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To Tsarigrad!
I don't know about that. Does Thrace counts as the Balkans?
So then the question is: Puppet or annex?
Heh. We'll see in the next update soon.
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Great AAR, greetings from Bulgaria
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I noticed that some of the pictures are weird. I rearrange the pics, and I'll work on that another one.
No updates until Friday
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I'm also agreeing with annexation!
Also, if you seize Istanbul is there an event to make it your capital? If yes I am so about to go play a KR Bulgaria game!
Also, if you seize Istanbul is there an event to make it your capital? If yes I am so about to go play a KR Bulgaria game!
I would say puppet with obvious Bulgarian majority areas added to Bulgaria proper. The puppets have some defensive capability but Bulgaria has the heavy artillery, navy and armor.
Thing is Kaiserreich's Bulgaria has incorporated all ethnic Bulgarians within its borders, pretty much (the major gain over OTL being Macedonia). In fact, it probably owns parts of Northern Greece which are Greek-majority.
Well, areas with Bulgarian minority could easily become majority. Like Prussia OTL after WW2!
As a Kingdom with pretensions of Empire, well ruling more than Bulgarians is necessary. Resettlement is economically disruptive.
It doesn't have one, but I can make you a quick custom event if you want. Just PM me the event conditions, and your desired effects, etc if you'd like to have one.
Making it a capital makes no sense, other than the desires of Ferdinand I to resurrect the Byzantine Empire under his leadership. Which I doubt Bulgarians would agree with, since we never liked them and we've fought them most of the time. But getting Constantinople has always been a dream of ours. It would definitely raise the status to at least a major power in South-Eastern Europe. Controlling it would be difficult though, there should be events for that. Also what the others have said is not quite true, there are territories with Bulgarians not under Bulgarian control. How about events for raising claims to Bessarabia and Odessa? They have quite a Bulgarian population from before the liberation from the Turks. An expansionistic and successful Tzar Boris might make a claim on them. Especially if the political situation allows it
I am not familiar with making events but a year or two? Maybe one or two crushed event revolts? After that I don't think there would be much resistance.
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~ The Fall of the Eternal State ~
Election came into an end as the Bulgarian people have voiced their say on the country's future after the war against the Belgrade Pact. Due to the authoritarian system that Bulgaria uses, only approved parties are involved. Unapproved parties such as the Syndicalists run as independents, but even with that, they still face larger obstacles in the race. It is expected that they will only gain less seats than expected.
The Democratic Alliance are an uneasy alliance of both the Liberals and the Conservatives. Concerning themselves with both the preservation of the Tsarist system, the protection of the privilege of the Aristocracy and the Church, and the development of the Bourgeoisie and their industry. Their pro-military policy, in contrasts to the Agrarians and the Social Democrats, also made them an easy choice for pro-military voters. Their social conservatism made them a tough opponent for the Agrarian Party.
The Agrarian People's Union are a party working for the interest of the peasantry, just as the Social Democrats worked for the interest of the urban workers. They also try to protect the traditional and rural life of the country. The party have garnered a significant amount of seats thanks to their strong supporters from the rural areas. The rural areas are where the Agrarian Party reign supreme, with the Democrats taking the rest.
The odd one of all, the National Social Movement have received smaller share of seats. In retrospect, many scholars have argued that the strong influence of the Reds and the Blues have squeezed the idiosyncratic NSM of its votes. Their lack of appeal and also the lack of a main selling point to lure the public have made them seem bland to everyone.
The Social Democratic Workers Party, despite the low proportion of seats, have managed to increase their share three folds due to the crippling effects of the Berlin Crash. Their subpar result according to the SDWP's expectations can be explained to the recent victory of the country against the Belgrade Pact, in which the party took a pacifistic approach. This cost them some significant portion of votes. Still, the rise of the SDWP worried many of the conservative elements of the Tsarist leadership. The SDWP have renounced whatever connections they have with the Syndicalists in the west in order to be accepted by the establishment, but its Leftist rhetoric is still alarming to the establishment.
