The news that Bulgaria was seeking peace talks was transmitted back to their respective countries as soon as it contacted the British and French commercial agencies. Romania, which was urgently related to this, also received the news conveyed by Britain and France on its behalf at the first time.
So in the evening of that day, when Prime Minister Bretianu and the Foreign Minister informed Edel of the news, he was having dinner with his family.
After putting down the tableware and taking the telegram, Edel felt his eyes moistened as he looked at the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister who showed joy on their faces. The few words of Bulgaria's request for peace meant that Romania was no longer isolated in the Balkans.
, having reinforcements and not having reinforcements are two different concepts.
After putting down the telegram, Eder calmed down and asked, "Is there any other news from Britain and France?"
Prime Minister Bretianu, who knew what Edel wanted to ask, spoke up. "The British and French ambassadors have informed us that taking into account our country's interests in the Balkans, after formulating an armistice agreement with Bulgaria, the terms will be sent to us for review.
It will be sent to Bulgaria only after there are no objections.”
The Prime Minister's words made Eder very satisfied. This was the treatment earned by the Romanian army's performance on the battlefield. Capturing Transylvania, attacking Bulgaria, and resisting the German attack. These battles made the Romanian army's combat effectiveness outstanding to the world.
before.
Nowadays, Europe generally puts the Romanian army on the same level as Austria-Hungary. The main reason is that the Romanian reserve mobilization force is somewhat weak, which hinders the amazing performance of the standing divisions in Transylvania.
As for Britain and France taking the lead in this negotiation, it is also their duty. As leaders of the camp, it would be good if the conditions take care of Romania's interests during the negotiations.
The news brought by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister kept Edel awake all night, and he appeared in front of everyone the next day with two panda eyes. The UK and France also knew the seriousness of the matter. When Bulgaria replaced its cabinet in the morning, there was a question about its relationship with him.
The draft of the armistice agreement has been sent to Romania. This time, Eder convened the military and political parties to discuss the terms.
In this armistice agreement drafted overnight by Britain and France, it mainly targets the occupied territories of Greece and Serbia. The most relevant ones to Romania are Articles 3 and 5.
The third article is that Bulgaria must stabilize the local situation and must not allow the former Allied Powers to use its military facilities. The Allied Powers also provided assistance clauses here. If the Allied Powers invade Bulgarian territory, the Allied Powers will provide military and material assistance. This
This article is obviously aimed at the previous reinforcements from Germany, Austria and Turkey. Britain and France want to create some conflicts between Bulgaria and the former Allies. Because the reinforcements from Turkey have entered Bulgarian territory, if the commander is not clever, everyone will
Would love to see another battle between the Bulgarian and Turkish armies.
The fifth article is that Bulgaria must open its ports and pool its trains, ships and other means of transportation for use by the Allied Powers, for which the Allied Powers will provide rent. This article is the most helpful to Romania, which can allow the Allied Powers to provide troops and assistance.
Materials pass through Bulgaria and are continuously supplied to Romania.
As for other clauses, such as the Bulgarian army not being allowed to evacuate before the Allies took over, and Bulgaria having to collect weapons and ammunition for inventory by the Allies, these were not the focus of Edel's discussions.
Generally speaking, the armistice agreement drawn up by Britain and France fully took into account the actual situation in Romania. Knowing that they needed material and military assistance, many provisions were made to stabilize the situation in Bulgaria.
After studying the terms behind closed doors for a whole morning, Edel looked at the two rows of senior military and political officials in front of him and asked, "Is there no problem for everyone?"
"No problem at all."
"This agreement is very reasonable."
"no comment."
After seeing that everyone was satisfied with this, Edel said to Prime Minister Bretianu and Foreign Minister Barnosk on his left: "Inform Britain and France of our attitude."
After Romania agreed to the agreement, Britain and France immediately passed it through their institutions in Sofia and submitted the agreement to the Radical Democratic Party that had just taken office.
Faced with the conditions proposed by Britain and France, Bulgaria certainly needed to bargain. The newly appointed Prime Minister Malinov informed the rioting soldiers outside the city of the government's decision to withdraw from the war. After appeasing them, he immediately rushed to Salonika by car.
Because there is a plenipotentiary representative of the Allied Powers here, the commander-in-chief of the Allied Powers in Greece, His Excellency French Lieutenant General Esperet, as the candidate to negotiate the armistice agreement, the opinions of the soldiers still need to be respected.
In order to show respect for the armistice negotiations, the Allied Powers also stopped fighting in Salonika. The Romanian army led by Lieutenant General Freit, which worried Bulgaria the most, also stopped opposite the Stara Mountains and across the mountain from Sofia.
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Of course, as a kind response from the Allied Powers, Bulgaria also stopped all hostilities and ordered the Turkish army to withdraw from its territory. General Otto Zanders, who commanded the Turkish Third Army, would of course review the situation appropriately and immediately lead the troops when he saw that the situation was not good.
As the Turkish army retreated to the Dardanelles Strait, this disappointed Britain and France who hoped that something could happen to them.
The German and Austrian troops assisting Bulgaria also stopped in Belgrade after seeing the situation change drastically, waiting for the situation to become clearer. However, it is believed that it will not be long before they will head to the Macedonian region to defend against the attack of the Allied Powers.
So in Salonika, a place that still smells like gunfire, the two parties that were fighting to the death began to have intense discussions on the topic of peace.
"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, we quite agree with the terms you gave. It's just that the rent in Article 5 will be included in the future compensation. Isn't it too harsh? We also need to resume production after the armistice, and the transportation has been given to you.
, we have too much influence. And we can’t get the rent, which is difficult for our country to accept, because our treasury can already run away with mice, unless you are willing to give us a batch of food to stabilize the situation."
Faced with the objections of Bulgarian Prime Minister Malinov, Lieutenant General Espere, as the main negotiator of the Allied Powers, spoke up. "We have fully considered the difficulties you mentioned, but we are also short of funds now, so we can only rent them first."
, and then we are thinking about renting. As for the grain, we can collect some in the market, but you know that due to lack of funds, you can only find a way on your own."
Faced with the objections of Prime Minister Malinov, General Espere simply dismissed him saying that he had no money. As for whether there was no money, neither party cared too much, but just tested each other's attitudes.
In fact, the negotiations in Salonika went very quickly. It took four days from the beginning of the negotiations on January 26 to finalize the content. The reason why their negotiations were able to end quickly was that both parties wanted to get out of this situation as soon as possible.
This situation. The Allies need Bulgaria to withdraw from the war to gain influence and practical benefits, and Bulgaria can also be free to appease domestic dissatisfaction that is about to erupt. Therefore, when both parties have urgent needs, this negotiation can quickly reach a consensus.
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On January 31, the two sides officially announced the signing of an armistice agreement, which declared Bulgaria's withdrawal from the war.
This armistice agreement, known as Thessaloniki, stipulated that the Bulgarian army must immediately withdraw from the Greek and Serbian territories it occupied. The Bulgarian army immediately prepared to demobilize. All weapons, ammunition and baggage of the demobilized troops were under the supervision of the Allied Forces.
Centralized storage. Bulgaria can only retain 30,000 troops to meet its own defense needs. Strategic locations such as Montana and Adrianople in Bulgaria are occupied by the Allied forces, and their ports also need to be open to the Allied and neutral countries.
With Bulgaria's withdrawal, the connection between Germany, Austria and Turkey can be said to have been cut off. Wool, cotton, dyes and minerals from the Middle East have been blocked, and it is difficult for German weapons and machinery products to reach Turkey. This has made it difficult for both parties.
The situation has worsened, which also gives him a headache.
