BULGARIA 231 BULGARIA was in the war to rob Turkey of the Dardanelles and Constantinople; Prance sought to regain Alsace-Lorraine; Eng- land wished to ruin Germany because she was jealous of the latter's commercial expansion ; Italy, Serbia, and Montenegro were only seeking plunder. The Central Powers, on the other hand, it was as- serted, were "only fighting to defend property and assure peaceful progress." "Therefore," the manifesto concluded, "we shall fight the Serbs at the same time as the brave armies of the Central Empires." On October 12 Bulgaria declared war on Serbia. Three days later, Great Britain declared war against Bulgaria and was followed by the other Allies. Later, when America declared war on Austria and Germany, the question was raised why Bulgaria had not been in- cluded. The answer was that the Bul- garians were fighting only in what they regarded as Bulgarian territory, that the theater of operations was so circum- scribed that Bulgarians were unlikely ever to face American troops, and that, despite the German demand that she should break with the United States, Bulgaria had refused to do so. The Bulgarian military operations are treated in detail in the article on the World War (q. v.) and need to be al- luded to but briefly here. Her initial efforts in co-operation with the Teutonic forces of Von Mackensen resulted in the driving of the Serbs into Greece and the subjugation of Serbia. In the early part of 1916 the Bulgars held the Midji Mountains on the W. and the Bela- shitza Mountains on the E. and com- manded the Vardar Pass. They had also encroached to some extent on Greek territory at Monastir. In the autumn of the same year they were signally de- feated by the Franco- Serbian forces at Monastir and Fiorina. From that time on until the autumn of 1918 the hostile armies on the Macedonian front were practically deadlocked, each occupying positions of great natural strength and neither feeling strong enough to take a decided offensive. In September, 1918, a brilliant campaign was inaugurated by the Allied forces under the command of Franchet d'Esperey. In the Lake Doiran region, the British and Greek troops at- tacked the enemy's right, while the French and Serbians broke through the Bulgarian center on the Czerna river. At the same time the Italians struck heavily on the left, where the line ex- tended into Albanian territory. By September 23 the First Bulgarian army had been separated from the Second and was in wild flight. The next day the Second army was in full retreat, and the defeat ended in a debacle. Desperate appeals for aid brought no help from Germany, who was herself reeling under the Allied blows on the western front. Steps were taken looking toward an armistice, and this was signed on September 29, going into force at noon 01 September 30. King Ferdinand abdi- cated and was succeeded, Oct. 4, 1918^ by his son, Boris III. The treaty of peace between the Al- lied and Associated Powers and Bul- garia was presented to the delegates of the latter on Sept. 19, 1919, at Paris. Twenty-five days were given for con- sideration of its terms and the filing of objections or counter-proposals, after which a final date would be set for sig- nature. In some respects the same lines were followed as that in the German treaty, especially as regards the League of Nations Covenant, penalties, prison- ers of war, graves, labor, and aerhal navigation. Changes were made in the former Bulgarian frontier to the south, where Bulgaria lost Thrace, while Serbia gained some slight advantages on Bul- garia's western frontier. The vanquished nation was obliged to recognize the in- dependence of the Serb-Croat-Slovene state. Provision was made for the pro- tection of racial and religious minorities. Fifty thousand tons of coal were re- quired to be delivered annually for a period of five years to the Jugoslavic state, in compensation for the destruc- tion of Serbian coal mines. Universal military service was abolished and vol- untary enlistment substituted. The Bul- garian army was reduced to 20,000 men within three months from the date of signing. Only one military school was permitted to exist. The importation or exportation of arms, munitions, and war materials of all kinds were forbidden, and the manufacture of war material was confined to a single factory. All warships, including submarines, were to be yielded up to the Allies. As repara- tion Bulgaria was to pay $445,000,000 in gold in semi-yearly payments. It was recognized that this amount was not ade- quate to cover the loss and damage suf- fered by the Allies from Bulgaria's participation in the war, but account was taken in fixing the sum of Bulgaria's ability to pay. An Inter-Allied Com- mission was to be established at Sofia as soon as possible after the coming into force of the treaty to supervise the carrying out of the terms. The cost and expenses of the commission were to be paid by Bulgaria and be a first charge on her revenues. The treaty was signed at Neuilly, near Paris, Nov. 27, 1919, accompanied by a protest on the part of the Bulgarian delegates,
