Romania in the Second Balkan War - 1913

Country: Romania
Film produced by Pathé, Romanian film operator Ion Voinescu, in the summer of the year 1913.
The cinematographic document was produced in the Second Balkan War in the summer (probably in july) of 1913, during the military campaign of Romania against Bulgaria.
In this war there were no fights between the romanian and the bulgarian army.
The Romanian army invaded Bulgaria from three directions, advance quickly up to 8 km from Sofia where the army was stoped by king Carol I to avoid the complete humiliation of Bulgarians (the main army corp stationed in Orhanie-Botevgrad and Plevna-Pleven) without any resistance, forcing the Bulgarian goverment to ask for peace. This military action ended the Second Balkan War and the peace was signed on 28 of july (or 10 august after adopting the gregorian calendar in Romania on 1 of april 1919) in Bucharest (the Treaty of Bucharest 1913).
The Romanian army suffered about 1600 cholera casualties (deaths). This was the opportunity for developing and implementing the anticholeric mass vaccination by professor doctor Ion Canatacuzino. The Romanian soldiers were vaccinated in Bulgaria limiting the number of human losses (in the medical literature - the great Romanian experience). Some of the Romanian soldiers were buried in Bulgaria and many of their graves were destroyed during the Great War (first world war).
The military campaign was initiated by the Romanian government and the Romanian king Carol I to defeat Bulgaria, to end the Second Balkan War and to gain for Romania (the city of Silistra was taken in mai 1913) the territory situated in the south of Dobrogea on the line Turtucaia-Tutrakan to Ecrene-Ekrene), a problem unsolved (from the Romanian point of view) at San Stefano and at Berlin Conference in 1878.
The film is made in Dobrogea in the zone of Caraomer (Negru Voda) and Dobrici (Bazargic) as is written in the film (the main operational direction of the 5-th Romanian army).
The principal themes in discussion are: the back front activities, the military operations and the cinematographic techniques.
In the first part of the film is presented the company of captain Hristodulo riding on bicycles (Steyr? bicycles), armed with Steyr-Mannlicher 1893/1895 rifles. Using bicycles increasd speed and range for infantry (up to 100 km per day).
Second filming shows the baking of breads in Caraomer (Negru Voda in Dobrogea). We can see the "new " ovens, five of them, and the personnel (civilians and military). In a scene we can see also an sanitary. The bread is prepared in wooden recipients and it is transported from that zone to the ovens.
Other images are from Dobrici where the artillery was stationed. We can see the camp, cavalry, an officer writing an note and handing it to an inferior to be transmitted.
After that, in a few seconds we can see military at sea coast (probably Balcic) and Muslim officials, Romanian officers on board of an Romanian ship.
Next images presents an cavalry corp with an flag.
After that an group of 8 officers, which includes general Ioan Culcer, the commander of the 5 Romanian army in Dobrogea is presented. The officers are studying the plans on field. We see next cavalry and field artillery. The guns are Krupp model 1904, caliber 75 mm, 6 horses and 4 gunmen.
As cinematographic techniques we can see the imobile camera technique but we see also moving around the vertical axe of the camera, the ensemble view and the general view (the film operator was an professional - in this case, from ANF source we know that the film operator was Ion Voinescu).