Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole 1918

7. Breakthrough

By the end of the summer of 1918, conditions on the Macedonian Front had worsened considerably for the Central Powers. The great influenza epidemic had caused some physical and morale problems among the Bulgarian soldiers.1 Much to the dismay of the Bulgarian command, the Germans had withdrawn considerable numbers of troops and weapons to use in the great offensives on the Western Front. At the same time, the material condition of the Bulgarians deteriorated to an appalling degree. The morale problem in the Bulgarian army did not escape the notice of the Entente forces in Macedonia. A French report dated 15 September noted, “the Bulgarian people and army are overcome with a desire for peace, increased by a determined hatred of the Germans and Turks.”2 Deserters reported that many soldiers believed that the Bulgarian government would make peace on 15 September. This was the anniversary of the initial mobilization in 1915. Nor were the Germans oblivious to the morale BREAKTHROUGH 7 127 breakthrough problems in the Bulgarian army. A German report of 10 August indicated that the influence of Aleksandŭr Stamboliski’s antiwar Agrarian Party had grown very strong at the front. The same report noted, however, that despite the overwhelming war weariness, neither the tsar nor the government intended at that point to seek a separate peace. The reported cautioned, “The picture could change, if the Tsar and government, despite their good intentions, face opposition and lose courage to continue the war. Unfortunately we need to keep such an eventuality in mind, so that we do not have to reorient our affairs at the last possible moment.”3 The war-weary situation on the Macedonian Front and throughout Bulgaria was obvious to the Germans. The report implied that an Entente military effort could knock Bulgaria out of the war. By the end of the summer of 1918 Bulgaria, like all the other Central Powers, was at the end of its ability to wage war. By September 1918, the Bulgarian government recognized that the war was drawing to an end. In particular it became aware of German attempts to secure a peace settlement. Major General Petŭr Ganchev, the Bulgarian representative at German military headquarters in Pless, reported on 2 September that the Germans were prepared to go to a peace conference in Washington, D.C., but were waiting for a success on the Western Front to make proposals.4 Their allies, who had already demonstrated a lack of military support for Bulgaria, were now considering a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, without any consultation. These peace attempts made the failure of the German offensives on the Western Front obvious. The Bulgarians could not be certain that their interests would receive consideration at any such conference. Nevertheless, despite their disagreements with their German allies, the Bulgarians did not seriously consider a separate peace at this point. The Germans recognized that the Bulgarian government and military thus far remained loyal.5 This was more than could be said about the Austro-Hungarians after the fiasco of the Sixtus Affair.6 The realization that the Germans were considering an end to the conflict, however, could only have undermined Bulgarian efforts to see the war to a victorious conclusion. The Bulgarian army remained hopeful that the continued fighting elsewhere might end in an overall settlement of the war. A report prepared for Crown Prince Boris, dated 14 September, on the eve of the battle of Dobro Pole, stated, “It is important for us to hold the Macedonian Front at Balkan breakthrough 128 all cost until the results from the battles of the Western Front are clear, after which we will need to reorient our policy.”7 The report suggested in particular an arrangement with Britain directed against the Ottoman Empire. This report indicated that by September the German defeat in the west was becoming obvious. In any event one way or another, the end of the present conflict was approaching. Similar concerns about the peace process undermined Bulgarian relations with Austria-Hungary. On the eve of the Entente offensive in Macedonia , 13 September, Emperor Karl telegraphed Tsar Ferdinand: “It seems to me that we can no longer rely upon a continuing German resistance on the Western front.”8 The next day, Austro-Hungarian foreign minister Count István Burián proposed a general peace conference.9 Initially, Prime Minister Aleksandŭr Malinov seemed to back this effort.10...