Ivan Fichev
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| Ivan Fichev | |
|---|---|
| 15 April 1860 – 13 November 1931
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| Place of birth |  Tarnovo, contemporary Bulgaria |
| Place of death |  Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Allegiance | Bulgaria |
| Years of service | 1877 - 1914 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | Second Thracian Infantry Division Head of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army |
| Battles/wars | Lozengrad Lule-Burgas |
Ivan Fichev (Bulgarian: Иван Фичев) (born on 15 April 1860 in Tarnovo, died on 13 November 1931 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian General, Minister of Defense, Military Historian and Academician.
He was born in 1860 in Tarnovo. He was a grandson of the famous architect from the National Revival, Kolyu Ficheto. Fichev studied in Tarnovo, Gabrovo and in Rober College in Istanbul. During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) he participated in the Bulgarian volunteer corps and later served as translator for the temporary Russian governors in Gabrovo and Tarnovo. In 1882 he graduated the Military School in Sofia.
During the Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885 he was a commander of 2nd Company in the 5th Danube Regiment and participated in the defense of Vidin between 12 and 16 November.
In 1898 he graduated the Military Academy in Torino, Italy. On 1 January 1892 he was promoted a Major and on 1 January 1903 - a Colonel. From the beginning of 1907 he was appointed a commander of the Second Thracian Infantry Division based in Plovdiv and on 1 January 1908 Ivan Fichev was promoted a Major General. From 1910 to 1914 he was a head of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army including the two Balkan Wars.
During the First Balkan War (1912-1913) he was the head of the operations in Thrace and fought in the successful battles at Lozengrad and Lule-Burgas but after the Bulgarian advance was repulsed at Chataldja only 20 km from the Ottoman capital he fell into disgrace. Fichev gave up his post in the beginning of 1913 but his resignation was not accepted.
During the Second Balkan War in 1913 he continued to the a Head of the General Staff of the Army. On 14 January 1914 he was promoted a Lieutenant General and from 14 September that year he was appointed a Minister of War. After the First World War he was a Minister Plenipotentiary in the Romanian capital Bucharest.
Ivan Fiched died on 13 November 1931 in Sofia.
