The die is cast as Bulgaria embarks on a surprise attack against Serbia and Greece to gain the territories it feels it has earned.

Major Characters in this Episode:

PM Danev

PM Radoslavov

James Bouchier

Tsar Ferdinand

Tsar Nicholas II

General Savov

King Constantine

Timeline for this episode:

• 1913, June 16th - Bulgarian forces capture the port of Leftera and bombard Greek ships there.

• 1913, June 16th - Greek troops capture the 1,200 Bulgarian soldiers in Thessaloniki.

• 1913, June 17-26th - Battle of Bregalnica

• 1913, June 18th - The Bulgarian government orders the fighting to cease.

• 1913, June 18th - The Russian government invites the Balkan states to a conference in St. Petersburg.

• 1913, June 18-19th - Battle of Kalimanci

• 1913, June 19th - The Serbian army burns the Macedonian village of Zletovo and massacres its population.

• 1913, June 19-21st - Battle of Krivolak

• 1913, June 19-21st - The Greek army captures Kilkis, a town north of Thessaloniki, and burns it to the ground.

• 1913, June 22nd - The First Bulgarian Army captures Knyazhevets.

• 1913, June 23rd - The Greek army captures Dorian.

• 1913, June 23rd - The Serbian army captures and executes the headquarters of the Bulgarian 6th Cavalry Regiment.

• 1913, June 23rd - The Romanian army begins mobilizing.

• 1913, June 24th - The First Bulgarian Army captures Pirot.

• 1913, June 26th - The Greek army captures Kavala.

• 1913, June 28th - The Greek army captures Serres.

• 1913, June 28th - Romania intervenes by declaring war on Bulgaria.

• 1913, June 30th - The Ottoman Empire intervenes in the Second Balkan War.

• 1913, July 1-18 - The Serbian army makes several failed attempts to take Vidin.

• 1913, July 2nd - The Romanian army crosses the Danube at Oryahovo, Gigen, and Nikopol.

• 1913, July 2nd - The Serbian army captures Belogradchik

• 1913, July 4th - The Romanian army captures Dobrich.

• 1913, July 5th - The Romanian army captures Balchik and Varna.

• 1913, July 6th - The Greek army captures Nevrokop (modern Gotse Delchev).

• 1913, July 9-11th - The Greek army pushes north through the Kresna Gorge.

• 1913, July 10th - Romanian forces reach the outskirts of Sofia (where the airport is now).

• 1913, July 10th - Ottoman forces take Adrianople.

• 1913, July 10th - The Greek army captures Bansko and Razlog.

• 1913, July 11th - Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to begin negotiations for an armistice.

• 1913, July 13th - A new coalition government takes power under Vasil Radoslavov.

• 1913, July 13th - Turks living in Gorna Dzhumaya begin a revolt against retreating Bulgarian troops.

• 1913, July 12-14th - The Greek army is repulsed near Simitli.

• 1913, July 15th - The Romanian army reaches Pirdop and Zlatitsa.

• 1913, July 15th - The Second Bulgarian Army begins an offensive against Greeks around Bregalnitsa and Mesta, surrounding them in the Kresna Gorge and forcing the Greeks to accept a truce.

• 1913, July 16th - The Great Powers finalize the borders of the new Principality of Albania. Notes on the new Albanian state, though Serbia refuses to withdraw from Albanian border.

• 1913, July 17-28th - The Bucharest Peace Conference begins.

• 1913, July 18th - A 5 day truce (later made indefinite) is agreed to, ending the fighting of the Second Balkan War.

• 1913, July 28th - The Treaty of Bucharest is signed.

• 1913, July 29th - The Bulgarian army is demobilized.

• 1913, July 30th - The National Assembly Allocates half a million leva to support refugees from the wars.

• 1913, July 30th - Romania, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro sign an anti-Bulgarian alliance.

Sources used in this episode:

• For Freedom and Perfection: The Life of Yané Sandansky by Mercia MacDermott

• The Balkan Wars 1912-1913: Prelude to the First World War by Richard C. Hall

• Prelude to the First World War: The Balkan Wars 1912-1913 by E.R. Hooton

• The Wars of Yesterday: The Balkan Wars and the Emergence of Modern Military Conflict, 1912-1913 Edited by Katrin Boeskh and Sabine Rutar

• The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark

• The Rough Road to Statecraft: The Life of Bulgaria’s Ivan E. Gueshoff by Elena Statelova

• Foxy Ferdinand: Tsar of Bulgaria by Stephen Constant