1st Bulgarian Army

The army was under operational control of the 3rd Ukrainian Front , an operational group of Soviet officers was operating at the army headquarters (first led by Lieutenant Colonel N. I. Gorshkov , and from January 9, 1945, Lieutenant General A. V. Blagodatov ), at the front headquarters - A group of officers of the main command of the Bulgarian People’s Army, led by Major General Asen Krastev ^[2] .

Lt. Gen. Vladimir Stoychev ^[1] was appointed army commander, Shter Atanasov ^[3] was appointed to the post of assistant army commander and member of the Army’s Military Council.

On October 8, 1944, the Stratsinsko-Kumanovskaya operation began .

On October 10, 1944, an airborne battalion was included in the army.

Since the beginning of 1945, the 3rd Ukrainian Front provided the 1st Bulgarian Army with clothing and food supplies ^{[4] [5]} .

On February 17, 1945, the Supreme Command headquarters issued directives to the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts to prepare the Vienna offensive operation, the 1st Bulgarian Army was tasked with providing front operations from the south, operating along the northern coast of Drava . The beginning of the offensive was scheduled for March 15, 1945. However, in the following days, Soviet intelligence discovered that a very large group of German forces and equipment, including tanks, was concentrated south-west of Budapest near Lake Balaton , and the Stavka ordered the front to create a deep defense ^[6] .

On the night of March 6, 1945, the troops of the German Army Group "E" went on the offensive , which included 8 divisions and 2 brigades. They crossed the Drava River in the areas of Drava Sabolch and north of Valpovo , squeezed out the units of the 3rd and 11th Infantry Divisions of the 1st Bulgarian Army and the 3rd Army of the NOAU that were defending here and captured two bridgeheads on the left bank of the river. To strengthen the defense in this sector, the 133rd Rifle Corps was advanced from the reserve of the front, receiving orders from the morning of March 8, 1945 to go on a decisive attack and, in cooperation with the 3rd Infantry Division of the Bulgarians, surround and destroy the enemy in the area of ​​Drava Sabolc, Czech Republic, Juhes, Gordisha, cut off the enemy’s withdrawal path to the Drava River, and then go to its left bank north of Dolni Mikholyants ^[7] .

On March 7, 1945, the command of the 3rd Bulgarian Infantry Division reported that the enemy already had the 297th Infantry Division and part of the forces of the 104th Light Infantry Division on the bridgehead in the Drava Sabolch area ^[7] .

On the night of March 8, 1945, the Germans transferred additional units of the 104th Light Infantry Division to the bridgehead north of Dolni Mikholyants, after which, having ousted the units of the 24th Bulgarian Infantry Regiment, they seized the settlements of Gordish and Matt ^[7] .

On the afternoon of March 8, 1945, the 3rd Bulgarian Infantry Division, the Bulgarian Tank Battalion and the 1st Battalion of the 715th Regiment of the 122nd RKKA Infantry Division attacked Drava Sabolch and, overcoming the enemy’s resistance, occupied the northern outskirts of the city ^[7] .

On the night of March 9, 1945, the Germans transferred another regiment of the 104th light infantry division to the bridgehead, and on the morning of March 9 they launched a counterattack to restore the lost position. During March 9, 10 and 11, fierce battles took place around the entire perimeter of the bridgehead ^[7] .

On March 11, 1945, the 16th Bulgarian Infantry Division (transferred under operational command to the commander of the 133rd RKKA Red Army Corps) approached the bridgehead area. On the night of March 12, she replaced units of the 3rd Bulgarian Infantry Division in front of the villages of Bohemia and Drava Polkonya and in the morning of the same day went on the offensive with two regiments. The next day, it was reinforced by the 1891th Soviet regiment of self-propelled guns ^[7] .

During March 14 and 15, units of the 84th Rifle Division of the Red Army mainly completed the rout of the enemy in the area east of Drava Sabolch, and the 122nd Rifle Division and the parts of the 16th Bulgarian Division interacting with it completely took control of Drava Sabolch and relocated west of it. By the end of March 18, 1945, by the joint efforts of the Soviet and Bulgarian troops, the Nazis were defeated throughout the bridgehead ^[7] .

After the fights on the bridgehead ended, the 16th Bulgarian Infantry Division went on the offensive and struck from the Troyansky Reed tract along the northern bank of the Drava River ^[7] .

Subsequently, together with the Soviet troops, the 1st Bulgarian Army participated in the Vienna offensive operation, the liberation of the cities of Cakovec , Maribor and Dravograd ^[1] .

After the war ended, during the demobilization and return of the armed forces of Bulgaria to peacetime, the 1st Army was disbanded in 1945.

The soldiers of the 1st Bulgarian Army, who died during the war, are buried in several military cemeteries in the territory of the three copper mines of Hungary ( Baranya , Zala and Somogy ).

In 1967, an agreement was signed between the governments of Bulgaria and Hungary, according to which the Museum of the First Bulgarian Army ( Museum on the Parva Bulgar Army ) was opened in the Šiklos Castle on the territory of Hungary ^[8] . In 1989, the museum was closed.

• Soviet-Bulgarian relations 1944 - 1948. M., 1969.
• P. Khadzhiivanov. To Alpite from the Parva Bulgaria army. Sofia, 1975. (bulg.)
• N. Nedyalkov. The History of the Patriotic War on Bulgaria 1944 - 1945. T. 3. Sofia, Military Publishing House, 1983. (Bulgarian)