Editing Central Powers (section)

== Main member states ==
At the start of the war, the Central Powers consisted of the [[German Empire]] and the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. The [[Ottoman Empire]] joined later in 1914, followed by the [[Tsardom of Bulgaria (1908-1946)|Tsardom of Bulgaria]] in 1915.<ref name=":4" />
{| class="wikitable nowrap"
! Nation                       !! Date of entry
|-
| {{flagicon|Austria-Hungary}} [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]] || 28 July 1914
|-
| {{flag|German Empire}}|| 1 August 1914
|-
| {{flag|Ottoman Empire}} || 2 August 1914, announced 29 October 1914
|-
| {{flag|Kingdom of Bulgaria|name=Tsardom of Bulgaria}}|| 14 October 1915
|}

=== German Empire ===
{{Main|German entry into World War I|History of Germany during World War I|German Empire}}
{{see also|German occupation of Belgium during World War I|German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I|German occupation of Estonia during World War I|German occupation of north-east France during World War I|General Government of Belgium|Government General of Warsaw|German occupation of Byelorussia during World War I}}

==== War justifications ====
[[File:German infantry 1914 HD-SN-99-02296.JPEG|thumb|German soldiers on the battlefield in August 1914 on the Western Front, shortly after the outbreak of war|alt=A black and white image of numerous soldiers charging to the left]]
[[File:Warschau unter Deutscher Besetzung 1915 - einzug deutscher Kavallerie (75299019) (cropped).jpg|thumb|German cavalry entering [[Warsaw]] in 1915|alt=A black and white image of soldiers on horseback with children watching on either side of them]]
[[File:SMS Seydlitz damage.jpg|thumb|German battlecruiser {{SMS|Seydlitz}} heavily damaged after the [[Battle of Jutland]]|alt=A black and white image of a heavily damaged German naval ship]]
[[File:Fordi-2.jpg|thumb|German [[Fokker Dr.I]] fighter aircraft of ''[[Jasta]]'' 26 at [[Erchin]] in [[German occupation of north-east France during World War I|German-occupied France]]|alt=A black and white image of triplanes lined up on grass a black Iron Cross on the back of each of them with many people behind them]]
In early July 1914, in the aftermath of the assassination of Austro-Hungarian [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] and faced with the prospect of war between Austria-Hungary and [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbia]], [[Kaiser]] [[Wilhelm II]] and the German government informed the Austro-Hungarian government that Germany would uphold its alliance with Austria-Hungary and defend it from possible Russian intervention if a war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia took place.<ref name="Cashman, Greg 2007. P57">{{Cite book |last1=Cashman |first1=Greg |title=An Introduction to the Causes of War: Patterns of Interstate Conflict from World War I to Iraq. |last2=Robinson |first2=Leonard C |date=2007 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-5510-5 |page=}}</ref> When Russia enacted a [[general mobilization]], Germany viewed the act as provocative.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Meyer |first=G. J. |title=A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918 |publisher=[[Delacorte Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0553803549}}</ref>{{RP|39}} The Russian government promised Germany that its general mobilization did not mean preparation for war with Germany but was a reaction to the tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.<ref name=":6" />{{RP|39}} The German government regarded the Russian promise of no war with Germany to be nonsense in light of its general mobilization, and Germany, in turn, mobilized for war.<ref name=":6" />{{RP|39}} On 1 August, Germany sent an ultimatum to [[Russian Empire|Russia]] stating that since both Germany and Russia were in a state of military mobilization, an effective state of war existed between the two countries.<ref name=":6" />{{RP|95}} Later that day, [[French Third Republic|France]], an ally of Russia, declared a state of general mobilization.<ref name=":6" />{{RP|95}}

In August 1914, Germany attacked Russia, citing Russian aggression as demonstrated by the mobilization of the Russian army, which had resulted in Germany mobilizing in response.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hagen |first=William W. |url=https://archive.org/details/germanhistoryinm0000hage |title=German History in Modern Times: Four Lives of the Nation |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-0521191906 |page=228}}</ref>

