Mihail Georgiev Savov () (14 November 1857 in

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora (, ) is a city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain, near the cities of Kazanlak, Plovdiv, and Sliven. Its population is 121,582 making it the sixth largest c ...

- 21 July 1928 in Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

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

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

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

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

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

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), Filibe (

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

), in the Aprilov National High School in Gabrovo and then in the Imperial lyceum Galatasaray in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

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

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. 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 se ...

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

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(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 militia. On 9 September 1885 he was promoted to captain and with Order №4 of

Knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

Alexander Batenberg in the same day he was appointed for

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), 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 ...

in the army.

Serbo-Bulgarian War

During the Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885 he was appointed as head of one of the departments of the Ministry of Defence and commanded the left flank during the battle of Slivnitsa. 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 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 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 (armed forces), 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 colon ...

Between 1903 and 1908 Savov was again Minister of Defence in the third cabinet of Stoyan Danev, in the second cabinet of Racho Petrov and in the cabinets of Dimitar Petkov, Dimitar Stanchov and Petar Gudev. On 1 January 1904 he was promoted to major general. 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 military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

and left the army for the second time.

Balkan Wars

After the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

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 despite the fact that the Bulgarians were outnumbered, the over-stretched supply-lines and the

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic among the soldiers. He also issued the attack against the Serb and Greek armies which flamed the Second Balkan War 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. 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he became Minister Phenipotentiary in France (1920–1923) and Belgium (1922–1923). Lieutenant General Mihail Savov died on 21 July 1928 in Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey in France and was buried on 18 August in

Sofia Sofia 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 part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

Awards

* Order of Bravery, II grade; III grade * Order of St Alexander, I and II grade with brilliants * Order of Military Merit, I grade * Order of Stara Planina, 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 People from the Ottoman Empire Imperial Nikolayev Military Academy alumni