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Petar Ganchev

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Petar Genchev.
Major General

Petar Ganchev
Ganchev (fourth from left) with German military officers and Prince Boris of Bulgaria on 16 November 1915
Native name
Петър Ганчев
Born(1874-01-08)8 January 1874
Veliko Tarnovo, Ottoman Empire
Died1950 (aged 75–76)
Geneva, Switzerland
Allegiance Bulgaria
Service / branch Bulgarian Army
Years of service1893–1919
RankMajor general
Battles / wars

Petar Ganchev[a] (Bulgarian: Петър Ганчев; 8 January 1874 – 1950) was a Bulgarian military attaché. He helped negotiate Bulgaria's entry into World War I on the side of the Central Powers. He also attended the peace proceedings that resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Biography

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Petar Ganchev was born on 8 January 1874 in Veliko Tarnovo, Ottoman Empire. He entered military service in the Bulgarian Army in 1893.[1][better source needed] Ganchev received part of his education in France and spoken fluent French.[2]: 25 

Before World War I, Ganchev was a Bulgarian military attaché to Belgrade[3]: 73–74  and Berlin.[4]: 87  By 1915, Ganchev held the rank of colonel[4]: 87  and the position of General of the General Staff and Delegate of the Royal Bulgarian Government.[5]: 746–748 

On 3 August 1915, Ganchev traveled to the military headquarters of the German Empire on behalf of Bulgarian prime minister Vasil Radoslavov to negotiate Bulgaria's entry into World War I. He was authorized to sign an agreement joining Bulgaria to the Central Powers if terms were favorable. Ganchev demanded 200 million Swiss francs, German military support, and various territorial claims for Bulgaria; among his territorial demands he made to the German military included concessions from the Ottoman Empire, all of the region of Macedonia, all Serbian territory up to the Morava River, and — if Greece entered the war on the side of the Allied Powers — Kavala and Serres.[4]: 87 [6]: 61–62 

Ganchev (right, third from the top) with former tsar Ferdinand I and professors of Sofia University in 1929

On 6 September 1915, Ganchev, Erich von Falkenhayn, and Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf signed the Military Convention Between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria[5]: 746–748 [7]: 491  that accepted most of Bulgaria's demands as well as included a clause that Bulgaria would gain Dobruja if Romania joined the Allies.[4]: 88 [6]: 63  Bulgaria entered World War I on 11 October 1915 when it launched an invasion into Serbia.[4]: 90 

From 1917 and 1918, Ganchev was one of two Bulgarian delegates that attended the proceedings that resulted in the signing of the Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers and the later Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.[8]: 13  Ganchev presided over the 1 February 1918 plenary session of the peace negotiations.[8]: 131–132 

Towards the end of World War I, Ganchev was the commander-in-chief of Bulgarian forces on the Macedonian front. Ganchev was one of the signatories of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine on 27 November 1919 that formally ended Bulgaria's participation in World War I.[2]: 25 

By the time of Ganchev's retirement in 1919, he had obtained the rank of major general. Ganchev died in 1950 in Geneva, Switzerland.[1][better source needed]

Awards and decorations

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Ganchev received the following awards:[1][better source needed]

Notes

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  1. ^ Also spelt Gantchev, Gantcheff, or Gantscheff

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Ganchev, Petar Ganchev". Armed Conflicts.com. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b Domelier, Henri (1919). Behind the Scenes at German Headquarters (PDF). London, United Kingdom: Hurst and Blackett. OCLC 2383484. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  3. ^ Dumbalakov, Mikhail (1933). Презъ пламъцитѣ на живота и революцията [Through the Flames of Life and Revolution] (PDF) (in Bulgarian). Vol. 1. Sofia, Bulgaria: Hudozhnika Printing House. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Yokell, Matthew A. (19 July 2010). Sold to the Highest Bidder?: An Investigation of the Diplomacy Regarding Bulgaria's Entry into World War I (Thesis). Richmond, Virginia: University of Richmond. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b Lutz, Ralph H. Fall of the German Empire, 1914–1918. New York City, New York: Octagon Books. OCLC 26295. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  6. ^ a b Silberstein, Gerard E. (October 1967). "The Serbian Campaign of 1915: Its Diplomatic Background". The American Historical Review. 73 (1). Oxford University Press: 51–69. doi:10.2307/1849028. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 1849028. OCLC 5545174455.
  7. ^ DiNardo, Richard L. (2016). "The Limits of Envelopment: The Invasion of Serbia, 1915". This Historian. 78 (3): 486–503. doi:10.1111/hisn.12247. ISSN 0018-2370. JSTOR 26744863. OCLC 6833108079.
  8. ^ a b Proceedings of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Conference: The Peace Negotiations Between Russia and the Central Powers 21 November 1917 – 3 March 1918. Washington, D.C., United States: United States Government Publishing Office. 1918. LCCN 20020573. OCLC 1342549. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
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