Bulgaria with [[Georgi Dimitrov]] in front. The monarchy was abolished and the tsar sent into exile. |
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The [[Paris Peace Treaties, 1947|Paris Peace Treaties of 1947]] confirmed the incorporation of [[Southern Dobruja]] into Bulgaria during the War, thus making Bulgaria the only German ally that increased its pre-War territory. The occupied parts of the Aegean region and [[Vardar Macedonia]] remaining within the borders of Bulgaria were returned, with 150,000 Bulgarians being expelled from [[Western Thrace]]. |
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==Armed forces== |
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{{Main|Military of Bulgaria}} |
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By the end of the war, Bulgaria managed to mobilize about 450,000 men. Military equipment was mostly of German origin. By 1945, Bulgaria had also received stocks of Soviet weaponry, mostly small arms. |
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===Infantry weapons=== |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Karabiner 98k]] |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[MP 34]] |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[MP 40]] |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Panzerschreck]] |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Panzerfaust]] |
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*{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Luger P08]] |
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*{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[15 cm sIG 33|SIG 33]] |
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*{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[MG 34]] |
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*{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[MG 08]] |
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*{{flagicon|Austria}} [[MG 30]] |
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*{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Steyr-Mannlicher M1895]] |
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*{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[PPSh-41]] |
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*{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[SVT-40]] |
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===Vehicles=== |
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*{{flagicon|Italy|1861}} [[L3/33|CV-33]] tankette - 8 |
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*{{flagicon|Italy|1861}} [[Semovente 47/32]] [[tank destroyer]] |
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*{{flagicon|France}} [[Renault R35]] light [[infantry tank]] - 39 |
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*{{flagicon|France}} [[Somua S-35]] cavalry tank - 6 |
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*{{flagicon|France}} [[Hotchkiss H35]] light tank - 19 |
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*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Vickers Mk E]] [[tankette]] - 8 |
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*{{flagicon|Czechoslovakia}} [[Panzer 35(t)]] [[light tank]] - 36 |
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*{{flagicon|Czechoslovakia}} [[Panzer 38(t)]] light tank |
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*{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Panzer I]] light tank - 1 sold in 1937 |
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*{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Panzer IV]] medium tank - 46<ref name=Caballero66>Caballero & Molina (2006), p. 66</ref> or 91<ref name=Doyle41>Doyle & Jentz (2001), p. 41; Perrett (1999), p. 44, claims Bulgaria received 88 Panzer IVs.</ref> |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Jagdpanzer IV]] [[tank destroyer]] |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Sturmgeschütz III]] assault gun - 55 ordered, 25 delivered |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Sturmgeschütz IV]] [[assault gun]] |
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*{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Schwerer_Panzersp%C3%A4hwagen#SdKfz._232_2|SdKfz.232 ''Schwerer Panzerspähwagen'']] armoured car |
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*{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[T-34]] [[Medium tank]] send after 9th September 1944 |
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===Aircraft=== |
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*{{flagicon|Czechoslovakia}} [[Avia B-534]] fighters - 78<ref>Bílý, Miroslav and Jiří Vraný. Avia B-534: Czechoslovak Fighter, 3rd and 4th Version (Model File). Praha, Czech Republic: MBI, 2008. ISBN 80-8652415-9. With 71 pages the most comprehensive detail publication about the B-534 to date.</ref> |
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*{{flagicon|Czechoslovakia}} [[Avia B-135]] fighters |
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*{{flagicon|Poland}} [[PZL P.11]] fighter — few |
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*{{flagicon|France}} [[Dewoitine D.520]] fighter |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Arado Ar 65]] biplane fighter - 12 |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Heinkel He-51]] fighters - 12 |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Messerschmitt Bf 108]] communications aircraft |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] [[fighter]] - 19 E-3s and 145 G-2/6/10s |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Junkers Ju 87]] "''Stuka''" - 12 Ju 87 R-2 and R-4s and 40 Ju 87 D-5s.<ref>Griehl 2001, p. 135.</ref> |
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*{{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Junkers Ju 88]] bomber — dozens delivered |
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*{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Ilyushin Il-2]] [[attack aircraft]] - after 9th September 1944 |
