Ivan Fichev
Encyclopedia
Ivan Fichev (born on 15 April 1860 in Tarnovo, died on 13 November 1931 in Sofia
) was a Bulgaria
n General
, Minister of Defense, military historian
and academician
.
. He was a grandson of the famous architect from the National Revival, Kolyu Ficheto
. Fichev studied in Tarnovo, Gabrovo
and in Robert College
in Istanbul
.
During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) he participated in the Bulgarian volunteer corps and later served as translator for the temporary Russia
n governors in Gabrovo and Tarnovo. In 1880 he was accepted in the Military School in Sofia and graduated in 1882 with the rank of lieutenant
and was assigned to serve in the 20th Varna infantry battalion.In August 1885 he was promoted to First Lieutenant
.
in 1885 he was a commander of 2nd Company in the 5th Danube Regiment and participated in the defense of Vidin
between 12 and 16 November.
. On 1 January 1892 he was promoted a Major
and on 1 January 1903 - a Colonel
. From the beginning of 1907 he was appointed a commander of the Second Thracian Infantry Division based in Plovdiv
and on 1 January 1908 Ivan Fichev was promoted a Major General
. From 1910 to 1914 he was the Chief of the General Staff
of the Bulgarian Army, which includes the time during the two Balkan Wars
, and as such was responsible for devising the general plan for the war against the Ottoman Empire
.
(1912–1913) he was the head of the operations in Thrace
and fought in the successful battles at Lozengrad
and Lule Burgas but after the Bulgarian advance was repulsed at Chataldja only 20 km from the Ottoman
capital he fell into disgrace.He was one of the Bulgarian delegates during the negotiations that lead to the signing of the Chataldja Armistice on .In May 1913 Fichev resigned from his post as an act of protest against the declaration of war on Bulgaria's former allies but his resignation was not accepted and during the Second Balkan War
he remained on the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Army.He also signed the Bucharest Peace Treaty as part of the Bulgarian delegation during the negotiations.
and two weeks latter was appointed commander of the 3rd Military District. On 14 September that year he was appointed a Minister of War and served as such until August 1915 when he went into the reserve. After the First World War he was a Minister Plenipotentiary in the Romania
n capital Bucharest
.
Ivan Fiched died on 13 November 1931 in Sofia.
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
) was a Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
, Minister of Defense, military historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and academician
Academician
The title Academician denotes a Full Member of an art, literary, or scientific academy.In many countries, it is an honorary title. There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member, .-Eastern Europe and China:"Academician" may also be a functional...
.
Biography
Ivan Fichev was born in 1860 in Tarnovo, at that time part of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. He was a grandson of the famous architect from the National Revival, Kolyu Ficheto
Kolyu Ficheto
Nikola Fichev , commonly known as Kolyu Ficheto , was a Bulgarian National Revival architect, builder and sculptor born in Dryanovo in 1800....
. Fichev studied in Tarnovo, Gabrovo
Gabrovo
Gabrovo is a city in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an international capital of humour and satire , as well as noted for its Bulgarian National...
and in Robert College
Robert College
Robert College of Istanbul , is one of the most selective independent private high schools in Turkey. Robert College is a co-educational, boarding school with a wooded campus on the European side of Istanbul between the two bridges on the Bosphorus, with the Arnavutköy district to the east, and...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) he participated in the Bulgarian volunteer corps and later served as translator for the temporary Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n governors in Gabrovo and Tarnovo. In 1880 he was accepted in the Military School in Sofia and graduated in 1882 with the rank of lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
and was assigned to serve in the 20th Varna infantry battalion.In August 1885 he was promoted to First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
.
Serbo-Bulgarian War
During the Serbo-Bulgarian WarSerbo-Bulgarian War
The Serbo-Bulgarian War was a war between Serbia and Bulgaria that erupted on 14 November 1885 and lasted until 28 November the same year. Final peace was signed on 19 February 1886 in Bucharest...
in 1885 he was a commander of 2nd Company in the 5th Danube Regiment and participated in the defense of Vidin
Vidin
Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...
between 12 and 16 November.