After Germany declared war on Russia, France, with its alliance with Russia, prepared a general mobilization in expectation of war. On 3 August 1914, Germany responded to this action by declaring war on France.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tucker |first=Spencer C |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC |title=Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1851096725 |page=1556}}</ref> Germany, facing a two-front war, enacted what was known as the [[Schlieffen Plan]], which involved German armed forces moving through [[Belgium]] and swinging south into France and towards the French capital of [[Paris]]. This plan was hoped to quickly gain victory against the French and allow German forces to concentrate on the Eastern Front. Belgium was a neutral country and would not accept German forces crossing its territory. Germany disregarded Belgian neutrality and invaded the country to launch an offensive towards Paris. This caused [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]] to declare war against the German Empire, as the action violated the [[Treaty of London (1839)|Treaty of London]] that both nations signed in 1839 guaranteeing Belgian neutrality.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kossmann |first=E. H. |url=https://archive.org/details/lowcountries17800000koss |title=The Low Countries, 1780–1940 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1978|isbn=978-0-19-822108-1 }}</ref>

Subsequently, several states declared war on Germany in late August 1914, with [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] declaring war on Germany in August 1916,<ref>{{cite web |date=6 March 2015 |title=Il 1861 e le quattro Guerre per l'Indipendenza (1848–1918) |url=http://www.piacenzaprimogenita150.it/index.php?it%2F176%2Fil-1861-e-le-quattro-guerre-per-lindipendenza-1848-1918 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319075828/http://www.piacenzaprimogenita150.it/index.php?it%2F176%2Fil-1861-e-le-quattro-guerre-per-lindipendenza-1848-1918 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |access-date=12 March 2021 |language=it}}</ref> the [[United States]] in April 1917,<ref>McDuffie, Jerome; Piggrem, Gary Wayne; Woodworth, Steven E. (2005). ''U.S. History Super Review''. Piscataway, NJ: Research & Education Association. p. 418. {{ISBN|978-0-7386-0070-3}}.</ref> and [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|Greece]] in July 1917.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leon |first=George B. |title=Greece and the First World War: From Neutrality to Intervention, 1917–1918 |publisher=East European Monographs |year=1990 |isbn=9780880331814}}</ref>

==== Colonies and dependencies ====
{{Main|German colonial empire}}

=====Europe=====
The German Empire had incorporated the province of [[Alsace–Lorraine|Alsace-Lorraine]], after successfully defeating France in the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. However, the province was still claimed by French [[Revanchism|revanchists]],<ref>Seager, Frederic H. (1969). "The Alsace-Lorraine Question in France, 1871–1914". in Charles K. Warner, ed., ''From the Ancien Régime to the Popular Front'', pp. 111–126.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jay |first=Robert |date=January 1984 |title=Alphonse de Neuville's 'The Spy' and the Legacy of the Franco-Prussian War |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/1512817 |journal=Metropolitan Museum Journal |language=en |volume=19/20 |pages=151–162 |doi=10.2307/1512817 |jstor=1512817 |s2cid=193058659 |issn=0077-8958}}</ref> leading to its return to France at the Treaty of Versailles.<ref name="Grandhomme-2008-11-retour">{{cite journal |last=Grandhomme |first=Jean-Noël |date=November 2008 |title=Le retour de l'Alsace–Lorraine |journal=L'Histoire |number=336 |language=fr}}</ref>

=====Africa=====
The German Empire was late to colonization, only beginning overseas expansion in the 1870s and 1880s. Colonization was opposed by much of the government, including chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]], but it became a colonial power after participating in the [[Berlin Conference]]. Then, private companies were founded and began settling parts of Africa, the Pacific, and China. Later these groups became German protectorates and colonies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=von Washausen |first=Helmut |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdM_AAAAYAAJ |title=Hamburg und die Kolonialpolitik des Deutschen Reiches |publisher=H. Christians |year=1968 |page=116}}</ref>

[[Kamerun|Cameroon]] was a German colony existing from 1884 until its complete occupation in 1915. It was ceded to France as a [[League of Nations mandate|League of Nations Mandate]] at the war's end.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Elango |first=Lovett |date=1985 |title=The Anglo-French 'Condominium' in Cameroon, 1914–1916: The Myth and the Reality |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/218801 |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=657–673 |doi=10.2307/218801 |issn=0361-7882 |jstor=218801}}</ref>

