Bulgarian Legion
Bulgarian nationalist military legion
The Bulgarian Legion (Bulgarian: Българска легия, romanized: Bŭlgarska legiya, Serbian: Бугарска легија, romanized: Bugarska legija) was the name of two military bands formed by Bulgarian volunteers in the Serbian capital of Belgrade 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 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 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 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. Among them were Vasil Levski, Stefan Karadzha, Vasil Drumev, Dimitar Obshti, Matey Preobrazhenski 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.
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