The Negotiations of Bulgaria with the Central Powers and the Entente were attempts of the two belligerents in

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 ...

, the

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 ...

and the Entente to involve

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 ...

in the war on their side. They are also called The Bulgarian Summer of 1915. When the war broke out the country was in an unfavourable situation - the country had just suffered a national catastrophe following 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 ...

in which

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

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

and 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) ...

defeated Bulgaria (with the Bulgarian army being victorious) and took large territories populated mainly with

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...

. In August 1914, nearly a month after the war broke out, the Bulgarian Prime-minister

Vasil Radoslavov Vasil Hristov Radoslavov ( bg, Васил Христов Радославов) (27 July 1854 – 21 October 1929) was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician who twice served as Prime Minister. He was Premier of the country throughout most ...

declared that Bulgaria would remain neutral. That, however, was only temporary as the Bulgarian government expected an opportune moment and favourable terms to enter the war and regain its lands. On 19 August, it signed an alliance with Turkey. Bulgaria was important for both belligerents because of its strategic geo-political position on the Balkans and its strong army. If Bulgaria entered the war on the side of the Central Powers then

would have been defeated, which could influence the still neutral

and

. If Bulgaria allied itself with the Entente it would have disrupted the links of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

with the

and would have taken the straits opening a sea route to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The Entente offered Bulgaria Eastern

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

to the west of the line

Midia ''Midia'' is a monotypic taxon, monotypic genus of Linyphiidae, dwarf spiders containing the single species, ''Midia midas''. It was first described by Michael Saaristo, Michael I. Saaristo & J. Wunderlich in 1995. See also * List of Linyphiida ...

Enos Enos or Enosh (Hebrew: , Standard ''Enosh'', Tiberian ''ʼĔnôš''; "mortal man”) may refer to: People in religious scripture * Enos (biblical figure), a genealogical figure in the Bible. * The Book of Enos, one of the books that make up the B ...

and uncertain guarantees for Macedonia. However, Serbia and Greece were reluctant to make any concessions to Bulgaria. The Central Powers offered

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 ...

and eastern Serbia and, in case Romania or Greece enter the war,

Southern Dobruja Southern Dobruja, South Dobruja or Quadrilateral ( Bulgarian: Южна Добруджа, ''Yuzhna Dobrudzha'' or simply Добруджа, ''Dobrudzha''; ro, Dobrogea de Sud, or ) is an area of northeastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silis ...

and

Aegean Macedonia Aegean Macedonia ( mk, Егејска Македонија, translit=Egejska Makedonija'';'' bg, Егейска Македония, translit=Egeyska Makedonia) is a term describing the modern Greek region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. It is ...

, respectively. Germany also guaranteed a 500 million marks military loan. Subsequently, in September 1915 Bulgaria signed the Bulgaria-German treaty, Secret Bulgarian-German agreement, the Military convention between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria and the Bulgarian-Turkish convention.

References

*Илчев, И., България и Антантата през Първата световна война. *Porter, Ch. The Career of Theophile Delcasse. Wesport, Connecticut, 1975. *Churchill W.S. The World Crisis. New York. Charles Scribner Sons, 1949. *Стателова, Ел., История на България. *Влаховм Т., Отношения между България и Централните сили по време на войните 1912–1918г. *Райчевски, Ст., Българите в световните хроники 1912–1919. {{Bulgaria in World War I Bulgaria in World War I Allies of World War I 1915 in Bulgaria 1915 in international relations Foreign relations of Bulgaria