The accomplishment of the Independence of Bulgaria revitalized its foreign policy’s agenda towards the amendment of the decisions of the Congress of Berlin (1878) and the liberation and unification of all Bulgarians, remaining under Ottoman rule. War emerged as the unavoidable outcome of the failed attempts to resolve the national question through the tools of diplomacy and through revolutionary actions. The road to the Balkan League, the declaration of the First Balkan War, the reaction to the mobilization in Bulgaria, and the plans of the participants in the conflict are just some of the topics addressed in the exhibition. Visitors can follow the accomplishments of the Bulgarian army in Eastern Thrace and the Rhodopes, the actions of the Navy and its first naval victory, of the aviation and its contributions. The emphasis is on the capture of the Adrianople fortress, which led to the end of the First Balkan War. The history is richly illustrated with photos and film archive footage, as well as numerous exhibits from the collection of the National Museum of Military History: a field uniform and field office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Active Army, Tsar Ferdinand I, personal belongings of Queen Eleonora and of the heir apparent, Prince Boris of Tarnovo, officers and soldiers, weapons and equipment used in the war.
In this gallery, visitors will learn of the causes, the course, and the outcome of the Second Balkan War – a conflict that grew out of the disproportionate distribution of Balkan League military forces during the First Balkan War (1912–1913) and the unresolved issues related to the division of the newly liberated territories after the war against the Ottoman Empire.
