-------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
~ The Fourth Balkan War ~
Fighting soon erupted across the Bulgarian-Rumanian frontier, with Dobrich taking most of the fire. The rebellion wasn't quelled yet, and Iron Guard troops surge into the province to aid their brothers. The Greeks attacked the Bulgarian positions in Kozani. The attack started to lose its momentum, and reinforcements are coming from Thessaloniki. The Serbians made no move so far.
In the Aegean, the proud Grand Fleet stood no match against the Greeks. Its shipping lanes are wide open for the Bulgarians to raid, its coastlands open to bombardment.
Back in the borderlands, reinforcements flooded into Dobrich, with the Tsar in command, blunting the main Iron Guard attack. As the weaker and undisciplined Rumanians halted, the Bulgarian initiated a counter-attack into Bucharest. The 2nd Cavalry Division have burst through in the western end of the frontier, and now galloping towards Ploesti and its oilfields.
Assault troops cut the barbed wires in no-man's land
Eight days later, Bucharest was captured, and 5 Iron Guard divisions (2 cavalry and 3 infantry) were encircled and destroyed. A glorious victory for Bulgaria!
Next stop – Constantza. 5 divisions under the command of the Tsar advances towards Braila. Eleven days later, 3 Iron Guard divisions were surrounded in Calarasi. Another glorious victory for Tsar and Tsardom!
The Rumanians have laid down their arms in the morning of the 12th of May 1938. The most powerful member of the Pact was defeated.
The victory against the Rumanians have swelled the public's positive perception towards the war, and their approval towards the Tsar and his government soared. The propaganda machine is in full spin. Dissent was drowned out by the celebration.
FORWARDS! FORWARDS!
------------------------------------------------
Extracts from the “Light Army Operations” by Ivan Vulkov
“Unlike the vast territories of Germany, the Ottomans, or Russia, Bulgaria is a relatively small nation, and any defensive line lost would be fatal to the outcome of the war. For instance, if Pirot or Vidin falls to the attacking Serbians, Sofia would be left wide open.”
“This is where the use of trench warfare would be proved invaluable.”
“It cannot be stress enough that the military must have the attitude that it will not give a single foot of our sacred soil to the enemy.”
“...it is imperative that the soldiers will be trained on basic trench construction with supporting engineers on each brigade formations to decrease the time required to establish new trenches when the lines have shifted.”
“To improve the effectiveness of the trench system, a rethink on the placement of machinegun positions must be done too. The following reforms suggested are...”
“A slight adjustment on the indirect fire-support, when on defence, is also required.”
“...this shall make the divisional artilleries more effective on defensive battles.”
“In accordance to what was mentioned before, the Bulgarian military must be centralised and its organisational hierarchy must be strong and well-defined...”
------------------------------------------------
In the 29th of May 1938, the offensive against the Serbians started. The attack was led by the Tsar, himself, fought against the entrenched opposition in the mountainous province of Bor. Nearly a month later, the enemy was forced out and the Bulgarians are advancing to Belgrade.
Bulgarian troops assembling in Kozani for the battle of Larissa
Two weeks later, the capital was captured. The Serbians are collapsing, and in low morale. By the 6th of July 1938, one hour after midnight, Serbia has surrendered to Bulgaria. One of our rivals in the Balkans fell, but at a huge cost for our people. It is still a worthy victory for the Tsardom.
In the afternoon of the 19th of July, the huge amount of forces in Kozani, not gone unnoticed by the Greeks, have burst into the enemy lines in Larissa. The attack was named, Operation Krum, after the ancient Bulgarian king. The objectives of Krum are the encirclement of the fortified area in Metsovo, and a straight dash towards Athens.
It took a month to reach Athens due to the fanatical resistance of the enemy. Nonetheless, the objectives were reached. The capital fell, and the fortified position in Metsovo is being encircled.
By the 3rd of September 1938, 8 o'clock in the evening, the Greeks surrendered at last. Victory! Victory! Long Live the Tsar! Long Live Bulgaria!
The Belgrade Pact was annihilated without help from the Tsardom's allies, with the exception of the honourable Austrian volunteer forces. However, it was a very costly war. The reserve pool was depleted from 120,000 men at the start of the war, to just 25,000 men (note: the production of the new artillery brigades must be taken into account).
The Tsardom now takes a deep breath. The election was postponed by the Tsar during the war to prevent political instability. Now that the war ended, the election have to presume as promised. There is also the issue of what to do with the conquered nations of the Pact. Meanwhile, their eastern neighbour is in a problematic situation.
------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
