Diplomacy at the Border: Sofia Embassy and Ali Fethi Bey’s Activities eve of Bulgaria’s World War I Decision

Abstract

Geographically, Bulgaria was of great importance to both warring sides during World War I, and both sides appeared willing to offer concessions to pull Bulgaria to their side. At the beginning of the war, the Bulgarian government declared its neutrality but seemed inclined to form an alliance with the Ottoman Empire and the Central Powers. However, due to instigation by opposition parties, there was a fear of developing a negative public sentiment against the Central Powers and the Ottoman Empire, which made Bulgaria hesitant to join the alliance. To establish the Berlin-Vienna-Istanbul connection, the concerns of the Bulgarian government needed to be addressed, and significant sacrifices were expected from the Ottoman Empire in this regard.

The Ottoman Empire agreed to the creation of a new border line with Bulgaria, with the understanding that the territory requiring the defence of Edirne would remain under its control. In return for this sacrifice, the Ottoman Empire requested Bulgaria to allow the passage of Ottoman ammunition and join the war on the side of the Central Powers. However, Bulgaria insisted on benefiting solely from the Maritsa River, complicating Turkish-Bulgarian negotiations and hindering their progress. Additionally, Bulgaria demanded that Kırklareli be left under its control in exchange for entering the war. These demands placed the Ottoman Empire in a difficult position. Granting Bulgaria's request, which would directly place Eastern Thrace under Bulgarian control, would eliminate the defence capabilities of Edirne for the Turkish side and leave no opportunity to defend against an invasion from the west. Therefore, it was not possible for the Ottoman Empire to accept an agreement that included Kırklareli, and the negotiations continued based on the line proposed by the Ottoman Empire, namely the Midye-Enez line.

In this context, this research examines Bulgaria's entry process into World War I by analyzing the Sofia Ottoman Embassy reports and diplomatic correspondence with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The archival material utilized consists of documents from the Political Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (HR.SYS.) and the Sofia Embassy (HR.SFR.04.) located in the Ottoman Archives of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. In addition to the archival documents, reports from Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), the military attaché in Sofia, to the Ministry of War and the General Staff, providing evaluations on various topics, have provided significant data related to the scope of this study.