From left to right - 283 total seats
Social Democratic Workers Party - 59 seats
Agrarian People's Union - 99 seats
Democratic Alliance – 102 seats
National Social Movement – 14 seats
Independents – 9 seats
The result was very close between the Agrarians and the Democrats with the latter taking a little more. The rise of the Social Democrats have made a Worker-Farmer Coalitionpossible, but the wide gap of disagreement between the two is large as the gap between the Democrats is narrow. The Social Democrats and the Agrarians have failed to compromise, and the latter went to the Alliance. The Blue Coalition was formed. But since the Tsar gets to chose which party leader would become the Premier, this give him some leverage against the two parties. After closed-door meetings with the two parties, the Blue Coalition became the ruling government with Georgi Kioseivanov of the Democratic Alliance leading the government.
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With the election done, the question on how to deal with the defeated countries of the Pact is still unanswered. There's argument running between the factions of the coalition. Most of the Agrarians refused to annexed the Pact nations permanently. The undertaking, they claimed, will be expensive and exhausting. Some radicals from both sides of the coalition liked the idea of integrating the three states into the Tsardom, and enforce full “Bulgarification” to them.
The Tsar approved the moderate approach as suggested by the majority of the coalition. The three Belgrade Pact states will received their independence, however, measure will be taken to prevent them from rising up against the Tsardom again. The Bulgarian Tsar will become the Tsar of these three kingdoms, with each government modelled along Bulgarian lines. Due to the enormous amount of tasks involved, governors will be appointed on the three states. The Tsar can appoint and replace a governor, with the purpose of representing the Tsar and wield His Majesty's powers in his absence. These powers are similar to the Bulgarian system where the Tsar/Governor appoints the Premier or any of the cabinet positions and military commanders. They can also veto any legislations passed by the parliament. They can also ban political parties. This were done to prevent any unwanted measure from being passed, and curb any Revanchism sentiments from the Belgrade Pact members. The two kingdoms, Greece and Serbia, were restored with Tsar Boris as the head of state. The so-called National Legionary State of Rumania was transformed into the Tsardom of Rumania.
The new government have initiate an industrialisation program, in order to industrialise the mostly agrarian nation. It has been seen as one of its weakness that Bulgaria has a little industry that can barely support its large military. The plan was met with some resistance from the Agrarians, so the plan was moderated.
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Shortly after the Arab Congress, the two Arab powers, Egypt and the Hashimites have forged an alliance, calling themselves the Arab Axis. The Persians joined the Arabs later on, now relabelled the alliance simply as the Axis. By joining the Axis, Tehran made its own claims.
By the 23rd of March, the Kurdish have been embolden by Axis hostile intentions, and have risen up against the Ottomans. Some in the leadership believed that Axis intervention is likely.
Across the border, Cairo took that as a sign that the Arabs must move forth and destroy the Turks, but Tehran was very hesitant. The Persians refused to help the Kurds as the nation sits on Persian claims. Not to mention, Kurds also populate the western borderlands of the country. An independent Kurdistan wouldn't help Persia at all. Being a part of the Axis, Tehran holds a veto. Thus, the Axis never went to war against the Empire just yet.
The Kurds fell after two months of fighting.
A year after the Kurdish revolt. An incident in Baghdad where the Sultan's police have detained a local Arab leader without trial. The event sparked the fuel, and soon the city was in riot. The news of the Baghdad riots have spread throughout the Arab lands of the Empire. The Axis was listening eagerly on the developing rebellions in the Empire. The three powers decided that now is the time to strike. The Axis declared war on the Ottoman Empire in the 13th of March 1939.
The war was a bad start for the Axis. The Persians were fighting a two-front war against the Ottomans, and against the Turkmens from the East. Tehran is in grave danger. The Hashemites are also being pushed back. The only consolations were that the Arab revolts have spread out, and that the Egyptians have successfully crossed the Nile.
When the Tsar learnt the outbreak of the war between the Ottomans and the Axis, he ordered the army to assemble on the borders the next day. The move was met with little resistance. The lands gained during the First Balkan War were still under Turkish hands, and there is also the fabled city of Tsarigrad - the Heart of the East. The Turks were the Bulgarians' friend during the Weltkrieg, but such friendship is merely strategic, and it is the same with the Ottomans too. Neither Germany nor the Ottomans appeared when Bulgaria was attacked by the Belgrade Pact.
