Bulgarian Legion - Second Bulgarian Legion

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. 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, the volunteers being trained by Serbian officers. The surviving rebels from the bands of Panayot Hitov and Filip Totyu joined the Legion, as well as young people from Bulgarian and the Bulgarian diaspora in Romania.

However, since 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) and reluctance to further complicate its relations with Serbia. Meanwhile the government of Jovan Ristić, which opted for reconciliation with the Ottomans, came into office in Serbia. The Second Bulgarian Legion became redundant 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.

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