[[German East Africa]] was founded in 1885 and expanded to include modern-day [[Tanzania]] (except [[Zanzibar]]), [[Rwanda]], [[Burundi]], and parts of [[Mozambique]]. It was the only German colony to not be fully conquered during the war, with resistance by commander [[Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck]] lasting until November 1918. Later it was surrendered to the Allies in 1919 and split between the [[Belgian Congo]], [[Portuguese Mozambique]], and the newly founded colony of [[Tanganyika Territory|Tanganyika]].<ref name="Ends">{{cite book |last=Louis |first=William Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQnpQNKeKKAC&pg=PA246 |title=Ends of British Imperialism: The Scramble for Empire, Suez, and Decolonization |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-84511347-6 |access-date=19 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611044443/https://books.google.com/books?id=NQnpQNKeKKAC&pg=PA246 |archive-date=11 June 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[German South West Africa|South West Africa]], modern-day [[Namibia]], came under German rule in 1885 and was absorbed into [[South Africa]] following its invasion in 1915.<ref>{{Cite web |title=German South West Africa |url=https://awayfromthewesternfront.org/campaigns/africa/german-south-west-africa/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Away from the Western Front |language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[Togoland]], now part of [[Ghana]], was made a German protectorate in 1884. However, after a swift [[Togoland campaign|campaign]], it was occupied by the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] in 1915 and divided between [[French Togoland]] and [[British Togoland]].<ref name="Martin">{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Lawrence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jtyOqiwiDLYC&pg=PR15 |title=The Treaties of Peace, 1919–1923 |publisher=The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58477-708-3 |volume=2 |page=15 |access-date=19 July 2011}}</ref>

=====Asia=====

The [[Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory]] was a German dependency in East Asia leased from China in 1898.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gottschall |first=Terrell |title=By Order of the Kaiser: Otto von Diederichs and the Rise of the Imperial German Navy, 1865–1902 |publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-1557503091 |page=117}}</ref> Japanese forces occupied it following the [[Siege of Tsingtao]].<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=刘平 |author2=江林泽 |date=2014 |title=第一次世界大战中的远东战场———青岛之战述评 |trans-title=The Far Eastern Theatre in the First World War – A Review of the Battle of Tsingtao |journal=军事历史研究 |language=zh |issue=4 |page=52 |issn=1009-3451}}</ref>

The Austrian Empire had a [[Foreign concessions in Tianjin|foreign concession in Tianjin]] which was swiftly invaded by China in 1917. The German concessions in [[Tianjin]] and [[Hankou]] were also invaded.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Singerton |first=Jonathan |date=May 2024 |title=Michael Falser. Habsburgs Going Global: The Austro-Hungarian Concession in Tientsin/Tianjin in China (1901–1917) Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2022. Pp. 286. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/austrian-history-yearbook/article/michael-falser-habsburgs-going-global-the-austrohungarian-concession-in-tientsintianjin-in-china-19011917-vienna-austrian-academy-of-sciences-press-2022-pp-286/DDDEA15B740CA4E4A49C927DCE4E5EF5 |journal=Austrian History Yearbook |language=en |volume=55 |pages=463–465 |doi=10.1017/S0067237823000851 |issn=0067-2378}}</ref>

=====Pacific=====

[[German New Guinea]] was a German protectorate in the Pacific. It was occupied by Australian forces in 1914.<ref>{{Cite web |title=British and German New Guinea. |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668665/#:~:text=When%20World%20War%20I%20broke,the%20territory%20of%20New%20Guinea. |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

[[German Samoa]] had been a German protectorate since the [[Tripartite Convention]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ryden |first=George Herbert |title=The Foreign Policy of the United States in Relation to Samoa |publisher=[[Octagon Books]] |year=1975 |pages=574}}</ref> It was [[Occupation of German Samoa|occupied]] by the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1914.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Stephen John|year=1924|title=The Samoa (N.Z.) Expeditionary Force 1914–1915|url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-Samo.html|publisher=Ferguson & Osborn|location=Wellington, New Zealand|oclc=8950668}}</ref>

=== Austro-Hungarian Empire ===
{{Main|Austro-Hungarian entry into World War I|Austria-Hungary}}
{{see also|Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia|Montenegrin campaign|Albania during World War I#Austro-Hungarian occupation of Albania (1916–1918)}}
[[File:KuK Stosstruppen.jpg|thumb|Austro-Hungarian soldiers in a trench on the Italian front|alt=A black and white image of soldiers looking left over the walls of a trench]]
[[File:Austrian troops marching up Mt. Zion, 1916.JPG|thumb|right|Austro-Hungarian soldiers marching up [[Mount Zion]] in [[Jerusalem]] in the Ottoman Empire, during the Middle Eastern campaign]]

