Ivan Fichev | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 15 April 1860 Tırnova,Ottoman Empire (nowBulgaria) |
| Died | 13 November 1931 (1931-11-14) (aged 71) Sofia,Bulgaria |
| Allegiance |  Bulgaria |
| Service |  Bulgarian Army |
| Years of service | 1877–1915 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands | 2nd Thracian Infantry Division Chief of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards |        |
Ivan Ivanov Fichev (Bulgarian:Иван Иванов Фичев, born 15 April 1860 inTarnovo – 13 November 1931 inSofia) was aBulgariangeneral, Minister of Defense, militaryhistorian andacademician.
Ivan Fichev was born in 1860 in Tırnova (nowTărnovo), at that time part of theOttoman Empire. He was a grandson of the famous architect from the National Revival,Kolyu Ficheto. Fichev studied in Tarnovo,Gabrovo and inRobert College inIstanbul.
During theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878) he participated in the Bulgarian volunteer corps and later served as translator for the temporaryRussian governors in Gabrovo and Tarnovo. In 1880 he was accepted in the Military School in Sofia and graduated in 1882 with the rank oflieutenant and was assigned to serve in the 20th Varna infantry battalion. In August 1885 he was promoted toFirst Lieutenant.
During theSerbo-Bulgarian War in 1885 he was a commander of 2nd Company in the 5th Danube Regiment and participated in the defense ofVidin between 12 and 16 November.
In January 1887 he was promoted to the rank ofCaptain and in 1898 graduated the Military Academy inTorino,Italy. On 1 January 1892 he was promoted aMajor and on 1 January 1903 - aColonel. From the beginning of 1907 he was appointed a commander of the Second Thracian Infantry Division based inPlovdiv and on 1 January 1908 Ivan Fichev was promoted aMajor General. From 1910 to 1914 he was the Chief of theGeneral Staff of theBulgarian Army, which includes the time during the twoBalkan Wars, and as such was responsible for devising the general plan for the war against theOttoman Empire.
During theFirst Balkan War (1912–1913) he was the head of the operations inThrace and fought in the successful battles atLozengrad andLule Burgas but after the Bulgarian advance was repulsed atChataldja only 20 km from theOttoman capitalIstanbul, he fell into disgrace. He was one of the Bulgarian delegates during the negotiations that lead to the signing of the Chataldja Armistice on 3 December [O.S. 20 November] 1912. In May 1913 Fichev resigned from his post as an act of protest but his resignation was not accepted and during theSecond Balkan War he remained on the post ofChief of the General Staff of the Army. He also signed theBucharest Peace Treaty as part of the Bulgarian delegation during the negotiations.
After the Balkan Wars he continued to serve asChief of the General Staff of the Army. On 1 January 1914 he was promoted aLieutenant General and two weeks later 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 theFirst World War he was aMinister Plenipotentiary in theRomanian capitalBucharest.
Ivan Fiched died on 13 November 1931 in Sofia.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of War 1914–1915 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chief of the General Staff 1910–1915 | Succeeded by |
