The officers and soldiers call him '^Napoleon-
tscheto," not only on account of the likeness of his
profile and his general build to that of Napoleon, but
also because he is the hero of Kirk Kiliss^, Lule Burgas
and Chorlu. It was a piece of good fortune for Savoff
and Fitscheff that it was just a leader like this that
had to solve that most difficult problem — the march
from Jamboli and the attack on Kirk Kiliss£. But it
was also a glory for the Third Army, the Eastern
Army, that it showed itself worthy of a leader who



148 WITH THE VICTORIOUS BULGARIANS

possessed the most heroic temperament of the entire
force.
But whence came Radko Dimitrieff? What was
the past career of this hero, undoubtedly the most
popular leader of his time in Bulgaria? He was bom
in the little town of Gradez on September 24, 1859,
and after a successful course at the Military School
of Sofia, passed out as lieutenant on May 10, 1879.
He then distinguished himself as a student at the
Academy of the General Staff at St. Petersburg.
When the annexation of Eastern Roumelia was
proclaimed by Prince Alexander at Philippopolis,
he was sent with most of the Bulgarian army to the
Turkish frontier, for naturally the general idea was
that Bulgaria would be attacked by Turkey. But
the foresight and the expectations of Natschovitsch,
who was then ambassador at Bucharest, were justified,
and it was not the Turks but the "Servian brothers"
of Bulgaria who were the invaders.
It is well known how difficult it then was, oh ac-
count of the want of railways, to transfer Bulgarian
troops from the south to the northwest of the country.
