Mihail Georgiev Savov ( bg, Михаил Савов) (14 November 1857 in

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province. Name The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieva ...

- 21 July 1928 in

Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey (; Provençal: ''Sant Valier de Tièir'') is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Geography It is located some 12 kilometres northwest of the famed perfume centre of Grasse on the D6085 h ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

) was a

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 Mac ...

n general, twice Minister of Defence (1891–1894 and 1903–1907), second in command of the

Bulgarian army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establish ...

during the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

. He was twice dismissed from the army and twice reassigned with the help of

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the te ...

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

. Mihail Savov and Ferdinand are considered the main characters responsible for the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

Biography

Mihail Savov was born on 14 November (26 November NS) 1859 in Eski Zagra (

), at that time under Ottoman rule. He studied in Hasköy (

Haskovo Haskovo ( bg, Хасково ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional D ...

), Filibe (

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

), in the

Aprilov National High School The Aprilov National High School (Национална Априловска гимназия) in Gabrovo is the first modern secular school in Bulgaria. It was opened on 2 January 1835, when Bulgaria was still part of the Ottoman Empire, with the ...

Gabrovo Gabrovo ( bg, Габрово ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an internati ...

and then in the Imperial lyceum Galatasaray in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

(1876). He graduated the Military School in Sofia in 1879 as

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

. On 9 July 1881 he was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

and then continued his education in the Nicolas General Staff Academy in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(1881–1885).Ташев, Ташо (1999). ''Министрите на България 1879-1999''. София: АИ "Проф. Марин Дринов" / Изд. на МО. / After his return to Bulgaria, he was appointed in the

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Otto ...

militia. On 9 September 1885 he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and with Order №4 of

Knyaz , or (Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

Alexander Batenberg in the same day he was appointed for

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

in the army.

Serbo-Bulgarian War

During the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Serb ...

in 1885 he was appointed as head of one of the departments of the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

and commanded the left flank during the

battle of Slivnitsa The Battle of Slivnitsa ( bg, Битка при Сливница, sr, Битка на Сливници) was a victory of the Bulgarian army over the Serbians on 17–19 November 1885 in the Serbo-Bulgarian War. It solidified the unification ...

. He had contributions for the defeat of the Serbian Morava Division and the successful battle of Pirot. He was awarded with Order of Bravery III grade. In 1886, he participated in the commission for the settlement of the Bulgarian-Ottoman border in the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder i ...

and served in the headquarters of the Minister of Defence. Between 1886 and 1887 he was assistant of the Defence Minister. On 17 April 1887 he was promoted to major and worked in the Department of the General Stuff as officer in the 5th infantry brigade. In 1887 Mihail Savov was appointed for Fligel Adjutant of Knyaz

. On 16 February he became Minister of Defence in the cabinet of

Stefan Stambolov Stefan Nikolov Stambolov ( bg, Стефан Николов Стамболов) (31 January 1854 OS– 19 July 1895 OS) was a Bulgarian politician, journalist, revolutionary, and poet who served as Prime Minister and regent. He is consider ...

and on 2 August in the same year was promoted to lieutenant colonel. After the fall of Stambolov in 1894, he was dismissed from the army, but in 1897 his position was restored and he became director of the Military School until 1903. On 1 January 1899 he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

. Between 1903 and 1908 Savov was again Minister of Defence in the third cabinet of

Stoyan Danev Stoyan Petrov Danev ( bg, Стоян Петров Данев) (28 January 1858, in Şumnu, Ottoman Empire (today Shumen) – 30 July 1949) was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician and twice Prime Minister. A legal graduate of both the Uni ...

, in the second cabinet of Racho Petrov and in the cabinets of Dimitar Petkov, Dimitar Stanchov and

Petar Gudev Petar Todorov Gudev () (13 July 1863, Gradets – 8 May 1932, Sofia) was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician, who served as Prime Minister. Gudev was appointed Prime Minister following the assassination of his predecessor Dimitar Pet ...

. On 1 January 1904 he was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. In 1907 he was charged for corruption and malpractice with the supply of weapons. On 30 October 1908 he was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and left the army for the second time.

Balkan Wars

After the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

broke out in 1912 General Savov was restored on service and was appointed on the newly created position Assistant of the Commander (Tsar Ferdinand). On his orders the Bulgarian army attacked the Ottoman defense lines at

Chatalja Choristi ( el, Χωριστή, before 1927: Τσατάλτζα – ''Tsataltza'', bg, Чаталджа – ''Chataldzha'') is a town in Drama municipality, Drama regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace region, Greece. The town is located a ...

despite the fact that the Bulgarians were outnumbered, the over-stretched supply-lines and the cholera epidemic among the soldiers. He also issued the attack against the Serb and Greek armies which flamed the

in 1913. On 29 June 1913 he was put in command of the united 4th and 5th Armies and on 14 July 2nd Army was also joined. He was one of the commanders in the

battle of Kresna Gorge The Battle of Kresna Gorge was fought in 1913 between the Greeks and the Bulgarians during the Second Balkan War. The battle was fought over an eleven day period, between 8–18 July, over a front of 20 km, in a maze of forests and mountai ...

. After the war he was again dismissed trialed by the State Court in 1914. In the next years Mihail Savov lived in

. After the

First World War 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 fig ...

he became Minister Phenipotentiary in France (1920–1923) and Belgium (1922–1923). Lieutenant General Mihail Savov died on 21 July 1928 in

in France and was buried on 18 August in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

Awards

* Order of Bravery, II grade; III grade *

Order of St Alexander The Order of St Alexander ( bg, Орден "Свети Александър") was the second highest Bulgarian order during the Kingdom of Bulgaria. It was established by Knyaz Alexander I and named after his patron saint (Alexander Nevsky). ...

, I and II grade with brilliants * Order of Military Merit, I grade *

Order of Stara Planina Orders, decorations and medals of Bulgaria are regulated by the law on the Orders and Medals of the Republic of Bulgaria of 29 May 2003. The National Military History Museum of Bulgaria in Sofia currently has over 150 Bulgarian Orders in the col ...

, 1st grade with swords - awarded posthumously on 20 December 2012Указ № 436 от 20 декември 2012 г. за награждаване посмъртно с орден „Стара планина“ първа степен с мечове на генерал-лейтенант Михаил Попов Савов
(Държавен вестник, брой 2, 8.1.2013, стр. 3)

Footnotes

Sources

* Недев, С., ''Командването на българската войска през войните за национално обединение'', София, 1993, Военноиздателски комплекс „Св. Георги Победоносец“, стр. 56 * Димитров, И., ''Съединението 1885 - енциклопедичен справочник'', София, 1985, Държавно издателство „д-р Петър Берон“, стр. 182 {{DEFAULTSORT:Savov, Mihail Bulgarian generals Bulgarian military personnel of the Balkan Wars Recipients of the Order of Bravery Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria) People from Stara Zagora People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War Bulgarian expatriates in France 1857 births 1928 deaths Burials at Central Sofia Cemetery Defence ministers of Bulgaria