==== War justifications ====
Austria-Hungary regarded the assassination of [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] as having been orchestrated with the assistance of [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbia]].<ref name="Cashman, Greg 2007. P57" /> The country viewed the assassination as setting a dangerous precedent of encouraging the country's [[South Slavs|South Slav]] population to rebel and threaten to tear apart the multinational country.<ref name=":6" />{{RP|39}} Austria-Hungary sent a formal ultimatum to Serbia demanding a full-scale investigation of Serbian government complicity in the assassination and complete compliance by Serbia in agreeing to the terms demanded by Austria-Hungary.<ref name="Cashman, Greg 2007. P57" /> Serbia submitted to accept most of the demands. However, Austria-Hungary viewed this as insufficient and used this lack of full compliance to justify military intervention.<ref name="Cashman, Greg 2007. P57" /> These demands have been viewed as a diplomatic cover for an inevitable Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia.<ref name="Cashman, Greg 2007. P57" />

Russia had warned Austria-Hungary that the Russian government would not tolerate Austria-Hungary invading Serbia.<ref name="Cashman, Greg 2007. P57" /> However, with Germany supporting Austria-Hungary's actions, the Austro-Hungarian government hoped that Russia would not intervene and that the conflict with Serbia would remain a regional conflict.<ref name="Cashman, Greg 2007. P57" />

Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia resulted in Russia declaring war on the country, and Germany, in turn, declared war on Russia, setting off the beginning of the clash of alliances that resulted in the World War.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hosch |first=William L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGeWhF7pltoC&dq=world+war+I+russia+general+mobilization+July+30%2C+1914+nicholas&pg=PA163 |title=World War I: People, Politics, and Power |year=2009 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. |isbn=978-1-61530-013-6}}</ref>

==== Territory ====
Austria-Hungary was internally divided into two states with their own governments, joined through the Habsburg throne. Austria, also known as [[Cisleithania]], contained various duchies and principalities but also the [[Kingdom of Bohemia]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pánek |first=Jaroslav |title=A History of the Czech Lands |publisher=[[Karolinum Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-8024616452 |editor-last=Tuma |editor-first=Oldrich}}</ref> the [[Kingdom of Dalmatia]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Biondich |first=Mark |title=Stjepan Radić, the Croat Peasant Party, and the Politics of Mass Mobilization, 1904–1928 |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |year=2000}}</ref> and the [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Magocsi|first=Paul R.|author-link=Paul R. Magocsi|title=Galicia: A Historical Survey and Bibliographic Guide|year=1983|location=Toronto|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9780802024824|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgTrJm85sDQC}}</ref> Hungary ([[Transleithania]]) was composed of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gulya |first1=Kristó |title=Magyarország története előidőktől 2000-ig |last2=János |first2=Barta |last3=Jenő |first3=Gergely |publisher= |year=2002 |language=hu}}</ref> and the [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catholic Encyclopedia's : Hungary |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07547a.htm |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> In [[Bosnia and Herzegovina in Austria-Hungary|Bosnia and Herzegovina]], sovereign authority was shared by both Austria and Hungary.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zovko |first=Ljubomir |title=Studije iz pravne povijesti Bosne i Hercegovine: 1878–1941 |publisher=[[University of Mostar]] |year=2007 |language=hr |isbn=978-9958-9271-2-6 }}</ref>

=== Ottoman Empire ===
{{Main|Ottoman Empire|Ottoman entry into World War I}}

[[File:Muster on the Plain of Esdraelon 1914.jpg|thumb|right|Ottoman soldiers in military preparations for an assault on the [[Suez Canal]] in 1914]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1981-137-08A, Konstantinopel, Besuch Kaiser Wilhelm II..jpg|thumb|Kaiser Wilhelm II visiting the Turkish cruiser ''Yavuz Sultan Selim'' during his stay in [[Istanbul]] in October 1917 as a guest of Sultan [[Mehmed V]]]]