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*{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Tupolev Tu-2]] - after 9th September 1944 |
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===Ships=== |
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*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Drazki]] patrol boat |
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*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Smeli]] patrol boat |
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*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Hrabri]] patrol boat |
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*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Shumni]] patrol boat |
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*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Strogi]] patrol boat |
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==See also== |
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*[[Bulgarian resistance movement during World War II]] |
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*[[Bulgarian government-in-exile]] |
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*[[National Liberation War of Macedonia]] |
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*[[Uhrana|Ohrana]] |
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*[[Military of Bulgaria]] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}}<!--added under references heading by script-assisted edit--> |
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*{{cite book|title=Bulgaria: illustrated history|last=Dimitrov|first=Božidar|authorlink=Bozhidar Dimitrov|chapter=Bulgaria during World War II|chapterurl=http://www.bulgaria.com/history/bulgaria/war2.html|publisher=Borina|year=1994|location=Sofia|isbn=9545000449}} |
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*{{cite book|title=История и цивилизация за 11. клас|chapter=51. България в годините на Втората световна война|publisher=Труд, Сирма|year=2006|last=Делев|first=Петър|coauthors=et al.|language= Bulgarian}} |
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*{{cite book|url=http://www.mfa.government.bg/history_of_Bulgaria/|title=Българите и България| publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Trud, Sirma|chapter=Изборът между Сталин и Хитлер. Избор няма|chapterurl=http://www.mfa.government.bg/history_of_Bulgaria/|year=2005|language= Bulgarian}} |
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*{{cite book|title=История на Балканите XIV–XX век|last=Castellan|first=Georges|others=trans. Лиляна Цанева|year=1999|publisher=Хермес|location=Пловдив|isbn=954-459-901-0|language=Bulgarian| pages=459–463, 476–477}} |
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*{{cite book|last=Molina|first=Lucas|authorlink=|coauthors=Carlos Caballero|title=Panzer IV: El puño de la Whermacht|publisher=AFEditores|month=October|year=2006|language=Spanish|location= Valladolid, Spain|pages=96|isbn=8-496-01681-1}} |
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*{{cite book|last=Doyle|first=Hilary|authorlink=|coauthors=Tom Jentz|title=Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. G, H and J 1942-45|publisher=Osprey|year=2001|location=Oxford, United Kingdom|pages=48|isbn= 1-841-76183-4}} |
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*Griehl, Manfred (2001) ''Junker Ju 87 Stuka''. Airlife Publishing/Motorbuch, London/Stuttgart. ISBN 1-84037-198-6 |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=33 Axis History Factbook — Bulgaria] |
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*[http://www.terra.es/personal7/jqvaraderey/194145fc.gif Map] |
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*[http://terkepek.adatbank.transindex.ro/kepek/netre/225.gif Map] |
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*[http://historicalresources.org/2008/08/07/text-of-declaration-of-war-on-bulgaria-june-5-1942/ Text of Declaration of War on Bulgaria - June 5, 1942] |
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*[http://historicalresources.org/2008/07/30/the-armistice-agreement-with-bulgaria-october-28-1944/ The Armistice Agreement with Bulgaria; October 28, 1944] |
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{{WWIIHistory}} |
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[[Category:Military history of Bulgaria during World War II|*]] |
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[[Category:World War II Balkans Campaign|Bulgaria]] |
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[[Category:Yugoslav Macedonia during World War II|Bulgaria]] |
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{{Link GA|es}} |
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[[bg:Участие на България във Втората световна война]] |
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[[es:Bulgaria durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial]] |
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[[fr:Histoire militaire de la Bulgarie pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale]] |
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[[it:Storia della Bulgaria nella seconda guerra mondiale]] |
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[[he:בולגריה במלחמת העולם השנייה]] |
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[[ro:Istoria militară a Bulgariei în timpul celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial]] |
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[[ru:Болгария во Второй мировой войне]] |
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[[sr:Народноослободичака борба Бугарске]] |
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Revision as of 22:29, 28 July 2010
St Joseph's School Nelson Girls And Boys
St Joes Girls Consist Of Jontz, AnnJann, Rissole, Mayzi, Katiepoo The Boys Are JayJay, LBro, DayDay, Lew, Juice Dik
And They Rock My Blue Socks <(-_-)>