The Battle of Bazargic, also known as the Battle of Dobrich or the Dobrich epopee ( bg, Добричка епопея), took place between 5 and 7 September 1916 between a joint Bulgarian–German force, consisting mainly of the

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

Third Army, and a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n–

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

force, including a Division of Serbian Volunteers serving under the Russian 47th Corps. The battle was part of the Romanian campaign towards the end of 1916. It ended with a

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

victory.

Background

Although bound by the pre-war Triple Alliance to the

, Romania instead joined the

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

in August 1916, following the signing of the

Treaty of Bucharest (1916) The Treaty of Bucharest of 1916 was signed between Romania and the Entente Powers on 4 (Old Style)/17 (New Style) August 1916 in Bucharest.Constantin Kirițescu, "''Istoria războiului pentru întregirea României: 1916–1919''", 1922, p. 179 T ...

. German Commander

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

August von Mackensen Anton Ludwig Friedrich August von Mackensen (born Mackensen; 6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945), ennobled as "von Mackensen" in 1899, was a German field marshal. He commanded successfully during World War I of 1914–1918 and became one of t ...

was put in charge of the Romanian campaign in the

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

front. In September the 3rd Bulgarian Army was reinforced with two Ottoman divisions and part of a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

division. The Central Powers' plan was to attack the Romanian forces in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, while at the same time attacking along the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, into the Dobruja, a region inhabited mainly by Bulgarians and assigned to Romania in 1913, as a result of the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

and the ensuing

Treaty of Bucharest (1913) The Treaty of Bucharest ( ro, Tratatul de la București; sr, Букурештански мир; bg, Букурещки договор; gr, Συνθήκη του Βουκουρεστίου) was concluded on 10 August 1913, by the delegates of ...

Battle

Mackensen started with a surprise move on

Turtucaia Tutrakan ( bg, Тутракан , ro, Тurtucaia, tr, Turtukaya) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of the homonymous municipality, part of Silistra Province. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube opposite ...

, a Romanian fortress. Although the besieging force was smaller than the garrison, most surrendered quickly to the Bulgarian 3rd Army after their commander fled. Along with German reinforcements, Bulgarian units on the Southern front who crossed the border and invaded the Dobruja found themselves facing the Romanian Third Army and two Russian infantry divisions. Some of the Romanian units had surrendered to the Russians, believing them to be Bulgarians. Simultaneously with the assault of the fortress of

, the Bulgarian Third Army defeated the Romanian-Russian force, including the

First Serbian Volunteer Division The First Serbian Volunteer Division ( sr, Srpski dobrovoljački korpus, italics=yes) or First Serbian Division, was a military formation of the First World War, created by Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić, and organised in the city of Ode ...

, at the Battle of Bazargic, despite their numerical superiority. Симеонов, Радослав, Величка Михайлова и Донка Василева. Добричката епопея. Историко-библиографски справочник, Добрич 2006 The outnumbered forces of the

managed to push the Romanians and the Russians north, while the Serbian Volunteer division suffered heavy casualties with 8,539 dead and wounded. On 7 September after intense fighting the defeated Russian general ordered a withdrawal. 1916 - Sarja a cavaleriei romane in luptele de la Bazargic desen de D Stoica

1916 - Sarja a cavaleriei romane in luptele de la Bazargic desen de D Stoica

Aftermath

As the Romanian army withdrew into

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

by the beginning of November, the Central Powers had captured the whole of Dobruja.

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

Romanian Encyclopedia
{{Wars and battles involving Serbs Battles of World War I involving Bulgaria Battles of World War I involving Germany Battles of World War I involving the Ottoman Empire Battles of World War I involving Romania Battles of World War I involving Russia Battles of World War I involving Serbia Battles of the Balkans Theatre (World War I) Battles of the Eastern Front (World War I) Conflicts in 1916 History of Dobrich Province Dobrich 1916 in Bulgaria 1916 in Romania September 1916 events