Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps

Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps
Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps
Македоно-одринско опълчение
	The cockade of the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps
Active	23 September 1912 – 1 October 1913
Country	Kingdom of Bulgaria
Branch	Bulgarian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	14,670 (1912); 26,638 (1913)
Engagements	Balkan Wars First Balkan War Battle of Merhamli; Battle of Bulair; Battle of Şarköy; ; Second Balkan War Battle of Kalimanci; ; ;
Commanders
Commander	Nikola Genev
Asst. Commander	Aleksandar Protogerov
Chief of Staff	Petar Darvingov
2nd Company	Garegin Nzhdeh; Andranik Ozanian

The Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps (Bulgarian: Македоно-одринско опълчение, romanized: Makedono-odrinsko opalchenie, Macedonian: Македонско-одрински доброволни чети, romanized: Makedonsko-Odrinski dobrovolni četi; MAVC) was a volunteer corps of the Bulgarian Army during the Balkan Wars. It was formed on 23 September 1912 and consisted of Bulgarian volunteers from Macedonia and Thrace, regions still under Ottoman rule, and thus not subject to Bulgarian military service. Foreign volunteers were also part of the corps.

Formation and composition

The Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps was founded on 23 September 1912, just 6 days after the general mobilization was declared. The corps was open to anyone who had not yet completed military service in Bulgaria and was also open to foreign volunteers. Those who joined the corps were to remain in service for as long as the war lasted unless discharged by their superiors. Total personnel at the beginning of the conflicts numbered 14,670, with Bulgarians numbered at 14,139.^[1] Foreign volunteers included 275 Armenians, 82 Russians, 68 Romanians, 40 Serbs, 15 Austro-Hungarians, 12 Montenegrins, 3 Greeks, 2 Czechs, 1 Albanian, 1 Englishman, 1 Italian, 1 Persian and 1 Croat. By the end of the Balkan Wars it had 26,638 men and 947 officers.^[2]^[3] Many komitadjis of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization who had been active during the Macedonian Struggle had volunteered for service in the corps.

The Commander of the Corps was Major General Nikola Genev, the Assistant Commander Colonel Aleksandar Protogerov, and the Chief of Staff was Major Petar Darvingov.^[4] Armenian volunteers were organized into the 2nd Company, led by Lieutenant Garegin Nzhdeh and Andranik Ozanian (from the 12th Lozengrad Battalion).

The corps was entirely supplied by the Bulgarian Army with most of the volunteers being issued Berdan rifles. The corps had brown uniforms, but a uniform shortage led to moments where many of the volunteers wore civilian clothing instead.

Balkan Wars and casualties

Bulgarian volunteers from the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps leaving Gorno Brodi (today Ano Vrontou, Greece)

During the First Balkan War, the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps engaged the Ottoman Turks including the successful battles of Merhamli, Bulair, and Şarköy. According to the Carnegie report on the Balkan Wars, the Bulgarian authorities deliberately relocated Macedonian volunteers to the Thracian front to prevent a genuine liberation of Macedonia by Macedonians themselves.^[5] The Macedonian legionaries began accusing the Bulgarian government of deceiving the people in order to "sell Macedonia".^[6] During the less successful Second Balkan War, it saw action against the Serbs, including in the Battle of Kalimanci. The corps was disbanded on 1 October 1913, some months after the end of the conflict.^[2]

In total, 781 volunteers were killed in action, 135 died outside of combat, 901 were wounded in action, 32 were taken as prisoners of war, while 110 were missing in action.^[7]

Notable volunteers

Honours

Opalchenie Peak in Vinson Massif, Antarctica, is named after the Bulgarian Volunteer Force in the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish War and the Macedonian-Adrianople Volunteer Force in the 1912-1913 Balkan Wars.^[8]

References

↑ "110 г. от създаването на Македоно-одринското опълчение". Macedonian Scientific Institute (in Bulgarian). 23 September 2022.
1 2 Philip Jowett (2012). Armies of the Balkan Wars 1912–13. The Priming Charge for the Great War. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9781849084192.
↑ Igor Despot (2012). The Balkan Wars in the Eyes of the Warring Parties: Perceptions and Interpretations. iUniverse. p. 66. ISBN 9781475947038.
↑ Ivanka Deleva. "Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps". Regional historical museum Burqas. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
↑ Levene, Mark (2013). The Crisis of Genocide. Volume I: Devastation. Oxford University Press. p. 445. doi:10.1093/ejil/chu080. The report also suggested that the Bulgarians consciously relocated Macedonian volunteers to the Thracian front in the first war to avoid a real liberation of Macedonia by Macedonians on their own terms.
↑ Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 1914. p. 59. In January, the Macedonian legionaries of General Ghenev began accusing the Bulgarian government of having deceived the people in order to 'sell Macedonia.'
↑ Македоно-одринското опълчение 1912-1913. Личен състав по документи на Дирекция "Централен военен архив" [Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps. Staff according to documents from Directorate Central Military Archives] (in Bulgarian). Sofia: Главно управление на архивите при Министерския съвет. 2006. p. 895. ISBN 9789549800524.
↑ Opalchenie Peak. SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica

