The following is the Bulgarian

order of battle In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the arme ...

at the start 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 ...

as of . This

includes all combat units, including

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

units, but not medical,

supply Supply may refer to: *The amount of a resource that is available **Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers **Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission *Supply, as in confidenc ...

signal In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The '' IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing' ...

, border guard and garrison units.

Background

During

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

Bulgaria mobilized 599,878 men out of a total male population of 1,914,160. Final victory over 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) ...

however came at the cost of some 33,000 killed and 50,000 wounded soldiers while many others were affected by the spread of cholera and

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

. With the end of the war the relations between the members of the

Balkan League The League of the Balkans was a quadruple alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Eastern Orthodox kingdoms of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which at the ...

deteriorated rapidly due to the unresolved problem of the division of the conquered lands which forced Bulgaria to transfer its armies from

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 Macedonia. On the eve of the outbreak of the

the field forces of the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establishe ...

were deployed in five armies along a 500 kilometer front from the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

to the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

. Despite all the measures taken by the military authorities, including the drafting of young Bulgarian men aged 20–26 years living in the newly occupied territories in Thrace and Macedonia, the number of mobilized personnel reached a total of 500,491 men.Министерство на войната (1941), page 161 Thus for the war against its former allies Bulgaria could rely on manpower that was about 83% of the one available during the

. The Bulgarian command deployed five field armies against Serbia and Greece while it kept minimal forces near the Ottoman border and no forces at all on the Romanian border. Besides the 11 infantry division, 1 cavalry division and the

Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps The Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps ( bg, Македоно-одринско опълчение, ''Makedono-odrinsko opalchenie'') was a volunteer corps of the Bulgarian Army during the Balkan Wars. It was formed on 23 September 1912 ...

the high command also raised two additional infantry divisions(12th and 13th) and one independent infantry brigade. Many of the old divisions however had at least one of their infantry brigades taken away and attached to the field armies as independent units which created logistical difficulties. Thus it seemed the Bulgarian GHQ was attempting to provide greater numbers of available units while disregarding the quality of some of those units. As a result, the total strength of the field forces was increased to around 297 infantry battalions, 47 cavalry squadrons and 186 artillery batteries.Христов (1924),p. 43 The material situation of the armed forces was improved compared to the first war. The number of available horses was increased by 12,594 to 97,456 while the number of rifles increased by 44,561 to 378,996 and artillery guns by 112 to 1228. Still according to the mobilization plans of the General Staff the army was supposed to have 483,674 rifles and 117,733 which showed that, like the manpower deficit, the material shortages had not been dealt with by the time the war began.

GHQ

The nominal commander in chief of the Bulgarian Army was

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Ferdinand I but

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

its control and leadership were initially in the hands of his deputy Lieutenant-General

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 ...

. The Chief of 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 a ...

Ivan Fichev Ivan Fichev ( bg, Иван Фичев) (born on 15 April 1860 in Tarnovo, died on 13 November 1931 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian general, Minister of Defense, military historian and academician. Biography Ivan Fichev was born in 1860 in Tırnova (n ...

opposed the war and was officially in resignation, though de facto he was never dismissed, while his functions were carried out by the Deputy Chief of Staff

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Stefan Nerezov . Other notable changes in the command structure took place almost immediately after the outbreak of the war when General Savov was fired as deputy of the commander-in-chief, although he latter returned to take command of the combined 5th, 4th and 2nd armies.Hall (2000),p. 110 Ferdinand chose the Russophile General Dimitriev as his deputy while General

Racho Petrov Racho Petrov Stoyanov ( bg, Рачо Петров Стоянов) (3 March 1861 – 22 January 1942) was a leading Bulgarian general and politician. Petrov was born in Shumen. A talented soldier, he was appointed Chief of General Staff at ...

assumed command of the 3rd Army.

Order of battle

Operating against the Serbian Army

First Army

First Army was commanded by Lieutenant-General

Vasil Kutinchev Vasil Ivanov Kutinchev ( bg, Васил Иванов Кутинчев) (born 25 February 1859 in Rusçuk; died 30 March 1941) was a Bulgarian officer. He began his military career in 1879 after graduating from the Military School in Sofia . On 13 ...

