Editing Bulgarian Armed Forces (section)

===First Balkan War===
{{main|First Balkan War}}
Instability in the Balkan region in the early 1900s quickly became a precursor for a new war. Serbia's aspirations towards Bosnia and Herzegovina were thwarted by the [[Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Austrian annexation of the province]] in October 1908, so the Serbs focused their attention onto [[Kosovo]], and to the south for expansion. Greek officers, [[Goudi coup|revolting]] in August 1909, had secured the appointment of a progressive government under [[Eleftherios Venizelos]], which they hoped would resolve the [[History of Crete#Modern Crete|Cretan issue]] in Greece's favor and reverse their [[Greco-Turkish War (1897)|defeat of 1897 by the Ottomans]]. Bulgaria, which had secured Ottoman recognition of its independence in April 1909 and enjoyed the friendship of Russia, also looked to districts of Ottoman Thrace and Macedonia for expansion.

[[File:Camels on the way to Catalca, 1912.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A [[camel]] caravan of the Bulgarian 17th Regiment carrying supplies for the [[First Battle of Çatalca|Çatalca operation]], 1912 ]]

In March 1910 an [[Albanians|Albanian]] insurrection broke out in Kosovo. In August Montenegro followed Bulgaria's precedent by becoming a kingdom. In 1911 Italy launched an [[Italo-Turkish War|invasion of Tripolitania]], which was quickly followed by the occupation of the [[Dodecanese]] Islands. The Italians' decisive military victories over the Ottoman Empire greatly influenced the Balkan states to prepare for war against Turkey. Thus, in the spring of 1912 consultations among the various Christian Balkan nations resulted in a network of military alliances that became known as the [[Balkan League]]. The Great Powers, most notably France and Austria-Hungary, reacted to this diplomatic sensation by trying to dissuade the League from going to war, but failed.

In late September both the League and the Ottoman Empire mobilised their armies. Montenegro was the first to declare war, on 25 September ([[Old Style|O.S.]])/ 8 October. The other three states, after issuing an impossible ultimatum to the Porte on 13 October, declared war on Turkey on 17 October. The Balkan League relied on 700,000 troops, 370,000 of whom were Bulgarians. Bulgaria, often dubbed "the [[Prussia]] of the Balkans",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/1/4/4/7/14477/14477-h/14477-h.htm|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of THE INSIDE STORY OF THE PEACE CONFERENCE, by Dr. E.J. Dillon.|website=Mirrorservice.org|access-date=15 October 2017}}</ref> was militarily the most powerful of the four states, with a large, well-trained and well-equipped army.<ref name=Hall16>{{harvnb|Hall|2000|p=16}}</ref> The peacetime army of 60,000 troops was expanded during the war to 370,000,<ref name=Hall16 /> with almost 600,000 men mobilized in total out of a population of 4,300,000.<ref name=Hall18>{{harvnb|Hall|2000|p=18}}</ref> The Bulgarian field army consisted of nine infantry divisions, one cavalry division and 1,116 artillery units.<ref name=Hall16 /> Commander-in-Chief was [[Ferdinand of Bulgaria|Tsar Ferdinand]], while the actual command was in the hands of his deputy, Gen. Mikhail Savov. The Bulgarians also possessed a small navy of six torpedo boats, which were restricted to operations along the country's [[Black Sea]] coast.<ref name=Hall17>{{harvnb|Hall|2000|p=17}}</ref>

[[File:Bulgarian army adrinople.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Soldiers preparing for an assault against [[Adrianople]], 1912]]
Bulgaria's war aims were focused on [[Thrace]] and [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]]. For the latter, Bulgaria had a secret agreement with Serbia to divide it between them, signed on 13 March 1912 during the negotiations that led to the establishment of the Balkan League. However, it was not a secret that Bulgaria's target was the fulfillment of the never-materialized [[Treaty of San Stefano]], signed after the [[Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78]]. They deployed their main force in Thrace, forming three armies. The [[First Army (Bulgaria)|First Army]], under Gen. [[Vasil Kutinchev]] with three infantry divisions, was deployed to the south of [[Yambol]], with direction of operations along the [[Tundzha]] River. The [[Second Army (Bulgaria)|Second Army]], under Gen. [[Nikola Ivanov]] with two infantry divisions and one infantry brigade, was deployed west of the First and was assigned to capture the strong fortress of Adrianople (now [[Edirne]]). According to the plans, the [[Third Army (Bulgaria)|Third Army]], under Gen. [[Radko Dimitriev]], was deployed east of and behind the First and was covered by the cavalry division hiding it from the Turkish view. The Third Army had three infantry divisions and was assigned to cross the Stranja mountain and to take the fortress of Lozengrad ([[Kirk Kilisse]]). The 2nd and 7th divisions were assigned independent roles, operating in [[western Thrace]] and eastern Macedonia, respectively.

The first great battles were at the [[Adrianople]]–[[Kirk Kilisse]] defensive line, where the Bulgarian 1st and 3rd Armies (together 110,000 men) defeated the Ottoman East Army (130,000 men) near Gechkenli, Seliolu, and Petra. The fortress of [[Adrianople]] was [[Battle of Adrianople (1913)|besieged]] and [[Battle of Kirk Kelesse|Kirk Kilisse was taken]] without resistance under the pressure of the Bulgarian Third Army. The initial Bulgarian attack by First and Third Army defeated the Turkish forces, numbering some 130,000, and reached the [[Sea of Marmara]]. However, the Turks, with the aid of fresh reinforcements from the Asian provinces, established their third and strongest defensive position at the [[Chataldja]] Line, across the peninsula where [[Constantinople]] is located. New Turkish forces landed at [[Bulair]] and [[Şarköy]], but after heavy fighting they were crushed by the newly formed 4th Bulgarian Army under the command of Gen [[Stiliyan Kovachev]]. The offensive at [[Chataldja]] failed, too. On 11 March the final Bulgarian [[Battle of Adrianople (1913)|assault on Adrianople]] began. Under the command of Gen. [[Georgi Vazov]] the Bulgarians, reinforced with two Serb divisions, conquered the "untakeable" city. On 17/30 May a peace treaty was signed between Turkey and the Balkan Alliance. The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912-May 1913, strengthened Bulgaria's position as a regional military power, significantly reduced Ottoman influence over the Balkans and resulted in the formation of an independent Albanian state.