The Bulgarian Legion (, ) was the name of two military bands formed by

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n volunteers in the

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n capital of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in the second part of the 19th century. Their ultimate goal was the liberation of the Bulgarian people from Ottoman rule through coordinated actions with the neighbouring

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

countries.

First Bulgarian Legion

The First Bulgarian Legion (Първа българска легия) was established in 1862 by Georgi Stoykov Rakovski in agreement with the Serbian government. At the time

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

was at war with the Ottoman Empire and Serbia itself was planning to join the conflict. According to the initial plan, in case of war between Serbia and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, the Legion would cross the border and enter the Bulgarian lands, where it would instigate an uprising among the population. In order to sustain direct contact with the Serbian government, the so-called Provisional Bulgarian Command was established on the initiative of Rakovski. His ''Plan for the Liberation of Bulgaria'' inspired Bulgarians and some six hundred young people responded to his appeal to create the Legion, many of them emigrants and refugees in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Among them were

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski (, spelled in Reforms of Bulgarian orthography, old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a Folk hero, national ...

, Stefan Karadzha, Vasil Drumev, Dimitar Obshti,

Matey Preobrazhenski Father Matey Preobrazhenski (, " Matthew of the Transfiguration"; 1828–1 March 1875) was the clerical name of Mono Petrov Seizmonov (Моно Петров Сеизмонов), nicknamed Mitkaloto ("The Wandering One"), Ochmatey or Ochkata, a B ...

and other figures that later came into national prominence. The support of the Legion was taken care of by the Serbian government. The members had to go through some military training so as to be able to participate in the future uprising and in the expected conflict between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire. According to Trotsky, when the Turkish forces entered

, the Bulgarian legion distinguished itself in the fighting.Trotsky, p.487 However the conflict ended swiftly and the subsequent Constantinople Conference decided that not all Ottoman troops should withdraw from Serbia. Due to pressure from the Ottoman Empire the Serbian authorities requested the Legion to be disbanded.Trotsky, p.487. As a result, on 21 September 1862 the participants were expelled from Belgrade.

Second Bulgarian Legion

The Second Bulgarian Legion (Втора българска легия) was founded in 1867, as relations between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire once again worsened and the Serbian authorities began preparing for war and organizing the

First Balkan Alliance The First Balkan Alliance () was a system of agreements concluded by the Principality of Serbia in the period of 1866–68 to unite the nations of the Balkans in a common struggle against the Ottoman Empire. The plans for forging this alliance wer ...

. This was used by the Band of Virtues (Добродетелна дружина), who concluded an agreement with Serbia to establish a Bulgarian military school in Belgrade to instruct military leaders for a future uprising in Bulgaria. This time the expenditures were paid by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, the volunteers being trained by Serbian officers. The surviving rebels from the bands of

Panayot Hitov Panayot Ivanov Hitov () (November 11, 1830 – February 22, 1918) was a Bulgarian ''haidoutin (hajduk)'', national revolutionary and voivoda. Born in 1830 in Sliven (known as İslimiye at the time), he became a haidoutin in Georgi Trankin's band ...

and Filip Totyu joined the Legion, as well as young people from Bulgaria and the Bulgarian

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

in Romania. However, the expected war between the two countries never broke out due to the Ottoman authorities' engagement with the suppression of the

Cretan Revolt (1866–1869) Cretan Revolt may refer to one of the following uprisings in Crete: Under Venetian rule * Cretan Revolt (1212) of the Hagiostephanites family * Cretan Revolt (1217) of the Skordiles and Melissenos families * Cretan Revolt (1222) of the Melissenos f ...

and reluctance to further complicate its relations with Serbia. Meanwhile, the government of

Jovan Ristić Jovan Ristić ( sr-Cyrl, Јован Ристић; 16 January 1831 – 4 September 1899) was a Serbian politician, diplomat and historian. Biography Ristić was born in Kragujevac in a poor family where he attended elementary school. In 1842 he ...

, which opted for reconciliation with the Ottomans, came into office in Serbia. The Second Bulgarian Legion lost its usefulness to the Serbians as a result of this. It was disbanded in April 1868 despite the opposition of the Russian diplomats, its members being expelled from Serbia.

Historical experience

The experience of the two Legions showed the Bulgarian Legionnaires that the formation of an insurrectionary centre to manage the Bulgarian liberational movement from the outside and particularly the binding of the national uprising's task with the politics of other states would always be exposed to danger. Nevertheless, the Legions were an excellent school that prepared a large number of the future Bulgarian leaders.

References

{{commons category, Bulgarian Legions Expatriate military units and formations Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1868 Bulgarian revolutionary organisations Military history of Bulgaria Military history of Belgrade Bulgaria–Serbia relations 1862 establishments in Serbia