Българските военни аташета в Швейцария по време на Първата световна война. Организационни, управленски и оперативни аспекти на дейността им
Bulgarian Military Attaches in Switzerland during First World War. Organization, Management and Operative Aspects of their Activities

Summary/Abstract: In the article an attempt for thorough reconstruction of the activities of two Bulgarian military attaches in Switzerland during the First World War is made - colonel Franz Chervenakov and major Dimitar Bogdanov. The following specific questions are studied: the known biographical data for both these officers; the legal means and agents they used in the Alpine republic; the conditions in which they conducted their work; the intelligence and counterintelligence work they did; their additional engagements. As a result the following conclusions are reached: that in the circle of the Bulgarian political and military leaders at the eve of the First World War there is no long-term strategy for the development of the military-diplomatic institution. Many weak points and omissions are observed in the activities of both officers. At the same time their successes in secret service and operative work are brought to light. In the process of work it became imperative to concentrate on some additional problems. Among these were the personality and the behavior in Switzerland of the Bulgarian plenipotentiary minister Georgi Pasarov, who created with his actions too great difficulties for the work of colonel Chervenakov and in the spring of 1918 he even succeeded to provoke the recalling of the Bulgarian officer. The second concomitant question concerns the attempts of the Bulgarian official and unofficial persons to start negotiations for separate peace with the Entente in Switzerland during the First World War. The consideration of this problem concerns the necessity to find out if both officers have some significant role in these attempts. Unfortunately, the existing information is not sufficient for final conclusions. In the course of work some new questions stand out and it is desirable the study to be continued - for example the possible connections during the war of representatives of the Bulgarian generals with Entente secret services.

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