. * 5th Danube Infantry Division ** ''1st Brigade'' *** 2nd "Iskar" Infantry Regiment *** 5th "Danube" Infantry Regiment ** ''2nd Brigade'' *** 18th "Etarski" Infantry Regiment *** 20th "Dobruja" Infantry Regiment **1st QF FARQuick-firing field artillery regiment (QF FAR), mountain artillery regiment (MAR). **1st FAR **5th Pioneer Battalion * 9th Pleven Infantry Division ** ''1st Brigade'' *** 4th "Pleven" Infantry Regiment *** 17th "Dorostol" Infantry Regiment ** ''2nd Brigade'' *** 33rd "Svishtov" Infantry Regiment *** 34th "Troyan" Infantry Regiment **9th QF FAR **9th Pioneer Battalion * Independent Infantry Brigade ** 65th Infantry Regiment ** 66th Infantry Regiment **1/8 Artillery Section *Army Troops ** two cavalry squadrons

Third Army

Third Army was commanded by Lieutenant-General

Radko Dimitriev Radko Dimitriev ( bg, Радко Димитриев) (24 September 1859 in Gradets – 18 October 1918 near Pyatigorsk) was a Bulgarian general, Head of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army from 1 January 1904 to 28 March 1907, as well ...

. * 1st Sofia Infantry Division ** ''1st Brigade'' Colonel *** 1st "Sofia" Infantry Regiment *** 6th "Turnovo" Infantry Regiment ** ''2nd Brigade'' (Major-General *** 37th Infantry Regiment *** 38th Infantry Regiment **4th QF FAR **4th FAR **1st Pioneer Battalion * 13th Infantry Division ** 62nd Infantry Regiment ** 63rd Infantry Regiment ** 64th Infantry Regiment **13th FAR * 3/5 Infantry Brigade ** 45th Infantry Regiment ** 46th Infantry Regiment **1/1 Artillery Section *Cavalry Division ** ''1st Brigade'' *** 1st Cavalry Regiment *** Leib Guard Cavalry Regiment ** ''2nd Brigade'' *** 2nd Cavalry Regiment *** 7th Cavalry Regiment ** 5/5 Artillery Battery *Army Troops ** 3rd Cavalry Regiment ** Army Artillery

Fifth Army

Fifth Army was commanded by

Stefan Toshev. * 4th Preslav Infantry Division ** ''1st Brigade'' *** 7th "Preslav" Infantry Regiment *** 19th "Shumen" Infantry Regiment ** ''3rd Brigade'' *** 43rd Infantry Regiment *** 44th Infantry Regiment **5th QF FAR **5th FAR **4th Pioneer Battalion * 12th Infantry Division ** 59th Infantry Regiment ** 60th Infantry Regiment ** 61st Infantry Regiment **12th FAR * Odrin Brigade ** 71st Infantry Regiment ** 72nd Infantry Regiment ** 2/10 Artillery Section *Army Troops ** 6th Cavalry Regiment ** Army Artillery

Fourth Army

Fourth Army was commanded by

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 ...

. * 2nd Thracian Infantry Division ** ''1st Brigade'' *** 9th "Plovdiv" Infantry Regiment *** 21st "Srednogorian" Infantry Regiment **''2nd Brigade'' *** 28th "Stremski" Infantry Regiment *** 27th "Chepinski" Infantry Regiment ** ''3rd Brigade'' *** 39th Infantry Regiment *** 40th Infantry Regiment **3rd QF FAR **3rd MAR **2nd Pioneer Battalion * 7th Rila Infantry Division ** ''1st Brigade'' *** 13th "Rila" Infantry Regiment *** 28th "Pernik" Infantry Regiment ** ''2nd Brigade'' *** 14th "Macedonian" Infantry Regiment *** 22nd "Thracian" Infantry Regiment ** ''3rd Brigade'' *** 49th Infantry Regiment *** 50th Infantry Regiment **7th QF FAR **9th FAR **1/2 Mountain Artillery Section **7th Pioneer Battalion * 8th Tundzha Infantry Division ** ''1st Brigade'' *** 12th "Balkan" Infantry Regiment *** 23rd "Shipka" Infantry Regiment ** 2nd Brigade *** 10th "Rhodope" Infantry Regiment *** 30th "Sheinovo" Infantry Regiment ** 3rd Brigade *** 51st Infantry Regiment *** 52nd Infantry Regiment **8th FAR **2/1 Artillery Section **8th Pioneer Battalion * 1/3 Infantry Brigade ** 1st "Sofia" Infantry Regiment ** 6th "Turnovo" Infantry Regiment **1/6 Artillery Section * 2/4 Infantry Brigade ** 8th "Primorski" Infantry Regiment ** 31st "Varna" Infantry Regiment **2/5 Artillery Section *

