CONTEXTUL POLITICO-MILITAR PRIVIND RELAȚIILE ROMÂNO-BULGARE ÎN OLTENIA LA SFÂRȘITUL PRIMULUI RĂZBOI MONDIAL

At the end of the World War I, Romanian-Bulgarian relations were tense due to territorial disputes and the military presence in the region. Romania and Bulgaria were involved in direct confrontations throughout the war, and after its conclusion, peace negotiations resulted in significant territorial losses for Bulgaria. Romania gained control over regions of southern Dobrogea and northern Bulgaria, while Bulgaria was forced to cede territory to Romania and other states under peace treaties signed at the end of the war. These territorial changes affected bilateral relations between the two countries and contributed to political instability in the Balkan region. At the beginning of 1918, Romania was in a difficult situation, a result of the political events in Tsarist Russia, from the fall of 1917. In 1918, Romanian-Bulgarian relations were strongly influenced by the political and military context of the First World War. While Romania was on the side of the Allied Powers (along with France, Great Britain, Russia and others), Bulgaria was allied with the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and others). Towards 1900, due to its ethnic homogeneity, its geostrategic position and its role during some events from the previous decades, Oltenia had reached within the Romanian collective perception a specific position: the hardcore of the national identity and the hinterland of resistance.