The Bulgarian Army in the period 1919- 1938

The Peace Treaty of Neuilly / November 27th ,1919 / dismembered once again the Bulgarian nation , hindered its economic and cultural development and harmed the state sovereignty. Its military clauses do not allow keeping of a modern mass army. The staff of the Armed Forces was reduced to 30 000 , including the gendarmerie and the frontier guard. The air Force and the Navy were liquidated. The conscript system was abolished and the voluntary system for completion of the army was brought in.

In the middle of 30’s of 20th c. became possible the gradual modernization and improvement of the materialand technical providing of the Bulgarian Army by supplies from foreign countries. Motorized, armored, tank, air force and navy units were formed. This process was speeded up significantly after the Agreement of Thessalonike (July 31st ,1938), which cancelled the military clauses of the Peace Treaty of Neuilly.

The army maneuvers were a supreme moment in the preparation of the headquarters and troops in the period of re-organization and re-armament of the Bulgarian Army. The Great Tsar’s Maneuvers , carried out in 1937 near the town of Popovo and the Tsar’s Shooting Maneuvers , carried out in 1938 in the area of Liuben Village – Krasnovo Village, Plovdiv region, demonstrated dynamic development of the Bulgarian Army and its approach to the average developed European armies.