Ivan Kolev Stoyanov () (15 September 1863 in – 29 July 1917 in Vienna) was a Bulgarian lieutenant general and distinguished cavalry commander during World War I.
Biography
Ivan Kolev was born in the southern Bessarabian village of , then part of Romania, which was founded by Bulgarian refugees from Thrace and situated about 25 kilometers to the east of Bolhrad. Ivan received his primary education in his birthplace and from 1875 continued studying in the Bolhrad High School which he graduated in 1882. After this, he wanted to become a teacher in Banovka but his application was rejected and instead Kolev became a clerk in the local municipality.
In 1884, he moved to Sofia where he worked as assistant secretary of the Sofia District Court and was soon promoted to secretary. A year later, Ivan took part in the defense of the unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the province of Eastern Rumelia as volunteer in the Student's Legion during the Serbo-Bulgarian War.
On 14 January 1886, he was admitted to the Military School in Sofia and, due to his high grades, the young cadet was assigned to study in the artillery section. This, however, did not satisfy him as Ivan was fond of riding and declared that he would leave the military service unless he was assigned to the cavalry. Kolev finally got what he'd wished for, graduated the Military School on 27 April 1887 as a lieutenant, and was assigned to the Third Cavalry Regiment. On 18 May 1890, he was promoted to first lieutenant and after completing the necessary exams was admitted to the Military Academy of Turin in early 1892.
On 2 August 1894, Kolev was promoted to rotmister and returned to Bulgaria after having successfully graduated in Italy. Soon after, he was assigned as an officer to the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army and lectured the officers in the cavalry school on military history. Following his initiative, the youngest cavalry officers underwent special cavalry courses and the first army horse races were organized. During Autumn 1898, he attended army maneuvers in Romania and, in 1904, was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
In 1907, Kolev was sent to train in the Austrian Army and was assigned to the 7th Uhlan Regiment in Pardubice. In 1908, he returned to Bulgaria, was promoted to colonel, and was assigned to command His Majesty's Life Guard Cavalry Regiment the elite cavalry unit of the army and honor escort unit of the Bulgarian monarch.
Balkan Wars (1912–1913) At the start of the First Balkan War, Ivan Kolev was serving as chief of staff of the Yambol fortified area and in November 1912 was temporarily chief of staff of the Third Army. During the Second Balkan War, he served as chief of staff of the Fifth Army.
On 2 August 1915, Kolev was promoted to major general.
First World War
During World War I, he served initially as commander of the 10th Infantry Division but was soon returned to the cavalry when on 8 May 1916 he received the command of the 1st Cavalry Division and a few days later was made inspector general of the cavalry. These steps were taken by the Bulgarian high command as a precautionary measure against a possible threat from Romania. In view of this, General Kolev began a general reformation of his cavalry division and besides the attention he devoted to the physical and moral state of the soldiers and horses, he also introduced dismounted machine gun squadrons and increased the number of guns in the division's batteries to six. In July, the commander and his division were ordered to join the Bulgarian Third Army and take up positions close to the Dobrudja frontier.