Lieutenant-colonel Ivan Valkov and the Dispute over the Location of the Second Army’s Main Position on the Macedonian Front in 1916

The driving of the Entente forces beyond the old Serbian-Greek border at the end of 1915 was followed by calm on Macedonia’s fronts. 

The termination of active warfare was used by the Bulgarian commanding officers for the reorganization and relocation of units. At the same time, the Main Headquarters in Kyustendil took serious precautions for the reinforcement of the positions reached by the Bulgarian soldiers. When organizing the defense, the Bulgarian and the German commanders paid special attention to the Vardar valley in the area of Doyran. This part of the front was estimated as the one granting most chances to the Entente forces for a breakthrough in the Bulgarian defense and a successful advance to the north, towards Skopje.

 In the beginning of 1916, a Bulgarian-German group of officers was given the task to determine where and how the main position of the Bulgarian forces should be placed in this part of the Macedonian front. In the course of the heated discussions that ensued, the Bulgarian representatives’ suggestion to organize the line of defense on the ridge of the Belasitsa Mountain was accepted.