Excerpt from “History of the Bulgarians from Macedonia” by Acad. Grigor VELEV

After the Unification and the proclamation of Independence in 1908, the idea matured in Bulgaria that the time had come for two things to happen:

Bulgaria to come out of anonymity in support of the national revolutionary struggle in Macedonia;
It is time for the state to rely more boldly and openly on its own forces and, above all, on its army to solve our national cause for United Bulgaria;

This is how the idea of ​​starting wars for national unification arose and was imposed. 

The government of & nbsp; Ivan Evstratiev Geshov & nbsp; decides to start preparations for war with Turkey. Taking into account the balance of power, the government correctly assesses that solving this task is not within the power of Bulgaria alone. That is why it is starting drilling with neighboring countries to create a & nbsp; Balkan Union, to which & nbsp; Russia is directing it.

The Balkan Union was created. The first Balkan war begins. Three military operational zones are outlined:

In Eastern and Western Thrace, where the Bulgarian army operates.

In Vardar Macedonia, where the Serbian army and the 7th Rila Division of the Second Bulgarian Army operate.
In Aegean Macedonia, where the Greek army operates.

The Western Turkish Army, consisting of about 130,000 men, operates in Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and Epirus. The armies of Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and the 7th Rila Division of the Second Bulgarian Army are directed against these forces.

In Serbia, however, active propaganda began against its ally Bulgaria under the motto "What we have taken is ours."

The Bulgarian Minister Plenipotentiary in Belgrade, Andrey Toshev, wrote in his report to Sofia "... I am announcing what I heard from Prof. Tsviich. He told me that Serbia would provoke a new, more terrible war than give up the voluntarily occupied territories in Macedonia. And if Pasic and the king make concessions, they will pay dearly for it. "

The Greek army did not meet much resistance in capturing Aegean Macedonia and captured Thessaloniki. On October 27, 1912, the Bulgarian division entered Thessaloniki hours after the Greek army, which had previously arranged the surrender of the city by the commander of the Turkish garrison.

This led to insurmountable contradictions between the allies, which ended with the outbreak of the Second Balkan War.

VMRO during the First Balkan War (1912)

The declaration of the Balkan War was greeted with enthusiasm by all members of the IMRO, and the detachments located on the territory of Macedonia were placed at the disposal of the Headquarters of the active Bulgarian army.

Before the start of the war on October 1, 1912, the Central Committee of the IMRO issued a district appeal to the entire Bulgarian population to provide comprehensive assistance to the allied armies.

After the declaration of war, all 54 regional detachments and militia of the IMRO were placed at the disposal of the allied forces of Serbia and Greece, which were fighting on the territory of the Macedonian Operational Theater. 53 detachments armed with the Bulgarian army were sent from Bulgaria.

A total of 107 detachments operate in Macedonia and Edirne Thrace. 6 of them were sent to Edirne Thrace and the rest to Macedonia.

They carry out multifaceted activities - intelligence, sudden and surprise attacks on the communications of the Turkish army in Macedonia, provide logistical assistance, provide liaison with the 7th Rila Infantry Division.

During the & nbsp; Balkan War & nbsp; IMRO fully supported the Bulgarian army and the armies of the Bulgarian allies - & nbsp; Serbia, & nbsp; Greece & nbsp; and & nbsp; Montenegro & nbsp; in their joint struggle against & nbsp; the Ottoman Empire.

Establishment and operation of the Macedonian

On September 17, 1912, by decree of & nbsp; King Ferdinand I & nbsp; a general mobilization was announced in Bulgaria. On September 18, the Chief of Staff of the Army, Major General Ivan Fichev, instructed Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Protogerov and Major Petar Darvingov to organize and send "<em> small partisan detachments" to the rear of the Ottoman forces.

The Macedonian-Edirne militia is a special Bulgarian military unit that operated during the Balkan (1912-1913) and Inter-Allied Wars (1913). On the eve of the war, the militia became part of the 4th Bulgarian Army and was stationed in the area north of the town of Kochani.

The MOO was composed mainly of volunteers from the territories of Macedonia and Edirne Thrace (14,670 people), who due to the fact that they had recently fled the Ottoman Empire, were not enlisted in the regular army.

The militia also includes Bulgarians from Northern Dobrudzha and Pomoravie, over 500 volunteers from other countries (Russians, Czechs, Romanians and others), including an entire Armenian company of 274 people.

On September 23, the Headquarters of the volunteer companies was appointed, which includes the activists of the Supreme Committee, Lt. Col. Protogerov, subp. Stefan Nikolov, Major Darvingov and Captain Stoyan Velichkov.

The headquarters immediately set up volunteer formations. Six departments have been set up - for training of volunteers, technical part, for recruitment and adjutant, police, for accommodation and administrative staff of 16 sections - which are set tasks related to the formation, accommodation, equipment and training of volunteer companies.

Major General Nikola Genev, the head of the Ninth Divisional District, was appointed chief of the militia.

Major Petar Darvingov has been appointed Chief of Staff.

MOO involvement in hostilities

The Central Committee of the VMRO and many prominent Macedonian activists, such as Vasil Chekalarov, demanded that the militia be sent to the Macedonian front. But at the explicit insistence of the Serbian government, the Bulgarian High Command sent the militia to Thrace.

The IOC took part in the battles at Saranli, Fere, Alexandroupoli, Merhamli, Malgara and Bulair. However, the baptism of fire of the militia took place during the capture of Gyumyurjina and the Aegean port of Alexandroupoli. The IOC took part in the battles near Saranli, Fere, Alexandroupoli, Merhamli, Malgara and Bulair. The baptism of fire of the militia, however, took place during the capture of Gyumyurjina and the Aegean port of Alexandroupoli.

Creation of partisan detachments

After the mobilization, by decision of the headquarters of the active army, partisan detachments were formed as auxiliary formations:

59 partisan platoons (detachments) of the IOC;
An independent partisan company of two companies;
Four separate guerrilla companies.

The detachments are led by former voivodes of VMORO and VMOK - Todor Alexandrov, Mihail Gerdjikov, Hristo Silyanov, Georgi Pophristov, Doncho Zlatkov, Efrem Chuchkov, Petko Penchev.

The main task of the Macedonian detachments is to carry out reconnaissance activities in the rear of the enemy, the dislocation of its military units, their movement, composition and armament. They ambushed Turkish units, destroyed telephone lines, blew up railways and bridges.