time two battalions of the Preslav Regiment arrived to shore up the position. Further attacks in the centre were repulsed with heavy Serbian casualties and Benderev captured two further positions in the mountains. On the 19th the Serbians concentrated two divisions for an attack on the Bulgarian left near Karnul (today Delyan, Sofia Province) in an attempt to join up with the Morava division. However, three battalions of Bulgarian troops led by Captain Popov from Sofia had held the Morava division in the Visker Hills and the flanking move failed. Alexander now ordered a counterattack which pushed the Serbians back on both flanks although nightfall prevented a complete collapse. The Bulgarians Advance Slivnitsa was the decisive battle of the war. The Serbians fought only limited rearguard actions as they retreated and by 24 November they were back in Serbia. The Timok division in the north continued the siege of Vidin until 29 November. The main Bulgarian army crossed the border in two strong divisions (Guchev and Nikolaev) supported by flanking columns and converged on Pirot. The Serbian army dug in on the heights west of the town. On 27 November the Bulgarian army flanked the right of the Serbian position with Prince Alexander personally leading the final attack. The Serbians were defeated and fled to Niš. On the 28th the Austrians intervened and a ceasefire was agreed. Serbian casualties totalled 6,800 compared to 2,300 Bulgarians. Serbian sources state that the casualties in this battle totalled 3,000 for the Serbs vs 2,500 for the Bulgarians, and 7,000 for the Serbs vs 5,000 for the Bulgarians in the whole war. The Treaty of Bucharest 1886 effectively confirmed the unification of Bulgaria. Unfortunately for Prince Alexander, Russia continued to oppose his reign and he was deposed by the Russophile officers in August 1886. References B. Jelavich, History of the Balkans (Vol1), Cambridge 1983 H.S. White, An Account of the Servo-Bulgarian War 1885, Pallas Armata reprint A. Von Huhn, The Struggle of the Bulgarians for National Independence, London 1886 A. Koch, Prince Alexander of Battenberg, London 1887 G.C. Wynne, Servo-Bulgarian war Collection (1885), British War Office W.H Cromie, The Military forces of the Balkan Peninsula, Pallas Armata reprint This article plus maps was also published in The Foreign Correspondent, the journal of the Continental Wars Society. Slivnitsa Slivnitsa 1885 Slivnitsa 1885 1885 in Bulgaria Slivnitsa History of Sofia Province November 1885 events