| Четвърта армия | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1912-1913 1915-1918 1941-1945 |
| Country |  Bulgaria |
| Allegiance | Bulgarian Army |
| Type | Field Army |
| Engagements | Balkan Wars World War I World War II
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Stiliyan Kovachev Stefan Toshev |
The Bulgarian Fourth Army was a Bulgarian field army during the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II.
In anticipation of the Ottoman Empire counter-offensive, the Bulgarian command on December 14, 1912, formed this army consisting of the following: Second Infantry Thracian Division, Seventh Infantry Rila Division, the Macedonian-Adrian Army and the Third Airborne Division. The commander of the army was General Stiliyan Kovachev. It reflected the Turkish attack on Bulair and the landing at Şarköy in 1913.
The army focused on the area of Radovish, Shtip, and Kochani against the main force of the Kingdom of Serbia. With the Battle of Bregalnitsa, the war itself begins. In the Battle of Kalimantsi advancing Serbian troops are stopped, preventing them from joining the Greek army. They were heavily suppressed and took heavy losses during the battles.
They were disbanded on 6 August 1913.
The Fourth Army was again formed on November 25, 1915. In December of 1917, the Artillery Division of the Army was formed and a military school was established. It was composed of the Tenth Aegean Infantry Division and the Second cavalry division. The Fourth Army was disbanded in October 1918.
During this time, the Fourth Army was commanded by Stefan Toshev.
After the outbreak of World War II, the 4th Army was again formed in July 1940.
It was given the task of protecting the southeast border with Turkey as part of the "Covering Front" (Прикриващ фронт) and it was composed of:
The 4th Army had tasks assigned to them from 10 February 1941 to December 19, 1943, when they disbanded, but reformed in September 1944, when Bulgaria joined the allies.
On October 15, 1944, the army consisted of 42,494 men and 7,152 horses. From October 15 to November 14, 1944, it fought against the Germans in Vardar Macedonia during the Bregalnitsa-Strumica operation. On December 19, 1944, the army is finally disbanded.
| No. | Title | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Major General | Stiliyan Kovachev | December 24, 1912 - June 28, 1913 |
| 2. | Major General | Vicho Dikov | June 28, 1913 - September 2, 1913 |
| 3. | Lieutenant General | Stefan Toshev | 1917 - 1918 |
| 4. | Lieutenant General | Sava Savov | February 1918 |
| 5. | Infantry General | Stefan Toshev | 1918 - 1919 |
| 6. | Major General | Sotir Marinkov | 1931 |
| 7. | Major General | Ivan Filipov | 1933 - 1934 |
| 8. | Major General | Mladen Filipov | 1934 |
| 9. | Colonel | Konstantin Lukash | September 1934 - June 19, 1935 |
| 10. | Major General | Hristo Danchev | 1935 |
| 11. | Major General | Nikola Nedev | 1936 |
| 12. | Major General | Ivan Markov | 1938 |
| 13. | Major General | Atanas Stefanov | August 11, 1941 - September 12, 1944, executed by partisans |
| 14. | Major General | Boyan Urumov | September 17, 1944 - November 1, 1944 |
| 15. | Major General | Asen Sirakov | November 1, 1944 - December 15, 1944 |
| 16. | Major General | Asen Krstev | December 15, 1944 - January 1, 1945 (acting) |
| 17. | Major General | Asen Grekov | January 1, 1945 - August 6, 1946 |
The Bulgarian Army, also called Bulgarian Armed Forces, is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in the hands of the Defense Staff, headed by the Chief of the Defense. There are three main branches of the Bulgarian military, named literally the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Naval Forces.
The Bulgarian First Army was a Bulgarian field army during the Balkan Wars, World War I and World War II.
Vladimir Minchev Vazov was a Bulgarian officer. He led the Bulgarian forces during the successful defensive operation at Dojran during the First World War.
Georgi Stoyanov Todorov was a Bulgarian general who fought in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885), Balkan Wars (1912–1913) and First World War (1914–1918).
Panteley Kiselov was a Bulgarian soldier and general who fought in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 and World War I. He is best known as commander of the 4th Preslav Infantry Division during the Romanian Campaign of 1916 and victor of the Battle of Tutrakan.
Stefan Toshev was a Bulgarian general, from World War I. His mother was a teacher from the period of the National Revival. He volunteered in the Bulgarian Opalchentsi Corps during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) and later served as a translator. On 10 May 1879, he graduated from the Military School in Sofia in its first year. Then he served in the Police force of Eastern Rumelia.
The Bulgarian Second Army was a Bulgarian field army during the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II.
The Bulgarian Third Army was a Bulgarian field army during the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II.
The Bulgarian Fifth Army was a Bulgarian field army during the Second Balkan War and World War II.
Stefan Mikhailov Nerezov was a Bulgarian General and Chief of the Bulgarian Army Staff.
The Second Battle of Cobadin took place from 19 to 25 October 1916 between the Central Powers, chiefly the Bulgarian Third Army, and the Entente, represented by the Russo–Romanian Dobruja Army. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the Central Powers; it resulted in the occupation of the strategic port of Constanța and the capture of the railway between that city and Cernavodă.
Ivan Kolev Stoyanov was a Bulgarian lieutenant general and distinguished cavalry commander during World War I.
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 and represented half the field forces of the Balkan League. Its greater part was deployed in the main theater of the war in Thrace 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.
The following is the Bulgarian order of battle at the beginning of the second phase of the First Balkan War as of January 21, 1913. This order of battle includes all combat units, including engineer and artillery units, but not medical, supply, signal and border guard units.
The mobilization of the Bulgarian Army on the eve of the Kingdom of Bulgaria's entry into World War I took place between 11 and 30 September 1915. It was a direct consequence of the military convention between the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria and the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between Bulgaria and Germany that were signed on 6 September, marking the official alignment of the country with the Central Powers.
The following is the Bulgarian order of battle at the start of the Second Balkan War as of 29 June [O.S. 16 June] 1913. This order of battle includes all combat units, including engineer and artillery units, but not medical, supply, signal, border guard and garrison units.
Nikola Dimitrov Nedeva was a Bulgarian Major general, politician and military historian. He was the Minister of Interior affairs and Public Health in the third and fourth cabinets of Georgi Kyoseivanov.
Todor Dimitrov Kantardzhiev was a Bulgarian lieutenant general and doctor.
Alexander Andreev Tanev was a 20th-century Bulgarian officer, lieutenant general of the cavalry, inspector of the cavalry from 1913 to 1915, commander of the cavalry division from October to November 1915 and was commander of the 1st divisional district until 1916.
Hristo Dimitrov Burmov was a Bulgarian Major General who was the Chief of the Defence of Bulgaria from July 17, 1918, to October 10, 1918. He also served in World War I in the Macedonian front and was one of the main Bulgarian commanders of the Vardar offensive that eventually led to the surrender of Bulgaria.
