Bulgarian Volunteer Corps


Opalchentsi were Bulgarian voluntary army units, who took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The people in these units were called opalchenets-pobornik roughly meaning "folk-" or "regiment-combatant".
The Bulgarian voluntary army units for the Russo-Turkish War were gathered after the manifesto of Alexander II of Russia, announcing the War. The meeting point of the Bulgarian volunteers in Russia was the city of Samara. The Bulgarian Opalchentsi were given the Samara flag bearing the images of the Holy Mother and Saints Cyril and Methodius. The Opalchentsi took an active part in the Second and Fourth Battle of Shipka Pass and after the end of the war went on to form Bulgaria's army.

Structure

Major General Nikolai Stoletov was appointed Chief of the Bulgarian Militia, with his chief of staff being Colonel Efim Rinkiewicz. Other staff officers were also appointed - Colonel Engelhart, Lieutenant Colonel :bg:Фьодор Де Прерадович|Fyodor De Preradovic and others. The command staff consisted of 136 officers, among which were Bulgarian officers and non-commissioned officers in the Russian Army:
Friendly doctors were appointed, including the Bulgarians :bg:Константин Бонев|Konstantin Bonev, :bg:Сава Мирков|Sava Mirkov, :bg:Константин Везенков|Konstantin Vesenkov, Andrei Bogdanov, Ivan Panov, :bg:Яков Петкович|Yakov Petkovich.
The militias were trained by Russian officers. They were armed with the Chassepot rifle, which was bought by the Ministry of Defense and the Moscow Slavic Committee. In terms of numbers and structure, the militia was comparable to a reinforced wartime infantry division. It consisted of 3 militia brigades, each consisting of 2 militia "druzhina" of 5 companies each. Later on, 6 more independent detachments formed later are included.
The Bulgarian militia units were commanded by:
Other independent detachments were:
One of the poems in Ivan Vazov's Epic of the Forgotten, namely "Opalchentsite na Shipka", is dedicated to them.
Opalchenie Peak in Vinson Massif, Antarctica is named after the Bulgarian Volunteer Force in the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War and the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps in the 1912–1913 Balkan Wars.