Romanian landings in Bulgaria

The Romanian landings in Bulgaria were a decisive military action during the Second Balkan War. In as much as Bulgaria was fighting both Greece and Serbia at the time, the Romanian invasion made the situation untenable for the Bulgarians, who were forced to ask for peace two weeks later.

Background

Bulgarian dissatisfaction with its share of the spoils in the aftermath of the First Balkan War led to the souring of relations between Bulgaria and its former allies, Serbia and Greece. Tensions escalated towards the , when Bulgaria launched attacks against both Serbia and Greece, igniting the Second Balkan War.

Romania mobilised its army on , with the intention of seizing Southern Dobruja, and declared war on Bulgaria on . In a diplomatic circular that said, "Romania does not intend either to subjugate the polity nor defeat the army of Bulgaria", the Romanian government endeavoured to allay international concerns about its motives and increased bloodshed.

Romanian invasion

The Romanian warships which carried out the landings were concentrated at Corabia, on the Romanian side of the Danube, under the command of Admiral Eustațiu Sebastian. This group consisted of three monitors, six torpedo boats, and the gunboat ''Grivița''. The first landing was carried out on , with no Bulgarian resistance. A second landing was carried out on the following day, and a pontoon bridge was also built. Foreign military strategists considered the bridge a "masterpiece of warfare", as the structure was finished in 26 hours, requiring 125 pontoons.

The Bulgarian naval forces on the Danube mainly consisted of four gunboats, with displacements of and armed with two-to-four guns and two-to-four guns. There were also four motorboats. Faced with the overwhelming superiority of the Romanian warships, the Bulgarians scuttled their four gunboats.

Aftermath

The Romanian troops landed at Oryahovo, Gigen and Nikopol, Bulgaria, Nikopol. Unopposed, the Romanian ground forces advanced quickly, and on , Romanian troops entered Vrazhdebna, a suburb just from Sofia.

The lack of resistance to the Romanian invasion convinced the Ottoman Empire, Ottomans to invade territories just ceded to Bulgaria after the First Balkan War, with the main objective being to reclaim Edirne (Adrianople). The Ottomans advanced rapidly, against virtually no Bulgarian resistance.

An armistice was agreed upon on followed by the , Treaty of Bucharest (1913), Treaty of Bucharest, which ended the war.

Citations

References

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{{Balkan Wars

Naval battles involving Romania, Bulgaria
Naval battles involving Bulgaria
Battles of the Second Balkan War