Incidentally, the French insistence that while the peace discussions were taking place, the naval blockade of Germany must continue, came in for some powerful criticism. It is estimated that even by the end of 1918 there had been over 760,000 famine related deaths amongst the civilian population. David Lloyd George accepted this situation, claiming that it was necessary to ensure that Germany signed the peace treaties. The leader of the German delegation, however, Ulrich Brockdorff-Rantzau, openly attacked the blockade, claiming that the hundreds of thousands of non-combatants who had perished since the armistice had been “killed with cold deliberation after victory had been won and assured to our adversaries”.

        FOR THE TREATY OF SÈVRES CONCERNING THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

THE SETTLEMENT

THE TREATY OF NEUILLY CONCERNING BULGARIA:  November 1919

THE CHANGING FACE OF EUROPE: 1914-1923

As noted earlier, it was in September 1918, following the Vardar Offensive (launched from the Salonika Front), that the Bulgarians were soundly defeated within ten days and laid down their arms. The Treaty of Neuilly was signed on the 27th November, 1919, and came into operation in August 1920. Its task was to produce the peace treaty concerning Germany’s former ally in the Balkans. Territorially (see map), this ceded land to Greece in the south; Yugoslavia (then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes), in the west; and Romania (Dobruja), in the north-east. Like the other Central Powers, it was required to reduce its military forces and pay reparations. In this case, the army was limited to 20,000 men, the police force to 10,000, and the border guard to 3,000. The nation’s warships and aircraft were either destroyed or handed over to the Entente. Reparations were set at a demanding £100 million (though 75% was later remitted!), and, in addition, Bulgaria was required to assist its neighbours by giving them regular supplies of scarce commodities, notably cattle and coal.

     In the south, the loss of part of Thrace to Greece (taken during the First Balkan War of 1913), deprived Bulgaria of access to the Aegean Sea, and this was a serious blow to the country’s economy. Furthermore “the dictate of Neuilly” (as the Bulgarians dubbed it), paid no attention to Wilson’s principle of self-determination, despite many demands. In all the major cities there were large immigrant communities from Macedonia, Thrace and Dobruja (numbering some 250,000), and this unsettled both the social and political stability of the country. There was plenty of scope for left-wing agitators, conservatives and anarchists. And this unstable situation was heightened by a continued shortage of food and an outbreak of tuberculosis and cholera. For the next ten years or so Bulgaria tottered on the brink of civil war. Little wonder that, during the interwar period, the country continued its close liaison with Germany and the path it was following.

THExCHANGING FACE OF EUROPE  1914 – 1923

Acknowledgements

Bulgaria: slideplayer.com Maps 1914-1923: bbc.co.uk hunger: flaticon.com

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