August 25 marks a turning point twice over in Bulgaria’s history, from the moment the defenders of Shipka shifted from survival to advance in 1877 to a fraught wartime decision taken in Sofia in 1944.
August 25, 1877 — Pressing the Advantage at Shipka
With reinforcements now reaching the pass, Russian units at Shipka moved onto the offensive, pressing forward against the battered Ottoman positions after days of desperate defence. It proved a turning point: by the following day, Suleiman Pasha’s exhausted army would abandon its attempts to break through altogether.
For the Bulgarian volunteers who had fought alongside the Russians through the worst of the battle, it was the first clear sign that their stand had held.
August 25, 1944 — Bulgaria’s Regents Move to Disarm German Troops
Late in the evening, after word reached Sofia of a Soviet landing near Constanța and Mangalia and of German units retreating into Bulgarian territory, the country’s regency council decided that any German troops crossing into Bulgaria should be disarmed. Invoking Bulgaria’s neutrality toward the Soviet Union, the regents hoped to keep Soviet forces from entering the country.
Conveyed to both the Soviet and German diplomatic missions, the decision was among the first concrete steps in Bulgaria’s frantic, ultimately unsuccessful effort to extract itself from the war before Soviet troops crossed the border.
Step back to August 24 for the day before. To range further afield, explore our Bulgaria From Above series and our guides to the best of Bulgaria.
