Abstract
The Military Structure of the Varna Port during the First World War as Reflected by the Austrian Journalist Leo Lederer
The famous German newspaper Berliner Tageblatt und Handels Zeitung continued to serve intensively during The First World War and sent its reporter Leo Lederer to Varna after Bulgaria entered the war on the side of Germany. This enabled the observations about Varna available to the readers of the newspaper. Bulgaria entered the war on 6th of September 1915, when the Ottoman Empire and Germany had just begun experiencing problems against Russia in the Blacksea. Accordingly, the Varna Port went under the control of Germany. The control of the Varna Port by Germany not only alleviated the burden of the Ottoman Navy and shipyard but also opened another front against Russia in the Blacksea. Thanks to the works of the German officers sent from Berlin and Istanbul, Varna Port became a stronghold and prevented Russian domination in Northern and Western Blacksea. The aim of this article is to examine the structure of the Varna Port, which had an important role in The First World War (1915-1916), as reflected by Leo Lederer and to evaluate its significance during the war.
Keywords
First World War, Bulgaria, Varna, Rudolf Firle, Konstantin Kirkow