** ''1st Brigade'' *** 1st "Debar" Infantry Battalion *** 2nd "Skopie" Infantry Battalion *** 3rd "Solun" Infantry Battalion *** 4th "Bitolia" Infantry Battalion ***13th "Kukush" Infantry Battalion ** ''2nd Brigade'' *** 5th "Odrin" Infantry Battalion *** 6th "Ohrid" Infantry Battalion *** 7th "Kumanovo" Infantry Battalion *** 8th "Kostur" Infantry Battalion *** 14th "Voden" Infantry Battalion ** ''3rd Brigade'' *** 9th "Veles" Infantry Battalion *** 10th "Prilep" Infantry Battalion *** 11th "Serres" Infantry Battalion *** 12th "Lozengrad" Infantry Battalion *** 15th "Shtip " Infantry Battalion **2/8 Artillery Section **2/2 QF Mountain Artillery Section **3/2 QF Mountain Artillery Section **4/2 Mountain Artillery Section **Army Troops *** 5th Cavalry Regiment *** 7th Opalchenie Regiment

Operating against the Greek Army

Second Army

Second Army was commanded by Lieutenant-General

Nikola Ivanov Nikola Ivanov ( bg, Никола Иванов) (2 March 1861, Kalofer – 10 September 1940, Sofia) was a Bulgarian general and a minister of defence of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. One of the first graduate of the General Staff Military Academy ...

. * 3rd Balkan Infantry Division ** ''2nd Brigade'' *** 29th "Yambol" Infantry Regiment *** 32nd "Zagora" Infantry Regiment ** ''3rd Brigade'' *** 41st Infantry Regiment *** 42nd Infantry Regiment **6th QF FAR **6th FAR **3rd Pioneer Battalion * 11th Infantry Division ** 55th Infantry Regiment ** 56th Infantry Regiment ** 57th Infantry Regiment **11th FAR * 1/10 Infantry Brigade ** 16th "Lovech" Infantry Regiment ** 25th "Dragoman" Infantry Regiment **3/10 Artillery Section * Serres Infantry Brigade ** 67th Infantry Regiment ** 68th Infantry Regiment **1/1 Artillery Section * Drama Infantry Brigade ** 69th Infantry Regiment ** 70th Infantry Regiment **2/7 Artillery Section *Army Troops ** 7th Replacement Infantry Regiment ** 10th Cavalry Regiment ** 5th Border Guards Battalion ** 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th Replacement Cavalry Squadrons ** 2/8 QF Howitzer Section

Reserve of the High Command

* 6th Bdin Infantry Division ** ''1st Brigade'' *** 3rd "Bdin" Infantry Regiment *** 15th "Lom" Infantry Regiment ** ''2nd Brigade'' *** 35th "Vratsa" Infantry Regiment *** 36th "Kozloduy" Infantry Regiment **2nd QF FAR **6th Pioneer Battalion

Forces in Eastern Thrace

* 2/10 Infantry Brigade ** 47th Infantry Regiment ** 48th Infantry Regiment ** two cavalry squadrons ** 1/2 Artillery Section * 9th Cavalry Regiment * 8th Cavalry Regiment * 58th Infantry Regiment

Notes

;Footnotes ;Citations

References

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=October 2017 Second Balkan War Military history of Bulgaria Balkan Wars orders of battle