Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps
The Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps (Template:Langx, Template:Langx; 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.
The Commander of the Corps was Major General Nikola Genev, Assistant Commander - Colonel Aleksandar Protogerov. Chief of Staff was Major Petar Darvingov.[1] During the Second Balkan War, Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps took part in the battles against Serbian Army. Besides Bulgarians, the corps also included volunteers from other nationalities, including a unit made up of Armenians: the 2nd Company, led by Lieutenant Garegin Nzhdeh and Andranik Ozanian (in the 12th Lozengrad Battalion or druzhina).
History
The Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps was founded on 23 September 1912. During the First Balkan War, it participated in engagements against Ottoman Turks, while during the Second Balkan War, it fought against Serbs. MAVC relied on Bulgarian army's arms and equipment, with most of the volunteers using Berdan rifles. The corps had brown uniforms but many of the volunteers wore civilian clothing instead. It was disbanded in October 1913.[2]
Composition and casualties
Total personnel at the beginning of the conflicts numbered 14,670. Macedonians were 12,000 but there were also people from other regions. Bulgarian Orthodox Christians were among those volunteers. There were also 275 Armenians (under the command of Garegin Nzhdeh and Andranik Ozanian), 82 Russians, 68 Romanians, 40 Serbs, 15 Austro-Hungarians, 12 Montenegrins, 3 Greeks, 2 Czechs, 1 Albanian, 1 English person, 1 Italian, 1 Persian and 1 Croat. However, by the end, it had 26,638 men and 947 officers.[2][3] 781 volunteers were killed in action, 135 died, 901 were wounded in action, 32 were taken as prisoners of war, while 110 went missing in action.[4]
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.[5]
References
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- ↑ Opalchenie Peak. SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica
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Sources
- Darvingov, Petar. History of the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corp (Volume 1, 1919, Volume 2, 1925) (Bulgarian)
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- Military history of Bulgaria
- Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire
- Ottoman Thrace
- Kosovo vilayet
- Manastir vilayet
- Salonica vilayet
- Adrianople vilayet
- Military units and formations of the Balkan Wars
- Military units and formations of Bulgaria
- History of Macedonia (region)
- Military units and formations established in 1912
- 1912 establishments in Bulgaria
- Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization