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[Footnote 1: This was formed by the stream Zletovska, a tributary of the river Bregalnica, which in its turn
falls into the Vardar on its left or eastern bank about 40 miles south of Skoplje (Üsküb).]
On the other hand, the relations between Bulgaria and its two allies had been noticeably growing worse ever
since January 1913; Bulgaria felt aggrieved that, in spite of its great sacrifices, it had not been able to occupy
so much territory as Greece and Serbia, and the fact that Adrianople was taken with Serbian help did not
improve the feeling between the two Slav nations. The growth of Bulgarian animosity put Greece and Serbia
on their guard, and, well knowing the direction which an eventual attack would take, these two countries on
June 2, 1913, signed a military convention and made all the necessary dispositions for resisting any
aggression on Bulgaria's part. At one o'clock in the morning of June 30 the Bulgarians, without provocation,
without declaration of war, and without warning, crossed the Bregalnica (a tributary of the Vardar) and
attacked the Serbs. A most violent battle ensued which lasted for several days; at some points the Bulgarians,
thanks to the suddenness of their offensive, were temporarily successful, but gradually the Serbs regained the
The Balkans - A History Of Bulgaria--Serbia--Greece--Rumania--Turkey 57
upper hand and by July 1 the Bulgarians were beaten. The losses were very heavy on both sides, but the final
issue was a complete triumph for the Serbian army. Slivnitsa was avenged by the battle of the Bregalnica, just
as Kosovo was by that of Kumanovo. After a triumphant campaign of one month, in which the Serbs were
joined by the Greeks, Bulgaria had to bow to the inevitable. The Rumanian army had invaded northern
Bulgaria, bent on maintaining the Balkan equilibrium and on securing compensation for having observed
neutrality during the war of 1912-13, and famine reigned at Sofia. A conference was arranged at Bucarest, and
the treaty of that name was signed there on August 10, 1913. By the terms of this treaty Serbia retained the
whole of northern and central Macedonia, including Monastir and Okhrida, and the famous sandjak of
Novi-Pazar was divided between Serbia and Montenegro. Some districts of east-central Macedonia, which
were genuinely Bulgarian, were included in Serbian territory, as Serbia naturally did not wish, after the
disquieting and costly experience of June and July 1913, to give the Bulgarians another chance of separating
Greek from Serbian territory by a fresh surprise attack, and the further the Bulgarians could be kept from the
Vardar river and railway the less likelihood there was of this. The state of feeling in the Germanic capitals and
in Budapest after this ignominious defeat of their protégé Bulgaria and after this fresh triumph of the despised
and hated Serbians can be imagined. Bitterly disappointed first at seeing the Turks vanquished by the Balkan
League--their greatest admirers could not even claim that the Turks had had any 'moral' victories--their
chagrin, when they saw the Bulgarians trounced by the Serbians, knew no bounds. That the secretly prepared
attack on Serbia by Bulgaria was planned in Vienna and Budapest there is no doubt. That Bulgaria was
justified in feeling disappointment and resentment at the result of the first Balkan War no one denies, but the
method chosen to redress its wrongs could only have been suggested by the Germanic school of diplomacy.
In Serbia and Montenegro the result of the two successive Balkan Wars, though these had exhausted the
material resources of the two countries, was a justifiable return of national self-confidence and rejoicing such
as the people, humiliated and impoverished as it had habitually been by its internal and external troubles, had
not known for very many years. At last Serbia and Montenegro had joined hands. At last Old Serbia was
restored to the free kingdom. At last Skoplje, the mediaeval capital of Tsar Stephen Du[)s]an, was again in
Serbian territory. At last one of the most important portions of unredeemed Serbia had been reclaimed.
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