Georgy Todorov Bulgarian infantry general. Date of Birth: 10.08.1858 Country: Bulgaria

Georgi Todorov - Biography of a Bulgarian Infantry General

Georgi Todorov was a Bulgarian infantry general born on August 15, 1917. He volunteered to participate in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Todorov received his education at a military school in Sofia in 1879. In 1882, he entered the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, but left during his final year to volunteer as a captain in the Serbian-Bulgarian War of 1885. He commanded the Flying Detachment, which operated in the area between Vidin and Kula. Todorov actively participated in the coup that led to the overthrow of Prince Alexander I of Battenberg. As one of the co-conspirators, he was dismissed from the army in September 1886 but reinstated in 1887.

During his military career, Todorov served as an inspector of classes at a military school, the chief of the Sevlievo garrison, and the commander of the 20th Infantry Dobrudzha Regiment and the 19th Infantry Shumen Regiment. He also commanded the 1st Brigade of the 6th Division. On January 1, 1910, he was appointed as the commander of the 7th Rila Infantry Division, which he led during the First Balkan War of 1912-1913 in the Salonika region. In January 1913, Todorov distinguished himself by repelling a Turkish attack near Bulair. He also distinguished himself in the Second Balkan War of 1913 in the Battle of Kalimantsi from July 4-18.

After the war, Todorov served as an inspector of the 2nd military inspection area. With the outbreak of World War I on September 15, 1915, the 2nd Army Staff was formed based on the inspection area, and Todorov was appointed as its commander. The army consisted of the 3rd Balkan, 7th Rila, 2nd Thracian, 5th Danube, 11th Macedonian Infantry, and cavalry divisions (2nd and 4th Cavalry Brigades), as well as 3 border militias and auxiliary units, totaling around 228,000 people. During the campaign against Serbia from October to December 1915, Todorov's army invaded Macedonia, quickly reaching Vodena. On October 22, they captured the railway station in Vranje and then a 100-kilometer section of the Vranje-Uskub route, cutting off the telegraph communication between the Serbian army and the allied forces in Salonika. From October 22-25, they were successful in battles against the expeditionary corps. However, from November 6-15, the attacks by Todorov's army at Kachanik, Babuna, and Krivolak were repelled, and he was forced to transition to a defensive stance. On November 22, Serbian forces launched a counterattack against the right wing of Todorov's army at Ferizovik. Due to the weakness of his army, he was unable to fulfill the task assigned to him - to cut off the main forces of the Serbian army near Kragujevac and destroy them.

In February 1918, Todorov handed over command of the army and was appointed as the commander of the 3rd Army on the Dobrudzha Front. In early 1918, he commanded a group of Bulgarian troops in Macedonia and concurrently held the position of assistant to General N. Zhekov. In June 1918, the 3rd Army was disbanded. In September 1918, due to Zhekov's illness, Todorov effectively took over the leadership of the Bulgarian army. At the end of September 1918, Todorov's forces suffered a heavy defeat against the combined Serbian, French, British, Greek, and Italian forces under the overall command of General Louis Franchet d'Esperey. The collapse of the front was accompanied by the outbreak of an uprising in the country. The consequence of Todorov's defeat was the armistice signed by Bulgaria in Thessaloniki on September 29, 1918. After demobilization, he held the position of a general aide-de-camp to King Boris III for a while, but was dismissed from service in 1919.