ABSTRACT
The state which made the greatest contribution to the Axis war effort was Rumania, which in 1940 was deprived of large territories by Axis pressure. This chapter considers the three Allies of the Axis in turn. The democratic leaders of the National Peasant Party, Maniu and Mihalache, were sceptical about the last point, and they always preferred the Western Powers to the Axis. Yugoslav Macedonia and Greek Thrace were incorporated in the Bulgarian state, though the Axis leaden made it clear that this would have to be confirmed by the peace treaty after final victory. The Bulgarian government was a willing ally of the Axis against her Balkan neighbours and the Anglo-Saxon Powers and a non-belligerent helper against Russia. The Bulgarian partisans in the summer of 1943 aroused the interest of the Allied Middle East and Mediterranean commands. The Bulgarian army in Yugoslavia was ordered to join the Yugoslav partisans in fighting against the Germans.