==== War justifications ====
The Ottoman Empire joined the war on the side of the Central Powers in November 1914. The Ottoman Empire had gained strong economic connections with Germany through the Berlin-to-Baghdad railway project that was still incomplete at the time.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jukes |first1=Geoffrey |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm52375688 |title=The First World War |last2=Simkins |first2=Peter |last3=Hickey |first3=Michael |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-96841-6 |edition= |series=Essential histories |location=New York |oclc=}}</ref> The Ottoman Empire made a formal alliance with Germany signed on 2 August 1914.<ref name="Afflerbach, Holger 2012.">{{Cite book |last1=Afflerbach |first1=Holger |last2=David Stevenson |first2=David |title=An Improbable War: The Outbreak of World War 1 and European Political Culture |publisher=Berghan Books |date=2012}}</ref>{{RP|292}} The alliance treaty expected that the Ottoman Empire would become involved in the conflict in a short amount of time.<ref name="Afflerbach, Holger 2012." />{{RP|292}} However, for the first several months of the war, the Ottoman Empire maintained neutrality though it allowed a German naval squadron to enter and stay near the strait of [[Bosphorus]].<ref name="Kent, Mary 1998. P119">{{Cite book |last=Kent |first=Mary |title=''The Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire''. end ed. Frank Cass. |date=1998 |page=119}}</ref> Ottoman officials informed the German government that the country needed time to prepare for conflict.<ref name="Kent, Mary 1998. P119" /> Germany provided financial aid and weapons shipments to the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="Afflerbach, Holger 2012." />{{RP|292}}

After pressure escalated from the German government demanding that the Ottoman Empire fulfill its treaty obligations, or else Germany would expel the country from the alliance and terminate economic and military assistance, the Ottoman government entered the war with the recently acquired cruisers from Germany, along with their own navy, launching a [[Black Sea raid|naval raid]] on the Russian ports of [[Odessa]], [[Sevastopol]], [[Novorossiysk]], [[Feodosia]], and [[Yalta]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=McMeekin |first=Sean |title=The Russian Origins of the First World War |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQF099JYW_EC |isbn=978-0-674-06320-4 }}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web |url=http://www.gwpda.org/naval/turkmill.htm |title=Turkey Enters the War and British Actions |last=Miller |first=Geoffrey |date=December 1999 |publisher=Great War Primary Document Archive |access-date=1 August 2016 }}</ref> thus engaging in military action in accordance with its alliance obligations with Germany. Shortly after, the Triple Entente declared war on the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="Afflerbach, Holger 2012." />{{RP|293}}

=== Bulgaria ===
{{Main|Tsardom of Bulgaria (1908–1946)}}

{{See also|Bulgaria during World War I|Bulgarian occupation of Serbia (World War I)|Bulgarian occupation of Albania}}

==== War justifications ====
[[File:Bulgaria southern front.jpg|thumb|right|Bulgarian soldiers firing at incoming aircraft]]
After Bulgaria's [[Second Balkan War|defeat]] in July 1913 at the hands of Serbia, [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|Greece]] and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]], it signed [[Ottoman–Bulgarian alliance|a treaty of defensive alliance]] with the Ottoman Empire on 19 August 1914.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Turkey's Entry into World War I: An Assessment of Responsibilities |first=Ulrich |last=Trumpener |journal=Journal of Modern History |volume=34 |issue=4 |year=1962 |pages=369–380 |doi=10.1086/239180 |s2cid=153500703 }}</ref> Bulgaria was the last country to join the Central Powers, which it did in October 1915 by declaring war on Serbia.<ref name=":3" /> It invaded Serbia in conjunction with [[Imperial German Army|German]] and [[Austro-Hungarian Army|Austro-Hungarian forces]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Pajic |first=B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOeZDwAAQBAJ |title=Our Forgotten Volunteers: Australians and New Zealanders with Serbs in World War One |publisher=Arcadia |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-925801-44-6}}</ref>

Bulgaria held claims on the region of [[Vardar Macedonia]] then held by Serbia following the [[Balkan Wars]] of 1912–1913 and the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1913)]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hall|first1=Richard C.|title=Bulgaria in the First World War|url=http://russiasgreatwar.org/media/arc/bulgaria.shtml|website=Russia's Great War and Revolution|access-date=22 September 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923050908/http://russiasgreatwar.org/media/arc/bulgaria.shtml |archive-date= Sep 23, 2017 }}</ref> As a condition of entering the war on the side of the Central Powers, Bulgaria was granted the right to reclaim that territory.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jelavich|first1=Charles|last2=Jelavich|first2=Barbara|title=The establishment of the Balkan national states, 1804–1920 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MhQTCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA284 |date=1986|publisher=University of Washington Press|location=Seattle|isbn=978-0-295-96413-3|pages=284–297|edition=1st pbk.}}</ref><ref>Richard C. Hall, "Bulgaria in the First World War". ''Historian'' 73.2 (2011): 300–315.</ref>