The Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps ( bg, Македоно-одринско опълчение, ''Makedono-odrinsko opalchenie'') was a volunteer

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the Bulgarian Army during the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and def ...

. It was formed on 23 September 1912 and consisted of Bulgarian volunteers from Macedonia and

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, regions still under Ottoman rule, and thus not subject to Bulgarian military service. The Commander of the Corps was

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Nikola Genev, Assistant Commander -

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Aleksandar Protogerov.

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

was

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

Petar Darvingov. During the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies ...

Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps took part in the battles against Serbian Army. Besides Bulgarians, the corps also included volunteers from other nationalities, including several units made up of

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

: the 2nd Company, led by Lieutenant Garegin Nzhdeh and Andranik Ozanian (in the 12th Lozengrad Battalion or druzhina). There were many Armenians in the 3rd Company led by Lieutenant Torgom (of the same 12th Battalion of the 3rd Brigade). Another Armenian officer, Hovhannes Chaush, led a company in the 7th battalion of 3rd Brigade.

The Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps (23 Sep 1912 - 1 Oct 1913)

Total personnel numbered 14,670.

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely underst ...

were 14,139 (11,470 were from Macedonia, 1,215 - from

, and 2,512 - from

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

). Foreigners were 656 (more than 400

, of which only 275 in the 2nd Armenian company, 82

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

, 68

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Romania ...

, 40

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...

, 21 Austro-Hungarians, 12 Montenegrins, 3

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

, 1 Albanian, 1 Englishman, 1 Italian, and a Persian).

Honours

Opalchenie Peak in

Vinson Massif Vinson Massif () is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is long and wide and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is loca ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

is named after the Bulgarian Volunteer Force in the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish War and the Macedonian-Adrianople Volunteer Force in the 1912-1913

.Opalchenie Peak.
SCAR

Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about ...

Notes

Sources

* Darvingov, Petar. History of the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corp (Volume 1, 1919, Volume 2, 1925) (Bulgarian) * Македоно-одринското опълчение 1912-1913. Личен състав по документи на Дирекция "Централен военен архив", София 2006 (Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps. Staff according to documents from Directorate Central Military Archives, Sofia 2006) 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 {{bulgaria-stub