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~ About the Author ~
Georgi Kaloyanov Stoyanov was born in Plovdiv in the 23rd of August 1918, 3 years before the Peace with Honour. The second child of Kaloyan, a civil servant; and Anna, a nurse. He is the only son with his three sisters. He secured a place in Sofia University where he graduated with a Law Degree. He worked shortly as a solicitor until he was recruited by the Darzhavna Sigurnost (State Security) during the 1940s. Stoyanov was one of the team from the DS to be directly involved in the investigation of the late Tsar Boris's death. The conclusion was that there is no foul play detected on His Majesty's death, but Stoyanov took some extra time to interview some figures that brought light within Tsar Boris' short administration.
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~ His Majesty's Accession ~
The Lion of the Balkans stands proudly on the centre. Its jealous enemies surround her: The National Legionary State of Rumania in the north, the Kingdom of Serbia in the north-west, and the Kingdom of Greece in the south. The rest of the terrestrial border was connected to the Ottoman Empire; Adrianople and Tsargrad to the south-east, and the vassal state of Albania in the west. Bulgaria touches the waters of the Black Sea and the Aegian Sea.
The country is often referred to as the “Prussia of the Balkans” with its large military relative to its size. To complement its military prowess, the country enjoyed political support from Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. This protects the Lion from her enemies, but will this potent mix continue to serve her as the world turn upside down?
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Vitosha Nature Park. Two years since the death of Tsar Boris III
The oldest nature park in the Balkans. It was declared as such back in 1934, when it was proposed by some noblemen that the natural land must be protected. The Tsar supported the motion. It was one of the first laws His Majesty have passed. By the bench on the agreed location, the man was sitting, staring at all the falling autumn leaves. Georgi Kioseivanov is the foreign minister during the Filov Ministry of 1934. After some pleasantries and small chat, the statesman began to talk business.
“The Tsardom was doing well on recovering from the Great War. I'm just the foreign minister during the Filov government but I can see from the reports of the finances and agriculture ministers that the country is stable and growing. We have switched to Tobacco as our main export, replacing grains. Land reforms have improved the yield and efficiency. Land grants to landless families. The number of small businesses grew, both in agriculture and industry. Between the 'Peace with Honour' and the 'Black Monday', the country grew at an average rate of 5.3 percent, roughly equal or ahead among other European countries.”
Then there's the Black Monday of 1936
“Yes. It was harsh.” he smiled as if it was some distant memory “The Reichstag ordered the closing of the banks. That was... during the start of February, I believe. But that was from Germany, and the initial effect here wasn't that dramatic. And only when the shockwave reached us, that's when we starting to truly feel it. Companies owned by Germans and Austrians closed down, then soon our own closed down. Unemployment grew. Shares fell down. Investors pulled out. Our exports became pathetic, and the Lev is dropping.”
What about the Belgrade Pact?
“The Belgrade Pact? They weren't called like that at that time. But yes, Serbia, Rumania, and Greece too suffered from the Black Monday, but to a lesser extent compare to ours. Their economies, like it or not, are connected to Germany, one way or the other. Unless you turn Syndicalist.”
“[Rumania] did starting to feel brave after the Berlin Crash. First, they have re-occupy Oltenia, sending their troops in the region, which violated the Bucharest Treaty of 1918. Then they have also nationalised the oil industry from the Germans.”
What is your reaction to this? What did the cabinet and the Tsar thought?
“I think we should have invaded them in the first place. Just invade those so-called “Legionnaires”. They are isolated due to their crazy government - whatever you call that. The Belgrade Pact wasn't built by then, so the Greeks and the Serbians are somewhat iffy to them. Lukov [the Chief of General Staff] assessed that our larger forces can bring them down. Never mind that our weapons are obsolete, the Iron Guards are in a worse condition.”
“The Tsar was open to a fight, but he seems reluctant considering that His Majesty is new and he doesn't want his first big decision to be a fuck-up, right? But he wants it. He wants a secure northern border and the Ploesti oil fields. Filov fully opposed him. The effects of the Berlin Crash will soon come to our lands – he said, and that we need to be prepared for it. The debate ran back and forth. I didn't believe him. That's Berlin's problem, I thought. The Tsar gave up. I'm pissed that we let the Vlachs get away with it.”
Is that when Filov and the Tsar starts to clash?
“No... yes. They have bumped against each other before. But it was Oltenia that made the Tsar sees Filov as a threat.”
What do you think of the Tsar and Filov, personally?
“Like I said before, His Majesty is reluctant on making decisions because of his inexperience. But he is cunning. He became rash at some point but cunning. I actually underestimated him, especially during the 1938 Election. Filov, on the other hand, is thick as a brick, and unpopular. He became the Prime Minister because of his network he set up during Tsar Ferdinand's time.”
Do you think the Tsar made a bad decision? Kioseivanov stopped to juggle and form his words. So I rephrased the question;
I mean, looking back now, if you could convince the Tsar that war is the better option than wait, would you do it?
No. I understand what you meant. It wasn't a bad decision because the Black Monday did reached us within a month, and it was
brutal. So, His Majesty was playing safe. We could have eliminated one of the Belgrade Pact before they could form if it wasn't for Filov. But in the end, it wasn't a grave decision.”
What about the reactions from other powers like Germany?
“That one is a headache for the Germans. Ploesti is their main supplier of oil for both domestic and military use. Add the Caucasian War later on 1937, the Germans have to rely on the Ottomans and Africa, but they have limited amounts. Goring's development in Nigeria hasn't come to fruitation yet at that time. So the Kaiser has to deal with the unreliable Persians for a while until the end of the 4th Balkan War. The Turks didn't like the Persian deal, but who cares.”
“The Germans did try to win the Ploesti back. They tried to turn the Iron Guards against themselves with intrigue and bribes. Cuza's faction became central to this plot, trying to gain influence and control. But it failed, their under-the-table transactions were exposed. Cuza and his cohorts were executed.”
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I'm suppose to go with Kurdistan but I'm having some difficulty on writing it, but the gameplay is fine. Regarding this AAR, I'm trying an interview style insprised by Max Brooks' World War Z, mixed with "Middle Republic" style. Hopefully I get to pull this off.
