Figure 1.--The German XII Army and Fligerkoros VIII Fligerkorps moved into Bularia when the country joined the Axis (April 1941). The motorcyclist here is a Luftwaffe dispatch rider. Bulgaria was a German ally in World War I. There were ethnic ties to Russia whuch probably explain why they well recive by the poulation. At the time the NAZis abnd Siviet were allies. The Bulgariabs did not understasbnd that Hitler was moving into the Balkans to secure the southern flank for the invasion of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet seizure of Romanian Northern Burkovib=na and Besserabia led the Romaniab Governmenbt to appeal to Hitler for assistance (July 1940). Hitlers concern over the Ploesti oil fields led to a positive resoponse. This brought the Germans to the Bulgarian border. And contacts wih the Germans meant German military teams in civilian clothes (October 1940). The focus at first was on Greece and prepration for Luftwaffe planed to build airfields in Bulgarai. The first German troops crossed the Danube into Bulgaria (Februasry 18). This was a day before Bulgaria formally joined the Axis (March 1). [Shores, Cull, and Malizia, p. 171.] The 12th Army commanded by Von Kliest who would play a major role in Barbarossa as well as VIII Fliegerkorps, folloed (March 2). At the time the NAZIs and Soviets were allies. As a result thev Russian oriented population welcomed the Germans. [Miller, pp. 46] The operational orders were initially directed at Greece. The uprising in Yugoslavia against cooperation with the NAZIs (March 1941), caused Hitler to order an invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece. Führer Directive 25, however, reoriented the operation (April 8). Kliest positioned the forces in Bulgaria in three groups: along the Turkish border, along the Greek border, and long the Yugoslav border. Motorized transport was shifted from Romania for thise movements, especially the drive toward Belgrade. The Bulgarian Army did not actively participate in the attack on Greece and Yugosalvia (April 1941). The fighting was conducted by the German forces. The German troops that moved into Bulgaria played a major role in the invasion. The Bulgarian Army, however, was not involved in any heavy fighting. The NAZIs rewarded Bulgaria with territory it had lost during the Balkan Wars and World War I, including areas in both Greece and Yugoslavia. The Bulgaria Army was commited to occupatiion duty as the Germanms moved fiorces out of Greece, Yugoslacua, and Bulgria into positions for Operation Bulgaria. After the Balkan Campaign, there were no longer a need for substAbntial German forces in Bulgaria. Mosd of the German firces began to reposition in Romania in preparatuin for Barbarossa. Many were replaced by Bulgarian units for occupation duty in Yugoslavia and Greece. As a result, the Bulgarians would have more flexibility in dealing with the Germans.

Sources

Miller, Marshall Lee). Bulgaria during the Second World War (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1975.).

Shores, Christopher F., Brian Cull, and Nicola Maliz. Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece, and Crete, 1940–41 (London: Grub Street, 1987).

Created: 9:12 AM 3/13/2023
Last updated: 9:12 AM 3/13/2023