The Axis Powers formalize their alliance with the creation of the Tripartite Pact. Then, just as the war in Europe begins to slow down, the Italian invasion of Greece puts new pressure on Bulgaria to join the war. The question hanging in the air is just how long Bulgaria can resist Axis arm twisting.

Major Characters in this Episode:

Tsar Boris III

Adolf Hitler

Prime Minister Bogdan Filov

Foreign Minister Von Ribbentrop

Benito Mussolini

Timeline

• 1940, Sep 17th - Germany gives up on its plans to invade Britain.

• 1940, Sep 21st - The Bulgarian army reoccupies Southern Dobrudja.

• 1940, Sep 27th - The Tripartite Pact is created.

• 1940, Oct 14th - British King George VI sends a message to Boris III warning Bulgaria not to ally with Germany because it will become a theater of military operations in the war.

• 1940, Oct 16th - Mussolini sends a message to Tsar Boris III proposing that Bulgaria participate in a future Italian military operation against Greece planned for October 26th. He offers Bulgaria Western Thrace in return.

• 1940, Oct 16th - German foreign minister Von Ribbentrop sends a telegram insisting Bulgaria join the Tripartite Pact.

• 1940, Oct 19th - Tsar Boris sends a letter to Mussolini refusing to participate in the invasion of Greece.

• 1940, Oct 19th - Tsar Boris sends a letter to Hitler refusing to join the Tripartite Pact.

• 1940, Oct 19-23rd - The Yugoslav Communist Party holds a conference in Zagreb.

• 1940, Oct 28th - Italy invades Greece. Context on Glenny 463. Within two weeks the Italians are in retreat.

• 1940, Oct 31st - The Battle of Britain ends as the Luftwaffe gives up on its ambition to dominate the British skies ahead of an amphibious invasion.

• 1940, Nov 11th - A coupon system for rationing is introduced.

• 1940, Nov 12th - Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov meets Hitler in Berlin. There, the question of where Bulgaria fit into the spheres of influence laid out in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact is raised and the Soviets insist that Bulgaria must be within their sphere.

• 1940, Nov 12th - Hitler instructs his generals to begin preparations for an invasion of Greece and, if necessary, Bulgaria.

• 1940, Nov 17th - Tsar Boris III visits Berlin where he once again rejects joining the Tripartite Pact but does privately allow German troops into the country in secret.

• 1940, Nov 18th - Hitler and Mussolini meet to discuss what to do about Italy’s failing invasion of Greece.

• 1940, Nov 18th - Molotov speaks with the Bulgarian ambassador to the USSR about Bulgaria’s political position.

• 1940, Nov 20-24th - Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia join the Axis Powers.

• 1940, Nov 24th - Mussolini again proposes Bulgaria join the war against Greece in exchange for Western Thrace.

• 1940, Nov 24-26th - The Soviet Chief Secretary of the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs arrives in Sofia and proposes a pact in which the USSR would guarantee Bulgaria’s independence. It also proposed granting Bulgaria Thrace while giving the USSR the Dardanelles. The government rejects the offer fearing this would be the first step of a Soviet takeover as had happened in the Baltic states. Bulgarian Communists organize a petition in support of the proposal.

Sources:

• История на България в Дати by Vasil Katsunov, Plamen Mitev, Valeri Kolev, Evgenia Kalinova, and Iskra Baeva

• Crown of Thorns by Stephane Groueff

• History of the Balkans: Twentieth Century by Barbara Jelavich

• Bulgaria During the Second World War by Marshall E. Miller