The Armistice of Salonica (also known as the Armistice of Thessalonica) was signed on 29 September 1918 between

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and the Allied Powers in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

. The convention followed a request by the Bulgarian government for a

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

on 24 September.

Surrender

The armistice effectively ended Bulgaria's participation in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

on the side of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

and came into effect on the Bulgarian Front at noon on 30 September. The armistice regulated the demobilization and the disarmament of the Bulgarian armed forces. The signatories were, for the Allies, French General

Louis Franchet d'Espérey Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

, commander of the

Allied Army of the Orient upright=1.1, Allied collaboration: an Italian captain, a Russian lieutenant, a Serb colonel, a French lieutenant, and a Greek gendarme The Allied Army of the Orient (AAO) (french: Armées alliées en Orient) was the name of the unified command over ...

, and a commission appointed by the Bulgarian government, which was composed of General Ivan Lukov (member of the Bulgarian Army headquarters),

Andrey Lyapchev Andrey Tasev Lyapchev (Tarpov) ( bg, Андрей Тасев Ляпчев (Tърпов)) (30 November 1866 – 6 November 1933) was a Bulgarian Prime Minister in three consecutive governments. Early years Lyapchev was born in the Macedonian c ...

(cabinet member) and

Simeon Radev Simeon Traychev Radev ( bg, Симеон Трайчев Радев; 19 January 1879 – 15 February 1967) was a Bulgarian writer, journalist, diplomat and historian, most famous for his three-volume book ''The Builders of Modern Bulgaria''. Biog ...

(diplomat). Its importance was described by German Emperor

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

in his telegram to Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand I: "Disgraceful! 62,000 Serbs decided the war!" On 29 September 1918, the

Oberste Heeresleitung The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, Supreme Army Command or OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' ...

(German Supreme Army Command) informed Wilhelm and the

German Chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Georg von Hertling Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Hertling, from 1914 Count von Hertling, (31 August 1843 – 4 January 1919) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party. He was foreign minister and minister president of Bavaria, then chancellor of t ...

, that Germany's military situation was hopeless. On 14 October 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire asked for an armistice, and on 15 October 1918 Turkish Grand vizier

Ahmed Izzet Pasha Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

sent a captured British general,

Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, (21 February 1861 – 18 May 1924) was a British soldier who during the First World War led an overreaching military campaign in Mesopotamia. His troops were besieged and captured at the Si ...

, to the Allies to seek terms for an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

Terms

The terms called for the immediate demobilization of all Bulgarian military activities. It ordered the evacuation of Bulgarian-occupied Greek and Serbian territories, placed limits and restrictions to the size of Bulgaria's military employment and required Bulgaria to return military equipment that had been taken from the Greek Fourth Army Corps during the Bulgarian occupation of Eastern Macedonia in 1916. German and Austrian-Hungarian troops were to leave Bulgaria within four weeks. Bulgaria and especially Sofia were not to be occupied, but the Allies had the right to occupy some strategic points temporarily and to transfer troops over Bulgarian territory. According to Article 5, about 150,000 Bulgarian soldiers to the west of the

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Sk ...

meridian were to be delivered to the Entente as hostages. The French would send troops to Romania and the British and Greeks to European Turkey, which was still at war with the Allies. The armistice would remain in effect until the conclusion of the

Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (french: Traité de Neuilly-sur-Seine) required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly ...

, the final general peace treaty, in November 1919.

References

Sources

* (1919) "Bulgaria Armistice Convention, September 29th, 1918". ''The American Journal of International Law Vol. 13 No.4 Supplement: Official Documents'', 402-404. *