On the streets of Sofia in winter, a large group of soldiers were walking forward with their luggage on their backs. There were many people bidding farewell on both sides of the road. It can be seen from the sad expressions on the faces of others that they were sending their loved ones off to the battlefield.
According to Bulgarian official statistics, Sofia, which had a population of 470,000 before the war, now has only 310,000. The middle population gap of 160,000 is mostly due to conscription into the army, and the 27th Division
This is how the army was formed.
As a division formed by the third wave of Bulgarian soldiers in 2016, it can only be said that the 27th Division was formed very late. The main reason was the lack of equipment and training. As the 27th Division, it was formed from the remaining troops of three melons and two dates.
Division, its training period is generally longer than others. And according to the words of its division commander, the main responsibility of these troops, composed of soldiers aged about 40 and 16 and 17 years old, should be to defend second-tier cities. But now
Faced with a flanking attack from Romania and the Allied Powers, the 27th Division had no choice but to catch up.
Now the farewell scene shows the 27th Division.
As the order issued by General Zekov had already arrived in the capital Sofia, the 27th Division, which had received the order, was ready to pack up. They were about to go to the battlefield, so it was appropriate for the relatives of the soldiers to be sad. And by Sa
The reinforcements composed of troops drawn by Lonica have arrived outside the city. They are now rushing to join them and go to Pleven to reinforce Lieutenant General Kudinchev who is struggling to support him there. However, waiting for their reinforcements outside the city,
But I have some troubles of my own.
In the temporary headquarters of the reinforcements outside the city, Lieutenant General Triev, who was in charge of leading the team, asked the communications staff somewhat dissatisfied.
"Is Sophia still unwilling to give me the supplies I need?"
The young staff officer who was questioned did not dare to answer out loud. "The military supplies warehouse in Sofia has sent news. They do have ammunition and military supplies, but the wine and other living supplies we need are not in their warehouse.
There is storage."
The communications staff officer glanced at Lieutenant General Triev and continued. "Then I followed your instructions to coordinate with the city government, but they refused, saying that they didn't have much supplies, and our request was quite large.
There is no way to be satisfied.”
After hearing the words of the communications staff, Lieutenant General Triev was very dissatisfied with the city government's answer. Because he knew that Sofia, as the capital, where many powerful people live, could not have the supplies he mentioned. It was obvious that this was the city government's request.
Deal with him.
Triyev felt a little dissatisfied, so he picked up the phone and told the operator, "Please call Mayor Vasily from the city hall and tell me that Triyev is looking for him."
After waiting for several minutes, Lieutenant General Triyev finally answered the mayor's call.
"Hey, is this Mayor Vasily? I'm Triev... I remember the last time we met was at the king's banquet... This time the soldiers were complaining because they were leaving in a hurry. I plan to give them some alcohol.
and food to relieve the mood... Nothing, we have an order from the commander-in-chief, General Zekov, to collect necessary living supplies... I just said that Sofia is the capital, how can I do this? This is not because
Did you say the wrong thing in a hurry... Still nothing, Mayor Vasily, hello, hello."
Lieutenant General Triev's face looked a little uncertain as he put down the phone. Mayor Vasily was unwilling to give in and there was absolutely nothing he could do against him.
Triev felt a little aggrieved, because Mayor Vasily regarded him as a person who was seeking power for personal gain. My conscience, he had no such idea at all, and everything he did was for the country.
As a general who has led troops for many years, he knows the situation of soldiers very well. The long-term shortage of living supplies, as well as the confrontation and fighting with the Allied Powers in Salonika, have made the soldiers somewhat dissatisfied. This time, frontline troops were urgently mobilized
The reinforcement of Previn has somewhat shaken the morale of the soldiers.
During the four-day march from Salonika to Sofia, the number of stragglers reached hundreds. As the commander, Triev immediately noticed something strange. There were too many stragglers, and the number was increasing day by day.
Some are in the form of ulcers.
So when he walked to Sofia, Lieutenant General Triev immediately contacted General Zekov to express his concerns and asked to stop here for a day to restore the low morale of the soldiers. As a means of restoring morale, tobacco and alcohol,
Bacon and other daily necessities have become the supplies he needs, but currently the government has no idea of meeting his requirements.
Just when Lieutenant General Triev was a little undecided, the Chief of Staff, who had just gone to inspect the ground floor, walked into the temporary headquarters with a cold wind.
Triev immediately asked after seeing his old partner entering the door, "What was the result of the inspection?"
The chief of staff told him with a worried look. "The situation of the troops is a bit bad, and the soldiers are very resentful that they were taken from the battlefield to reinforce Previn. I visited many companies, and some officers complained to me.
The soldiers were emotionally unstable and somewhat disobeying their orders."
Hearing what the chief of staff said, Triev knew that this was the soldiers venting their emotions because they were nervous on the battlefield and had not been able to rest. He also understood these soldiers very well, but the current situation made Bulgaria
It was impossible to let these elite soldiers rest. So he planned to use tobacco, alcohol and other items to anesthetize the soldiers to release some of their emotions, but it seemed that his plan was about to fail.
The chief of staff looked at the ugly-looking Lieutenant General Triev and said tentatively, "Didn't we get the extra supplies we needed?"
Facing the chief of staff's inquiry, Triev nodded heavily and said, "I just had a phone call with the mayor of Sofia, and he rejected my request."
Hearing his partner's words, the chief of staff said with some sarcasm. "What are these government officials thinking? Aren't they afraid that the dissatisfaction of the soldiers will cause unrest?"
Faced with the chief of staff's assassination, Triev said with a wry smile, "He thought what I said was a threat to him."
Triyev spread his hands to express helplessness and continued, "So, it is impossible for us to get these supplies from the Sofia government."
Faced with Triyev's words, the chief of staff thought for a moment and said, "How about we ask the Prime Minister again."
When faced with the Chief of Staff, Triyev was hesitant. The reason was simple. If he went to the Prime Minister for such matters, it would fully demonstrate his limited personal abilities.
So Triyev said hesitantly, "Let the Prime Minister handle this kind of matter. I'm afraid it won't be too easy for both of us."
The Prime Minister has many things to do every day, and it is impossible to arrange them directly just for such things. Moreover, since they are military generals, it is not appropriate to approach the Prime Minister directly.
Regarding this, the chief of staff said, "Prime Minister Radoslav will not reject us."
To this, Triyev replied somewhat uncertainly. "It's hard to say. You know the style of our prime minister."
Prime Minister Radoslav, whom the two said was born in Norwich, was a lawyer by training, and had experience studying in Germany and Austria-Hungary. He had previously served as the youngest Prime Minister of Bulgaria (July-September 1886). In the Balkans
After the resignation of Prime Minister Gaishov after the war, the Liberal Party led by Radoslav formed a cabinet, and he played a great role in promoting Bulgaria's admission to the Central Powers.
His famous saying is. "If you love your country, then you should sacrifice everything for it."
Therefore, both of them were a little uncertain when facing a prime minister with a fervently patriotic sentiment.
"How about you call and ask?"
Faced with Triyev's inquiry, the chief of staff, who had been a little impulsive before, calmed down. He also said with some hesitation. "I think this matter should be discussed in the long term, otherwise it will be the same if we get these supplements in the next city."
"That's fine."
After Triev answered casually, he glanced at the map marking the next city on the march. Feratsa, across a mountain range in central Bulgaria from Sofia, would be their next stop, and then they would arrive in Plje.
