Order of battle of the Bulgarian Army in the First Balkan War (1912)

The following is the Bulgarian order of battle at the beginning of the First Balkan War as of October 8, 1912. After its mobilization the field army counted for 366,209 men[1] and represented half the field forces of the Balkan League. Its greater part was deployed in the main theater of the war in Thrace[2] but the army also contributed to the allied war effort in Macedonia. This order of battle includes all combat units, including engineer and artillery units, but not medical, supply, signal and border guard units.

GHQ

The nominal commander in chief of the Bulgarian Army was Tsar Ferdinand I but de facto its control and leadership were in the hands of his deputy Lieutenant-General Mihail Savov. The Chief of the General Staff was Major-General Ivan Fichev with Colonel Stefan Nerezov as his Deputy Chief.

Thracian Theater

First Army
Types of Bulgarian soldiers during the Balkan Wars

First Army was commanded by lieutenant-general Vasil Kutinchev.

  • 1st Sofia Infantry Division ( Major-General Toshev)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Zheliavski)
      • 1st "Sofia" Infantry Regiment
      • 6th "Turnovo" Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Brigade (Major-General Popov)
      • 37th Infantry Regiment
      • 38th Infantry Regiment
    • 4th QF FAR[Note 1]
    • 4th FAR
    • 1st Pioneer Battalion
  • 3rd Balkan Infantry Division ( Major-General Sarafov)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Paskalev)
      • 11th "Sliven" Infantry Regiment
      • 24th "Black Sea" Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Brigade (Colonel Ribarov)
      • 29th "Yambol" Infantry Regiment
      • 32nd "Zagora" Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd Brigade (Major-General Tepavicharov)
      • 41st Infantry Regiment
      • 42nd Infantry Regiment
    • 6th QF FAR
    • 6th FAR
    • 3rd Pioneer Battalion
  • 10th Infantry Division ( Major-General Bradistilov)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Petev)
      • 16th "Lovech" Infantry Regiment
      • 25th "Dragoman" Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Brigade (Colonel Atanas Petrov)
      • 47th Infantry Regiment
      • 48th Infantry Regiment
    • 10th FAR
    • 10th Pioneer Battalion

Second Army

Second Army was commanded by lieutenant-general Nikola Ivanov.

  • 8th Tundzha Infantry Division ( Major-General Kirkov)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Marchin)
      • 10th "Rhodope" Infantry Regiment
      • 30th "Sheinovo" Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Brigade (Colonel Kardzhiev)
      • 12th "Balkan" Infantry Regiment
      • 23rd "Shipka" Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd Brigade (Colonel Pachev)
      • 51st Infantry Regiment
      • 52nd Infantry Regiment
    • 8th QF FAR
    • 8th FAR
    • 8th Pioneer Battalion
  • 9th Pleven Infantry Division ( Major-General Sirakov)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Evrov)
      • 4th "Pleven" Infantry Regiment
      • 17th "Dorostol" Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Brigade (Colonel Popov)
      • 33rd "Svishtov" Infantry Regiment
      • 34th "Troyan" Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd Brigade (Colonel Grancharov)
      • 53rd Infantry Regiment
      • 54th Infantry Regiment
    • 9th QF FAR
    • 9th FAR
    • 9th Pioneer Battalion
  • Haskovo Detachment ( Colonel Delov)
    • 2/2nd Brigade
      • 28th "Stremski" Infantry Regiment
      • 40th Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd FAR
  • Mixed Cavalry Brigade (Colonel Tanev)
    • 3rd Cavalry Regiment
    • 6th Cavalry Regiment

Third Army
Types of Bulgarian cavalry during the Balkan Wars

Third Army was commanded by lieutenant-general Radko Dimitriev.

  • 4th Preslav Infantry Division ( Major-General Boyadzhiev)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Todorov)
      • 7th "Preslav" Infantry Regiment
      • 19th "Shumen" Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Brigade (Colonel Enchev)
      • 8th "Primorski" Infantry Regiment
      • 31st "Varna" Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd Brigade (Major-General Tserkovkski)
      • 43rd Infantry Regiment
      • 44th Infantry Regiment
    • 5th QF FAR
    • 5th FAR
    • 4th Pioneer Battalion
  • 5th Danube Infantry Division ( Major-General Hristov)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Abadzhiev)
      • 2nd "Iskar" Infantry Regiment
      • 5th "Danube" Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Brigade (Colonel Sofroniev)
      • 18th "Etarski" Infantry Regiment
      • 20th "Dobruja" Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd Brigade (Colonel Ivanov)
      • 45th Infantry Regiment
      • 46th Infantry Regiment
    • 1st QF FAR
    • 1st FAR
    • 5th Pioneers Battalion
  • 6th Bdin Infantry Division ( Major-General Tenev)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Kantardzhiev)
      • 3rd "Bdin" Infantry Regiment
      • 15th "Lom" Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Brigade (Colonel Pakov)
      • 35th "Vratsa" Infantry Regiment
      • 36th "Kozloduy" Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd FAR
    • 6th Pioneer Battalion

Cavalry

The single Bulgarian cavalry division served independently on the Thracian Theater:

  • Cavalry Division ( Major-General Nazlamov)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Salabashev)
      • 1st Cavalry Regiment
      • 2nd Cavalry Regiment
    • 2nd Brigade (Colonel Danailov)
      • 4th Cavalry Regiment
      • 7th Cavalry Regiment
      • 10th Cavalry Regiment

Western Theater

Second Allied Army

Second Allied Army was commanded by General Stepa Stepanović.

  • 7th Rila Infantry Division (Major-General Todorov)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Mitov)
      • 13th "Rila" Infantry Regiment
      • 28th "Pernik" Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd Brigade (Colonel Chilingirov)
      • 14th "Macedonian" Infantry Regiment
      • 22nd "Thracian" Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd Brigade (Colonel Georgiev)
      • 49th Infantry Regiment
      • 50th Infantry Regiment
    • 7th QF FAR
    • 7th FAR
    • 2nd MAR**
    • 5th Cavalry Regiment
    • 7th Pioneer Battalion

Rhodope Detachment

The detachment was commanded by Major-General Stiliyan Kovachev.

  • 2nd Thracian Infantry Division (Major-General Kovachev)
    • 1st Brigade (Colonel Geshov)
      • 9th "Plovdiv" Infantry Regiment
      • 21st "Srednogorian" Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd Brigade (Colonel Mitov)
      • 27th "Chepinski" Infantry Regiment
      • 39th Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd QF FAR
    • 3rd MAR
    • 1st MAR

Unit strengths

The basic Bulgarian infantry division consisted of three infantry brigades, each of two infantry regiments, with each regiment containing four infantry battalions.[3] Additionally these divisions contained two artillery regiments, a cavalry regiment and an engineer battalion. Their full battle strength consisted of 24 infantry battalions while their total strength made them the equivalent of an army corps.[4] Due to tactical necessities the 1st and 6th divisions each gave one brigade for the formation of a new 10th division and fought during the war with a battle strength of 16 battalions.

Notes
Footnotes
  1. Quick-firing field artillery regiment (QF FAR), mountain artillery regiment (MAR).
Citations
  1. Министерство на войната (1937), p. 566
  2. Hall (2000),p. 22
  3. Erickson (2003), p.67.
  4. Erickson (2003), p.68.

References
  • Министерство на войната, Щаб на войската (1937). Войната между България и Турция 1912-1913, Vol. I. Държавна печатница, София.
  • Hall, Richard C. (2000). The Balkan Wars, 1912–1913: Prelude to the First World War. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-22946-4.
  • Erickson, Edward J. (2003). Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-97888-5.
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