On June 5, 1942, the
United States declared war on
Bulgaria. Bulgaria was neutral during 1939–1941, but on March 1, 1941, Bulgaria signed the
Tripartite Pact and officially joined the
Axis bloc. Following this, the Bulgarian government declared war on the
United Kingdom and the
United States on December 13, 1941. On June 4, 1942 the
United States Congress passed
joint resolutions
In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is presented to the President for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal diffe ...
declaring war on Bulgaria along with
Hungary and
Romania.
President Roosevelt approved all three declarations the following day. The capital of Bulgaria,
Sofia, and other Bulgarian cities, were
bombed by
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
aircraft in 1943 and 1944.
, the declarations of war against Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania are the last formal declarations of war by the United States Congress, which in the era of
collective security
Collective security can be understood as a security arrangement, political, regional, or global, in which each state in the system accepts that the security of one is the concern of all, and therefore commits to a collective response to threats t ...
has largely ceded the war power to the
President.
Text of the declaration
JOINT RESOLUTION Declaring that a state of war exists between the Government of Bulgaria and the Government and the people of the United States and making provisions to prosecute the same.
Whereas the Government of Bulgaria has formally declared war against the Government and the people of the United States of America: Therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the state of war between the United States and the Government of Bulgaria which has thus been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared; and the President is hereby authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the United States and the resources of the Government to carry on war against the Government of Bulgaria; and, to bring the conflict to a successful termination, all the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States.
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Historical Resources about the Second World War
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See also
* Military history of Bulgaria during World War II
* Bombing of Sofia in World War II
References
External links
Declaration of War with Bulgaria, WWII (H.R.Res. 319)
United States Senate Archive.
The Secretary of State to All American Missions regarding declaration of war against Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria
Office of the Historian, United States State Department. From ''Foreign Relations Of The United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1942, Europe, Volume II''.
The Armistice Agreement with Bulgaria; October 28, 1944
a
Historical Resources about the Second World WarThe Peace Treaty with Bulgaria, signed in Paris in 1947
a
The Avalon Project - ''Documents in History, Law and Diplomacy'' (Yale Law School)
1942 in Bulgaria
1942 in the United States
1942 in international relations
Bulgaria
Declarations of war during World War II
June 1942 events
1942 documents
Bulgaria–United States military relations
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