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The Wars of Bulgaria (1878-1945)

A thematic website developed by the Bulgarian Archives State Agency (Държавна агенция „Архиви“)

by Doctor Anna Batzeli post-doctoral researcher.

Anna Batzeli PhD at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), currently she is working as a postdoctoral researcher on different case-studies in the modern history of Greece and the Balkans. Anna has published two books and several papers. Her publications can be found at: https://auth.academia.edu/AnnaBatzeli

The Committee of Military Archives thanks our friend Anna Batzeli for her commitment and her participation to this project for the second time. Thanks a lot!

Figure 1: The “The Wars of Bulgaria (1878-1945)” frontpage.

Introduction

In 2015, on the occasion of 70 years since the end of World War II, 100 years since Bulgaria entered World War I, and 130 years since the Serbo-Bulgarian War, the Archives State Agency of Bulgaria developed a thematic website to commemorate the hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians who died during these wars.

Almost 10 years since the launch of “The Wars of Bulgaria (1878-1945)”, the website continues to contribute to the preservation of historical memory in the country and remains a key tool for researchers, who can explore its collections from anywhere.

This is particularly important for foreign researchers who are willing to study Bulgaria’s role during these wars and compare Bulgarian perceptions and experiences with those of other countries.

The aim of this short piece is to briefly present “The Wars of Bulgaria (1878-1945)” thematic website (here the link).

The Wars of Bulgaria (1878-1945)

The “Wars of Bulgaria (1878-1945)” was launched in 2015 and consists of four collections: 1. The Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885-1886), 2. The Balkan Wars (1912-1913), 3. World War I (1914-1918), and 4. World War II (1939-1945).

Each collection provides visitors to the website with a concise presentation of the war, emphasizing Bulgaria’s role and a chronology of the main events. Each collection consists of archival items divided into three categories: 1. Lists of the Bulgarian soldiers who died during the war, 2. Historical documents, and 3. Photographs.

In particular:

1. The Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885-1886):

The collection on the “Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885-1886)” in the first category, “Lists of the Bulgarian soldiers who died during the war,” provides access to over 600 documents, while the second category “Historical documents,” is divided into five sub-sections which cover different aspects of the war.

The first sub-section of the “Historical documents” includes historical documents that detail the impact of the Bulgarian Unification and the events that led to the war.

The second sub-section contains documents related to the battlefields and covers aspects related to the concentration and mobilization of the Bulgarian troops, documents related to the Western and Northern Fronts, as well as soldiers’ personal documents, such as letters.

The third sub-section includes archival items related to the societal impact of the war and the voluntary support movement.

The fourth sub-section contains historical documents developed at the end of the war and covers the following topics: Europe’s reaction to the war, peace talks, consequences of the war, post-war commemoration initiatives, and awards to the soldiers. Finally, the fifth sub-section contains private documents.

The collection on the “Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885-1886)” also provides access to approximately 60 photographs (such as individual and group portraits) and a few maps. 

Figure 2: Portrait of Lieutenant Panayot Dvoryanov ‒ commander of the Sandrov and Ruse volunteer detachments, head of the Chupren section, who organized the defense of Belogradchik during the war (Ruse, 1887), source: wars.archives.bg).

2. The Balkan Wars (1912-1913):

The collection of the “The Balkan Wars (1912-1913)” has 1,906 subpages with “Lists of the Bulgarian soldiers who died during the war,” while its “Historical documents,” category is divided into six sub-sections, similar to those of the “Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885-1886)”:

  • Documents related to the beginning of the war;
  • Documents covering the front (which is divided into the following sub-collections: i. Military actions until the Chataldzhan armistice (October – November 1912), ii. Hostilities (December 1912 – March 1913), iii. Bulgarian Navy and Air Force and iv. Documents developed by Soldiers);
  • Documents related to other aspects of the wars;
  • Documents related to the Second Balkan War (June–July 1913);
  • Documents related to the end of the Balkan Wars (which consists of the following sub-sections: London Conference and Peace Treaty, Bucharest Peace Treaty and Constantinople Treaty, Losses, Consequences, Memory of the war, Care for the injured and refugees);
  • Private documents (letters, archives, etc.).

The collection of the “The Balkan Wars (1912-1913)” also has a gallery with over 300 photographs, maps, postcards, etc.

3. The World War I (1914-1918):

Equally rich as the  “The Balkan Wars (1912-1913)” collection is the collection on “The World War I (1914-1918)”.

Starting with its “Lists” section, it should be noted that “The World War I (1914-1918)” lists are divided into lists on Bulgarian soldiers who died during the war and to those who were awarded for their services to the motherland.

The “Historical documents,” category is divided as it follows:

  • The beginning of the First World War and Bulgaria (1914–1915);
  • At the front (mobilization, military actions, support, documents developed by soldiers, soldier mutinies, demobilization);
  • Documents related to other aspects of the war (such as military life, the administration of newly acquired lands, requisitions, prisoners of war (foreign, Bulgarian), support to soldiers and their families);
  • End of the war (Peace talks, Losses, Consequences of the war, Awarded soldiers, Memory of the war, Care for the injured and refugees);
  • Private documents.

Finally, the collection’s gallery provides access to over a thousand photographs, maps, postcards, paintings, etc.

4. The World War II (1919-1945): The collection on ‘World War II (1919-1945)’ has 511 subpages with ‘Lists of the Bulgarian soldiers who died during the war.’

Its ‘Historical documents’ category contains documents related to the beginning and the end of the war, the front, as well as documents related to other aspects of the war, parallel developments, and private documents.

The ‘World War II (1919-1945)’ gallery has 12 subpages with photographs.

Figure 3: Image of the mobile Austro-Hungarian field printing office during World War I (source: wars.archives.bg).

Closing remarks

It should be added that the archival items contained in the collections on the World War I (1914-1918) and the World War II (1919-1945) were utilised in the framework of public initiatives to mark the anniversaries of these wars.

Lastly, the Bulgarian Archives State Agency in addition to “The Wars of Bulgaria (1878-1945)”, has developed the following thematic websites that are useful to researchers: