Bulgaria in the Second World War and after it. Participation of Bulgaria in World War II

Unlike the Russian Federation, and other former republics of the USSR and the European Union, in Bulgaria on May 9 they celebrate not the Victory Day but the Day of Europe, practically not honoring those tens of thousands of their compatriots who died in the fight against fascism in the last year of the war. This article describes the dramatic and contradictory participation of Bulgaria in the Second World War.

Union with the Third Reich

It is well known that Bulgaria in the Second World War supported the Nazi Reich. The cooperation of the Bulgarian government with Germany began in the 30s of the last century. Then the Germans systematically armed the Bulgarian army. Also, the Nazis began to re-equip the Bulgarian ports of Burgas and Varna to accommodate their naval forces there. Already in the winter of 1940-1941 a specialized Luftwaffe group headed for Bulgaria, whose main task was to prepare Bulgarian airfields for the landing of German aviation on them. Simultaneously with this process, the construction of new modern airfields started. Over time, a special transportation service was established in Sofia and 25 transport communications facilities were built, which German soldiers took under protection, although they wore the uniform of servicemen of Bulgaria.

Contradictory aspect of cooperation

At the very beginning of 1941, the Führer counted on the seizure of Yugoslavia and Greece, and in order to implement these plans, it simply needed to have control of the Bulgarian territory, as a springboard for the invasion. It is this fact that modern Bulgarian historians present as the dilemma that confronted the Tsar Boris the Third. He had two options: either to expose the country to war, or voluntarily admit the Nazi armies. Therefore, Bulgaria in the Second World War was in fact the victim of the provocative policy of the Third Reich.

Bulgaria and the Berlin Pact

As you know, the Bulgarian Tsar Boris had diplomatic flexibility, so he tore out a volunteer alliance. In the spring of 1941, Bulgaria signed the Berlin Pact, which was also called Berlin-Rome-Tokyo. A month later, German troops marched through the country and invaded Greece and Yugoslavia, while the Bulgarian army also participated in the expansion. Thus, Bulgaria entered the Second World War. For this Hitler rewarded her with a part of Macedonia, Northern Greece and Serbia. Naturally, this was a fiction. Thus, by the end of April 1941, the territory of the Bulgarian state had increased almost one and a half times, and Boris III had declared the creation of the "Great Bulgaria" and the unification of the whole people in a single state, again fictitious. Of course, all socio-economic processes were controlled from Berlin.

Being an ally of Nazi Germany, Bulgaria was not hostile to many countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, with the USSR there were even diplomatic relations. So, the Bulgarian capital contained embassies of all sides of the confrontation, that's why Sofia was called in the war years "the capital of espionage".

Entry into the war

After the attack of fascist Germany on the USSR, on June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler insistently demanded that the Bulgarian king send military units to the Eastern Theater of War. But prudent Boris, fearing disturbances in society, refused such demands. That is, during the Second World War Bulgaria practically did not fight against the Soviet Union. Officially, Bulgaria joined the fighting in mid-December 1941, when, according to Nazi demands, declared war on the Anti-Hitler Coalition. Boris III allowed the Germans to use all the economic resources of the country, and also took discriminatory measures against the Bulgarian Jews, who lived in the country very much. These actions were terrible for their consequences.

Anti-Fascist Resistance

In 1941-1943, the Bulgarian antifascists and socialists entered a fierce struggle in the German rear, and organized a resistance movement. In 1942, the Fatherland Front of the Anti-Fascist Resistance was formed. And the offensive of the Red Army on the Eastern Front was further inspired by the anti-fascist movement. In 1943, the Workers' Party of Bulgaria established an insurgent army, the number of which was constantly growing, and by the end of the war there were 30,000 partisans. Bulgaria in the Second World War, as a state, was an ally of the Reich, but many Bulgarians did not recognize this heinous union.

Attempts to interrupt the Bulgarian-German Union

When the German Reich began to suffer the first defeats on the Eastern Front, the Bulgarian king began to make attempts to break the disgraceful alliance with A. Hitler, but in August 1943, after a diplomatic meeting with the Führer, he suddenly died. Meanwhile, the Bulgarian government council, which ruled on behalf of the son of Boris III-Simeon, only began to follow the pro-German course, showing the most "cute" policy in relation to the anti-human regime.

Ineffectual neutrality

The victory of the Soviet invaders at Stalingrad and their subsequent offensives, which brought many military defeats to Germany, as well as the bombing of Sofia by the air forces of the United States and Britain, sparked a government coup in July 1944. The new authorities made attempts to bring peace to the Bulgarian lands, asked for peace from the USSR and its allies. At the end of August 1944, the authorities declared the complete neutrality of Bulgaria and issued an ultimatum to the German troops to leave the country. But all attempts have come to naught. Germany has not fulfilled any requirements, and peace talks have failed. The new government resigned. On September 2, 1944, a new government was formed, which operated only a few days, as Soviet troops crossed the Bulgarian border.

Since Bulgaria had the status of ally of the Third Reich during the Second World War, the Soviet Union declared war on September 5, 1944, and on September 8 the Red Army entered the country. It is interesting that on the very same day Bulgaria declared war on Nazi Germany and found itself in a state of military action both against former allies and against the anti-Hitler coalition. But the next day a new coup d'état took place in the country, as a result of which the Patriotic Front came to power, and in late October 1944 a truce was signed in Moscow.

Participation of Bulgaria in the war against Germany

In early autumn of 1944 in Bulgaria, 3 battle-worthy armies, totaling about 500 thousand people, were formed. The first fighting clashes between the Nazis and Bulgarian troops were in Serbia, where the supporters of the German regime fought and opposed to Hitler, his former allies - the Bulgarians.

Within a month the troops were able to get the first military successes, they quickly occupied Macedonia and some areas of Serbia. After the first Bulgarian army (about 140 thousand people) was transferred to the region of Hungary, where in March 1945 together with the Red Army took part in fierce battles near Lake Balaton, where the German tank units made a confident attempt to counter-offensive operations.

Thus, Bulgaria in the Second World War took a contradictory and wait-and-see attitude, for which it is possible to condemn, but it is possible and encouraged. Moreover, the inhabitants of the country organized a significant anti-fascist resistance. And Bulgaria after the Second World War became an ally of the USSR.