The Bulgarian Army at that moment was in a critical
position. The Allies were advancing rapidly northward on a wide front in Macedonia. The Serbians and French had broken the enemy's centre, scattered his German reinforcements, and occupied Ishtip, Vales, and Uskub, while the Serbian cavalry were close to the Western Bulgarian frontier near Kuste-ndll. The British and Greek armies were pursuing the demoralized Bulgarian left wing to the Strum& Valley in South-Western Bulgaria, and threatened to cut off all the enemy forces between the mountains and the sea at Kavalla. To the north and west of Monastir, the Italians, after hard fighting, had driven the Bulgarian right wing into the Albanian hills, far away from its normal line of retreat. The Bulgarians were faced with military disaster, as Germany and Austria had apparently declined to send such reinforcements as they desired. It is clear, however, that Bulgaria's heart was no
longer in the war. M. Malinoff, the Premier who succeeded the rabid Germanophile, M. Radoslavoff, last spring, had evidently determined to gratify the popular demand for peace at the earliest opportunity, and took instant advantage of his allies' refusal to help him. Assured of the support of an Army which was weary of war and of a people who were restless under German contfol, M. Malinoff acted promptly, before Germany had time to realize her mistake.
