Nelson's history of the war. Vol. XI., The struggle for the Dvina, and the great invasion of Serbia

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14 HISTORY OF THE WAR.

torial reserve of some 20,000, and the recruits of the 1916 class—all told, about 60,000 men. She could thus mobilize approximately 360,000 men, much the same strength as she had raised for the war of 1912-13. Her infantry—the first line at all events—was of excellent quality, and she possessed a General Staff of the most approved German pattern. Her weakness lay in her artillery. To each of her fifteen divisions nine batteries of field guns and one of 4.7-inch howitzers were attached, too small a complement for modern war. There was reason to believe that not all her field-batteries were of the quick-firing type, and in any case they were of two separate patterns—Creusot “ 75’s,”” and the Krupp “77s,” which she had captured from the Turks in the Thracian campaign. This lack of uniformity of type was conspicuous also in her heavy pieces. The Bulgarian army was therefore a force which might be to some extent handicapped if engaged in open country with a well-equipped enemy, but which, owing to its veteran character, was well fitted for warfare in a blind and pathless mountain region.

The full tale of the intrigues of Sofia during the summer will not be told till the war has become a memory. We cannot yet solve the mystery of the currents and cross-currents which pulled the ship of state hither and thither, and finally swept it towards the cataract. Only a few events stood out clear to the world in the mist of rumour which hung over the Balkans during September. Some time between the 14th and 20th of the month a treaty was signed between Bulgaria and Turkey. It purported to be no more than the settlement of the Dedeagatch rail-

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