The Bulgarian demanded, in return for severing the alliance with Germany and Austria, that Bulgaria be granted all of Dobrudja, an expanded Bulgaria down to the old Media-Rodosto line, with a western frontier along the Morava River, in Serbia, from the junction of that river with the Danube, down through Nish, Pristina, and Uskub; and Macedonia, including Monastir and Saloniki. This demand the British representative refused to consider, but made the tentative counterproposal of an independent Macedonia, with Saloniki as the capital. That Bulgaria should have refused this offer is only another illustration of the duplicity of Ferdinand and his governing clique. His one hold on the Bulgarian people has been his pretended espousal of the cause of the Macedonian Bulgars. For long years past the Macedonians strove for an independent Macedonia, but this was made impossible by the policies of the great powers interested. They were, however, on the verge of achieving this ideal after the First Balkan War, when the interference of Austria in Albania caused Serbia and Greece to demand a revision of the treaty which had provided for Macedonian freedom. Against this demand the Macedonians protested, and their leaders were largely instrumental in precipitating the Second Balkan War. The result was their defeat and the Treaty of Bucharest, which forced the Macedonian patriots under the wing of the Bulgarian Government, the only refuge left them. That Bulgaria should now have refused terms including an independent Macedonia was, indeed, a matter to be kept secret. Ferdinand, naturally, desires Macedonia as an extension of his own territory, although the Macedonians are very little in sympathy with his Greater Bulgaria imperialism and would only accept it as an alternative between freedom on the one hand and subjection to Greece and Serbia on the other. On October 12, 1917, Emperor William of Germany, accompanied by Prince August Wilhelm and Foreign Secretary Dr. von Kühlmann, paid an official visit to Ferdinand in Sofia. The streets and houses were profusely decorated and much festivity prevailed. PART VII--NAVAL AND AIR WARFARE CHAPTER XXXIV ON THE SEA As in the past, naval warfare during the six months' period, August, 1917, to February, 1918, consisted primarily of attacks by German submarines on units of the allied merchant marine. There was again a wide discrepancy between the figures published by the allied and German governments. An example of this are the respective totals of monthly tonnage losses for the year 1917. German Claim Allied Claim