After turning back the initial Serbian attack, Bulgarian forces enter Serbia. But while the Bulgarian army is advancing in the field, diplomats on all sides are rushing to resolve the war. The question is whether military victories will be enough to secure unification and the future of Prince Alexander Battenberg.

Major Characters in this Episode

Prince Alexander

King Milan of Serbia

Ivan Gueshoff

Petko Karavelov

Dragan Tsankov

Stefan Stambolov

Timeline for this Episode

• 1885, Nov 9th: Siege of Vidin begins

• 1885, Nov 10th: Battle of Dragoman

• 1885, Nov 11-12th: The Second Battle of Tsaribrod

• 1885, Nov 12th: The Serbian army is pushed back into Serbia in the center.

• 1885, Nov 14-15th, the Battle of Pirot

• 1885, Nov 16th, Bulgaria is forced to accept a ceasefire after Austro-Hungarian threats of intervention.

• 1885 Dec 4th – A protocol for the acquisition of the Russe-Varna railroad by Bulgaria from Great Britain is signed.

• 1885 Dec 9th – The Pirot agreement is signed

• 1885 Dec 23rd – The judicial laws of the kingdom are passed in Southern Bulgaria.

• 1885 throughout the year – Issuing of the first Bulgarian banknotes

• 1886, Jan 20th - Bulgarian-Turkish convention for the Unification.

• 1886, Jan 23rd - Start of peace negotiations between Bulgaria and Serbia in Bucharest.

• 1886 Feb 19/March 3rd - The Bucharest peace treaty is signed. The Bulgarian-Serbian war comes to an end and the pre-war state of things is restored.

• 1886, Feb - Ivan Vazov’s book of poems Slivnitsa is published in Plovdiv.

• 1886, March 24th - The Tophane Agreement: the Great powers and the High Gate recognise the Unification on knyaz Aleksander I’s birthday.

• 1886, April 13th - Founding of the Red Cross medal.

• 1886, May 7th - A conspiracy for the kidnapping of knyaz Aleksander I between Burgas and Aitos and turning him over to the Russians by captain Nicholas Nabokov is intercepted.