1886 - 1911
In January 1887 he was promoted to the rank of Captain and in 1898 graduated the Military Academy in Torino, ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. On 1 January 1892 he was promoted a Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
and on 1 January 1903 - a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
. From the beginning of 1907 he was appointed a commander of the Second Thracian Infantry Division based in Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
and on 1 January 1908 Ivan Fichev was promoted a Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
. From 1910 to 1914 he was the Chief of the General Staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
of the Bulgarian Army, which includes the time during the two Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
, and as such was responsible for devising the general plan for the war against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
Balkan Wars
During the First Balkan WarFirst Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
(1912–1913) he was the head of the operations in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and fought in the successful battles at Lozengrad
Battle of Kirk Kilisse
The Battle of Kirk Kilisse or Battle of Kirkkilise or Battle of Lozengrad was part of the First Balkan War between the armies of Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. It took place on 24 October 1912, when the Bulgarian army defeated an Ottoman army in Eastern Thrace.The initial clashes were around...
and Lule Burgas but after the Bulgarian advance was repulsed at Chataldja only 20 km from the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
capital he fell into disgrace.He was one of the Bulgarian delegates during the negotiations that lead to the signing of the Chataldja Armistice on .In May 1913 Fichev resigned from his post as an act of protest against the declaration of war on Bulgaria's former allies but his resignation was not accepted and during the Second Balkan War
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 29 June 1913. Bulgaria had a prewar agreement about the division of region of Macedonia...
he remained on the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Army.He also signed the Bucharest Peace Treaty as part of the Bulgarian delegation during the negotiations.
Latter Life
After the Balkan Wars he continued to serve as Chief of the General Staff of the Army. On 1 January 1914 he was promoted a Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
and two weeks latter was appointed commander of the 3rd Military District. On 14 September that year he was appointed a Minister of War and served as such until August 1915 when he went into the reserve. After the First World War he was a Minister Plenipotentiary in the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n capital Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
.
Ivan Fiched died on 13 November 1931 in Sofia.
Awards
- Order of BraveryOrder of BraveryThe Order of Bravery is a Bulgarian order during the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Republic of Bulgaria. It is the most esteemed Bulgarian order and the second highest in the Kingdom of Bulgaria and forth highest in the Republic of Bulgaria...
, II grade; - Order of St AlexanderOrder of St AlexanderThe Order of St Alexander was the second highest Bulgarian order during the Kingdom of Bulgaria. It was established by Knyaz Alexander I and named after his patron saint .-History:...
, II grade without swords,III grade and V grade - Order of Military MeritOrder of Military Merit (Bulgaria)The Order of Military Merit is a Bulgarian order during the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Republic of Bulgaria. In is the third highest order in the Republic of Bulgaria along with the Order of Civil Merit and the Order of the Madara Rider.-History:...
, I grade and III grade - French Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
,IV grade - Italian Order of the Crown of ItalyOrder of the Crown of ItalyThe Order of the Crown of Italy was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861...
, II grade - Romanian Order of the Star of RomaniaOrder of the Star of RomaniaThe Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil order. It is awarded by the President of Romania...
,III grade - Persian Order of the Lion and the SunOrder of the Lion and the SunThe Order of the Lion and the Sun was instituted by Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar Dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials who had rendered distinguished services to Persia. In 1925, under the Pahlavi dynasty the Order continued as the Order of Homayoun with new insignia, though based on the...
,II grade
Sources
- Недев, С., Командването на българската войска през войните за национално обединение, София, 1993, Военноиздателски комплекс „Св. Георги Победоносец“
- Симеон Радев:“Конференцията в Букурещ и Букурещския мир от 1913 г.
- Вълков, Г., Генерал Иван Фичев. Избрани произведения, София, 1988, Военно издателство