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Ruled by the Romans and later part of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, Bulgaria has witnessed uprisings, oppression, and unrest in its active history due to its powerful neighbors and proximity to the sea. Following its turn as the Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria found itself in the Axis camp during World War II, but its ruler only sought to keep bloodshed away from Bulgarian soil. Nonetheless, the Axis-aligned Kingdom declared war on the Allies alongside the Germans, prompting the bombing of its capital, Sofia, by the British Royal Air Force. However, Nazi Germany’s surprise invasion of the Soviet Union led to widespread protests in Bulgaria and the formation of a cohesive anti-Nazi resistance force called the Fatherland Front. When the Red Army turned the tide of the war and began rolling back German advances, the Fatherland Front seized its chance: As Soviet tanks approached Sofia in 1944, the Front launched an all-out revolt, flipping Bulgaria into the Allied camp and declaring war on Germany. The Bulgarians immediately threw themselves into battle against the Germans, holding off a Nazi offensive at Drava and helping to liberate Vienna.