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.
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 end of June [O.S. mid-June] 1913, when Bulgaria launched attacks against both Serbia and Greece, igniting the Second Balkan War.
Romania mobilised its army on 5 July [O.S. 23 June] 1913, with the intention of seizing Southern Dobruja, and declared war on Bulgaria on 10 July [O.S. 28 June] 1913. 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.[1]
Romanian invasionedit
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 14 July [O.S. 1 July] 1913, 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 950-metre-long (3,120 ft) structure was finished in 26 hours, requiring 125 pontoons.[2]
The Bulgarian naval forces on the Danube mainly consisted of four gunboats, with displacements of 400 to 600 tonnes (390 to 590 long tons; 440 to 660 short tons) and armed with two-to-four 75 mm (3.0 in) guns and two-to-four 47 mm (1.9 in) guns. There were also four motorboats.[3] Faced with the overwhelming superiority of the Romanian warships, the Bulgarians scuttled their four gunboats.[4]
Aftermathedit
The Romanian troops landed at Oryahovo, Gigen, and Nikopol.[1] Unopposed, the Romanian ground forces advanced quickly, and on 23 July [O.S. 10 July] 1913, Romanian troops entered Vrazhdebna, a suburb just 11 km (7 mi) from Sofia.[5]
The lack of resistance to the Romanian invasion convinced the 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.[5]
An armistice was agreed upon on 31 July [O.S. 18 July] 1913[6] followed by the 10 August [O.S. 29 July] 1913, Treaty of Bucharest, which ended the war.
Hall, Richard C. (2000). The Balkan Wars, 1912–1913: Prelude to the First World War. Routledge Publishing.
Stănescu, Raymond; Crăciunoiu, Cristian (2000). Marina română în primul război mondial [Romanian Navy in the First World War] (in Romanian). Modelism Publishing.
Tucker, Spencer; Roberts, Priscilla Mary. World War I: A Student Encyclopedia.
January 01, 1970
romanian, landings, bulgaria, were, decisive, military, action, during, second, balkan, much, bulgaria, fighting, both, greece, serbia, time, romanian, invasion, made, situation, untenable, bulgarians, were, forced, peace, weeks, later, part, second, balkan, w. 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 Romanian landings in BulgariaPart of the Second Balkan WarRomanian river monitorDate14 15 July O S 1 2 July 1913LocationAcross the Danube from Corabia Romania43 44 53 26 N 24 34 9 83 E 43 7481278 N 24 5693972 E 43 7481278 24 5693972ResultRomanian victory Treaty of BucharestBelligerents Romania BulgariaCommanders and leadersEustațiu SebastianUnknownStrength3 river monitors6 torpedo boats1 gunboat4 gunboats4 motorboatsCasualties and losses2 boats scuttled4 gunboats scuttled Contents 1 Background 2 Romanian invasion 3 Aftermath 4 Citations 5 ReferencesBackground editMain article Second Balkan War 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 end of June O S mid June 1913 when Bulgaria launched attacks against both Serbia and Greece igniting the Second Balkan War Romania mobilised its army on 5 July O S 23 June 1913 with the intention of seizing Southern Dobruja and declared war on Bulgaria on 10 July O S 28 June 1913 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 1 Romanian invasion editThe 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 14 July O S 1 July 1913 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 950 metre long 3 120 ft structure was finished in 26 hours requiring 125 pontoons 2 The Bulgarian naval forces on the Danube mainly consisted of four gunboats with displacements of 400 to 600 tonnes 390 to 590 long tons 440 to 660 short tons and armed with two to four 75 mm 3 0 in guns and two to four 47 mm 1 9 in guns There were also four motorboats 3 Faced with the overwhelming superiority of the Romanian warships the Bulgarians scuttled their four gunboats 4 Aftermath editThe Romanian troops landed at Oryahovo Gigen and Nikopol 1 Unopposed the Romanian ground forces advanced quickly and on 23 July O S 10 July 1913 Romanian troops entered Vrazhdebna a suburb just 11 km 7 mi from Sofia 5 The lack of resistance to the Romanian invasion convinced the 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 5 An armistice was agreed upon on 31 July O S 18 July 1913 6 followed by the 10 August O S 29 July 1913 Treaty of Bucharest which ended the war Citations edit a b Hall 2000 p 117 Stănescu and Crăciunoiu 2000 pp 35 37 Stănescu and Crăciunoiu 2000 p 55 Tucker and Roberts p 391 a b Hall 2000 p 118 Hall 2000 pp 123 124 References editHall Richard C 2000 The Balkan Wars 1912 1913 Prelude to the First World War Routledge Publishing Stănescu Raymond Crăciunoiu Cristian 2000 Marina romană in primul război mondial Romanian Navy in the First World War in Romanian Modelism Publishing Tucker Spencer Roberts Priscilla Mary World War I A Student Encyclopedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Romanian landings in Bulgaria amp oldid 1223529226, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
