VII
The Berchtold Telegram and Zhekov Memorandum
Even though the majority of his forces got defeated, the Serbian monarch did not choose to surrender to the victorious Central Powers. Instead, he and his trusted marshal Radomir Putnik mustered the remnants of their army, and, using French warships, evacuated them via Albania to France and Italy.
Serbian forces evacuate into Albania
This, of course, was recieved as a casus belli in both Vienna and Sofia. Once the Albanian involvement in evacuation of king Petar and his soldiers was confirmed by military intelligence, a state of war between Albania and the Central Powers was declared.
Compared to the Serbian campaign, war with Albania was just a mop-up operation - the Bulgarians alone outnumbered the Albanian police force and border guards 10:1 and once they got reinforced by Austrians attacking from the north, the situation became even more clear. The Albanian capital of Tirana was secured by the 28th of August and the country itself was annexed to the Austro-Hungarian empire.
The Balkans after the Albanian campaign
Not everywhere the war proceeded as smoothly, though; after initial loses in Poland, the Russians have managed to bring up reinforcements from the Caucasus and Far East, which gave the advancing Germans a very though fight. Between June and August 1915, Warsaw switched hands twice, and an offensive in the Eastern Prussia took Klaipeda, putting Koenigsberg itself in threat. A German counteroffensive in July managed to retake Warsaw, but came to an abrupt halt near Lublin, where the Russians managed to encircle and destroy four battered German divisions. Although not as static as on the Western Front, the war in the East slowly turned into a bloodbath as well.
The Polish front during the 4th battle of Warsaw (IX 1915)
In the south a new threat for the Central Powers emerged; Italy, initially a formal (and neutral) member of the Triple Alliance, decided to switch sides in February, following top-secret talks in Paris. In exchange for siding with the Entente, the government in Rome was promised Southern Tirol, as well as yet to be specified gains along the Adriatic Coast. Initial Italian push managed to capture Trento, while an Austro-Hungarian conteroffensive took Udine.
The fragile balance in Italy, VIII 1915
On the 30th of August the Austro-Hungarian foreign minister, Leopold Berchtold, authorised a special telegram to the Bulgarian government. The so-called "Berchtold Telegram", presented to Radoslavov by the Austrian ambassador, outlined the difficulties the Austrians faced on the Polish and Italian fronts and invited the Bulgarians to "discuss and coordinate further steps to be taken during the present conflict".
The reaction of the Bulgarian government was mixed, with two options clearly visible. Prime minister Radoslavov and general Zhekov were eager to accept the invitation, hoping that further involvement into the war will further Bulgarian cause in Berlin and Vienna, possible leading to revision of borderline in Serbia. General Tenev proposed a more careful approach, in which the Bulgarians and the Austrians were to launch a preemptive offensive into Romania, securing the northern flank before next step's direction is chosen.
Initially, the tsar seemed to favour Tenev's careful approach. The General Staff was even instructed to secretly gather information on Bucharest's defences, as well as prepare procedures for a rapid crossing of the Danube. Once again, however, the situation changes thank's to the tsar's change of mind.
On the 3rd of September general Zhekov issued a memorandum to Radoslavov and Ferdinand, outlining the idea of a direct intervention in the battles against the Entente. According to his proposal, five divisions (four infantry and one cavalry) were to be selected from the veterans of the Serbian campaign and sent to aid the Austrians. Not surprisingly, two options have taken into account; the Polish and the Italian Fronts.
Zhekov pointed out main difficulties the Bulgarians would have to face on each front; the numerical superiority of the Russian soldiers and the rugged terrain of northern Italy. Ultimately, he decided in favour of the Italian option. According to his argumentation, the Italian were far more streched, and, although small, the Bulgarian force would be strong enough to allow the Central Powers to achieve a breakthrough. Once this was done, the advance into Italy should quickly force the enemy to lay down his weapons, while in Russia even a successful breakthrough would not guarantee any significant progress in the war. The only chance to defeat Russia, according to Zhekov layed in allowing all Central Powers to concentrate their might in Poland. With half the Austrian army occupied in Italy, this was not possible. He dismissed fears of the threat posed by Romania and Greece; according to his assessment, the present defences were sufficient to hold even against a combined attack, and in case of emergency the railway system would allow to pull out the Italian Corps within a month.
On the 7th of September the Bulgarian ambassador in Vienna handed Berchtold an official reply. The tsar, crown prince Boris as well as generals Tenev, Boyadzhev and Zhekov were to arrive in Vienna the following week to negotiate the terms on which the Bulgarians would participate in the Italian campaign.