Anti-Ottoman propaganda was in full swing. The grave crimes committed by the Turkish during the April Uprising were used by the Bulgarian press to vilify her former ally.
Along with those negative propaganda, the dream of conquering Constantinople under the banner of an Orthodox nation was revived once again with full endorsement from the Tsar himself.
The Bulgarian Martyresses. A depiction from the April Uprising.
War was declared in the 28th of March 1939. The Ottomans have never expected their former ally to stab them in the back. Due to this false hope, the border was only defended by two divisions spread out from Adrianople to Gallipoli. By the 5th of April, the Bulgarians reached the City of Caesars where the Turkish rushed troops to the capital.
Tsarigrad fell, but the Turkish Sultan was long gone. The defenders have been pushed back to Izmit, then to Zonguldak, and to Karabuk. The disorganised rout left a massive hole on the Turkish lines, the Bulgarian cavalry galloped at full speed to Ankara and Smyrna, with the infantry at its wake.
By the last week of May, A Turkish corps was enveloped in Karabuk. They stood no chance against the larger Bulgarian forces. The cavalry are now storming the gap in the centre, towards Kayseri and Adana, hoping to cut off the army in Tarsus. It is also noted that the Rumunian cavalry have joined the campaign, despite hating the Bulgarians for defeating and conquering them just last year, it appears that they hate the Turks more.
On the other fronts, the situation looks bleak on the other fronts. The Persians have recovered against the Turkmens, but still haven't pushed back the Turks. The Hashemites were in the verge of collapse as the Ottomans are getting nearer to Riyadh. Only the Egyptians did well with the capture of Palestine, but even that was a modest gain.
When the Tarsus pocket was closed, 1st and 2nd Cavalry, the former under command of the Tsar, rushed along the River Euphrates to linked up with the Arabs in Basrah. This will cut the Turkish beast into two. It was an ambitious plan, and it made the General Staff nervous on putting the Tsar at risk, but the Tsar's word is final. Operation Tervel is a go.
Operation Tervel
In the Tarsus pocket, the encircled Turkish army fought their last in Antalya. The Sultan's military high command was trapped there and has to be rescued by the navy. Not all of the soldiers managed to escape. 7 divisions surrendered to the victorious Bulgarians. The Ottoman high command retreated to Cyprus. They are still alive, but they are now ineffective on controlling their army in the mainland.
Bulgarian troops assaulting Turkish positions.
The 3rd Cavalry Division joined the rush to Basrah. The headless Ottoman military are now uncoordinated, and have to fight independently. Several Turkish forces, such as the army in Trabzon, were encircled and destroyed. The Axis are now pushing back the Ottoman menace.
By the 23rd of July 1939, the Tsar and his cavalry have entered Baghdad, and another cavalry force have shook hands with their Egyptians and Hashemite allies. Several Turkish strongholds still remain, and its soldiers continue to fight fanatically until the end, but they cannot reverse the inevitable. The end is nigh for the Ottoman Empire.
The government in Cyprus was protected by its grand fleet, larger than that of the Bulgarian's. However, the Devleti collapse from within. The Turkish military have made a quick coup against the Sultan, thus ending the 640 year old dynasty. The new military government surrendered to the Axis and to the Bulgarians on the 1st of August 1939.
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As the war against the Ottoman Empire draw into a close, the Syndicalists and the Kaiserreich have gone head to head for the long disputed territory of Elsass-Lothringen in the 7th of July 1939. Before the month of July was over, the French have put down Flanders-Wallonia. The Bulgarians hoped that the Germans will emerge victorious as they march into Paris. In fact, many are confident that that is what will happen soon enough.
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But the eyes and ears of the public are focused on the holy city of Jerusalem where the victorious nations met to conclude the peace treaty.
The Tsar was very pleased. In his mind, it was Bulgaria that won the war, and now he will demand for the grand prize.
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Due to the centuries of Ottoman rule, the Bulgarian aristocracy was wiped out, and failed to reemerge. The Tarnovo Constitution actually banned state recognition of titles.
Hopefully, the treaty of Jerusalem will address that concern! The Arabs and the Persian owes much to their non-Axis partner.
Ah. No wonder why I don't see any of them when researching. Thanks for the info.
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Go Bulgaria