Sources

Darvingov, Petar. History of the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corp (Volume 1, 1919, Volume 2, 1925) (Bulgarian)

[msi-1] "110 г. от създаването на Македоно-одринското опълчение". Macedonian Scientific Institute (in Bulgarian). 23 September 2022.

[pj-2] 1 2 Philip Jowett (2012). Armies of the Balkan Wars 1912–13. The Priming Charge for the Great War. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 12–13. ISBN 9781849084192.

[3] Igor Despot (2012). The Balkan Wars in the Eyes of the Warring Parties: Perceptions and Interpretations. iUniverse. p. 66. ISBN 9781475947038.

[4] Ivanka Deleva. "Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps". Regional historical museum Burqas. Retrieved 28 May 2025.

[5] Levene, Mark (2013). The Crisis of Genocide. Volume I: Devastation. Oxford University Press. p. 445. doi:10.1093/ejil/chu080. The report also suggested that the Bulgarians consciously relocated Macedonian volunteers to the Thracian front in the first war to avoid a real liberation of Macedonia by Macedonians on their own terms.

[6] Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 1914. p. 59. In January, the Macedonian legionaries of General Ghenev began accusing the Bulgarian government of having deceived the people in order to 'sell Macedonia.'

[7] Македоно-одринското опълчение 1912-1913. Личен състав по документи на Дирекция "Централен военен архив" [Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps. Staff according to documents from Directorate Central Military Archives] (in Bulgarian). Sofia: Главно управление на архивите при Министерския съвет. 2006. p. 895. ISBN 9789549800524.

[8] Opalchenie Peak. SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica

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Balkan Wars
Background	Nationalism in the Ottoman Empire Albanian Aromanian Bulgarian Greek Romanian Serbian Congress of Berlin Annexation of Eastern Rumelia Serbo-Bulgarian War Greco-Turkish War of 1897 Cretan State IMRO & Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising Macedonian Struggle Young Turk Revolution Bosnian Crisis Bulgarian Independence 31 March Incident Goudi coup Italo-Turkish War Albanian revolt of 1912 Balkan League
First Balkan War
Battles	Sarantaporo Kardzhali Pente Pigadia Sorovich Kumanovo Kirk Kilisse Scutari Lule Burgas Yenidje Adrianople Prilep Himara Monastir First Çatalca Kaliakra Merhamli Driskos Elli Korytsa Lemnos Bulair Şarköy Bizani Second Çatalca
Diplomacy and politics	London Conference Albanian Independence 1913 Ottoman coup d'état Treaty of London
Second Balkan War
Battles	Kilkis–Lachanas Doiran Bregalnica Knjaževac Kalimanci Kresna Gorge Southern Dobruja Romanian landings in Bulgaria Vidin Pirot
Diplomacy and politics	Greek–Serbian Alliance Provisional Government of Western Thrace Treaty of Bucharest Treaty of Constantinople Treaty of Athens
Other	1913 Romanian Army cholera outbreak
General
Aftermath	Autonomy of Northern Epirus Greco-Turkish crisis of 1914 Sarajevo Assassination and World War I Ottoman–Bulgarian alliance Balkans campaign of WWI Serbian campaign Macedonian front
Atrocities	Carnegie Commission Massacres of Albanians Bulgarians deportation program Initial phase of the Greek genocide Places burned down
Participants	Bulgaria Ferdinand I Ivan Geshov Stoyan Danev Mihail Savov Ivan Fichev Vasil Kutinchev Nikola Ivanov Radko Dimitriev Stiliyan Kovachev Georgi Todorov Greece George I Constantine I Eleftherios Venizelos Panagiotis Danglis Pavlos Kountouriotis Konstantinos Sapountzakis Viktor Dousmanis Montenegro Nicholas I Crown Prince Danilo Janko Vukotić Ottoman Empire Mehmed V Nazim Pasha Zeki Pasha Esad Pasha Kölemen Abdullah Pasha Ali Rıza Pasha Hasan Tahsin Pasha Enver Bey Ahmed Izzet Pasha Romania Carol I Crown Prince Ferdinand Alexandru Averescu Serbia Peter I Crown Prince Alexander Radomir Putnik Petar Bojović Stepa Stepanović Božidar Janković Other Balkan states: Albania (Ismail Kemal)
Category