Fourth Army (Bulgaria)
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The Bulgarian Fourth Army was a
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
n field army during the Balkan Wars,
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.


The Balkan Wars (1912 - 13)


Balkan War (1912 - 13)

In anticipation of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
counter-offensive, the Bulgarian command on December 14, 1912, formed this army consisting of the following: Second Infantry Thracian Division, Seventh Infantry Rila Division, the Macedonian-Adrian Army and the Third Airborne Division. The commander of the army was
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Stiliyan Kovachev Stiliyan Kovachev ( bg, Стилиян Ковачев) (born on 26 February 1860 in Yanbolu (Yambol), died on 11 July 1939 in Sofia) was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian general. During the First Balkan War he commanded the Rodopi Detachment and later 4t ...
. It reflected the Turkish attack on Bulair and the landing at Şarköy in 1913.


Second Balkan War (1913)

The army focused on the area of Radovish, Shtip, and Kochani against the main force of the Kingdom of Serbia. With the
Battle of Bregalnitsa The Battle of Bregalnica was fought between the Kingdom of Bulgaria army and the Kingdom of Serbia during the Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of th ...
, the war itself begins. In the
Battle of Kalimantsi The Battle of Kalimanci ( bg, Битка при Калиманци, sr, Битка код Калиманаца) was a battle fought between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Bulgaria during the Second Balkan War. The battle started on ...
advancing Serbian troops are stopped, preventing them from joining the
Greek army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...
. They were heavily suppressed and took heavy losses during the battles. They were disbanded on 6 August 1913.


World War I (1915 - 1918)

The Fourth Army was again formed on November 25, 1915. In December of 1917, the Artillery Division of the Army was formed and a military school was established. It was composed of the Tenth Aegean Infantry Division and the Second cavalry division. The Fourth Army was disbanded in October 1918. During this time, the Fourth Army was commanded by Stefan Toshev.


Command and staff

* Army Commander -
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Mihail Savov Mihail Georgiev Savov ( bg, Михаил Савов) (14 November 1857 in Stara Zagora - 21 July 1928 in Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey, France) was a Bulgarian general, twice Minister of Defence (1891–1894 and 1903–1907), second in command of the Bul ...
(1918) and
Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
General Stefan Toshev (1918) * Chief of Staff of the Army - from the General Staff,
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Stefan Azmanov Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...
(1918) * Chief of Artillery - Major General Vladimir Vazov (1918) * Chief of Engineering Troops - Major General Petko Tzaklev (1918)


Divisions

* 10th Infantry Division ''(bg)'',
Western Thrace Western Thrace or West Thrace ( el, υτικήΘράκη, '' ytikíThráki'' ; tr, Batı Trakya; bg, Западна/Беломорска Тракия, ''Zapadna/Belomorska Trakiya''), also known as Greek Thrace, is a geographic and histori ...
* 2nd Cavalry Division ''(bg)'' - Major General Ivan Tabakov


World War II

After the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the 4th Army was again formed in July 1940.
It was given the task of protecting the southeast border with Turkey as part of the "Covering Front" (''Прикриващ фронт'') and it was composed of: * 4th Preslav Infantry Division * 6th Bdin Infantry Division * 11th Macedonian Infantry Division. The 4th Army had tasks assigned to them from 10 February 1941 to December 19, 1943, when they disbanded, but reformed in September 1944, when Bulgaria joined the allies. On October 15, 1944, the army consisted of 42,494 men and 7,152 horses. From October 15 to November 14, 1944, it fought against the Germans in
Vardar Macedonia Vardar Macedonia (Macedonian and sr, Вардарска Македонија, ''Vardarska Makedonija'') was the name given to the territory of the Kingdom of Serbia (1912–1918) and Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) roughly corresponding to to ...
during the Bregalnitsa-Strumica operation. On December 19, 1944, the army is finally disbanded.


Commanders


Notes

* Kamburov, Georgi. Lieutenant General Assen Grekov. Sofia, Military Publishing House, 1988. pp. 116 and 123.


Sources

* Tashev, T., Bulgarian Army 1941 - 1945 - Encyclopedic Reference Book, Sofia, 2008, Military Publishing House EOOD, , pp. 368 - 369 * Todorov, T., Eftimov, T. Guide to Archival Funds 1877 - 1944. Vol. 1. Sofia, Military Publishing House, 1976. * Kamburov, Georgi. Lieutenant General Assen Grekov. Sofia, Military Publishing House, 1988. pp. 116 and 123. {{Bulgaria in World War I Military units and formations of the Balkan Wars Military history of Bulgaria during World War II Military units and formations of Bulgaria in World War II 01 Military units and formations established in 1912 Military units and formations disestablished in 1913 Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945