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The Incident at Petrich (Greek: Επεισόδιο του Πετριτσίου; Bulgarian: Петрички инцидент), or the War of the Stray Dog (Greek: Πόλεμος του αδέσποτου σκύλου),[1] was a Greek–Bulgarian crisis in 1925 that resulted in a brief invasion of Bulgaria by Greece near the border town of Petrich after the killing of a Greek captain and a sentry by Bulgarian soldiers.[2] The incident ended after a decision by the League of Nations.
Relations between Greece and Bulgaria had been strained since the early 20th century by their rivalry over the possession of Macedonia and later Western Thrace, which led to years of guerrilla warfare between various pro-Bulgarian Macedonian paramilitaries and the pro-Greek HMC in the Macedonian Struggle (c. 1904 - 1908). Open conflict broke out between Greece and Bulgaria during the Second Balkan War (1913) and the First World War (1916–1918). The outcome of these conflicts was that Aegean Macedonia and Western Thrace came under Greek rule.
Petrich was the administrative centre of the Bulgarian-held Pirin Macedonia in which, during the early interwar years, the IMRO ran as a "state within a state".[5]
In 1923, Bulgarian Prime Minister Aleksandar Stamboliyski was murdered by IMRO following his deposition in a coup d'état. This was due to his policies of rapprochement, which were deeply unpopular with IMRO and nationalist factions in Bulgaria.[6]
Location of Belasitsa, where Bulgarian soldiers killed a Greek soldier and a captain.
There are two versions of how the incident started.
In the first version, the incident began on October 18 by a Greek soldier running after his dog, which had strayed across the border from Greece at the pass Demir Kapia [bg] on Belasitsa (Belles). It is thus sometimes referred to as the War of the Stray Dog.[7] The border was guarded by Bulgarian sentries, one of whom shot the Greek soldier.
In the second version, the incident was caused on October 18 by Bulgarian soldiers, who crossed the Greek border, attacked a Greek outpost at Belasitsa and killed a Greek captain and a sentry.[2][8]
Bulgarian and Greek reactions
Bulgaria explained that the firing was caused by a misunderstanding and expressed its regret.[9]
In addition, the Bulgarian government proposed the formation of a mixed commission of Greek and Bulgarian officers to investigate the incident, but the Greek government declined as long as Bulgarian troops remained on Greek territory.[10]
The Greek government, led by General Theodoros Pangalos, issued an ultimatum to Bulgaria of 48 hours[11] to punish those responsible,[12] an official apology,[13] and two million French francs as compensation for the families of the victims.[14]
On October 22, 1925, Greece sent soldiers into Bulgaria to occupy the town of Petrich with the objective of enforcing the demands.[15]
The Greek ambassador to France, Karapanos, during the discussions at the League of Nations over the Greco-Bulgarian conflict in 1925.
Fighting between Greek and Bulgarian forces started, and Bulgaria appealed to the League of Nations to intervene in the dispute. Some chetas of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), together with the sentries, organised defence lines against the Greeks near Petrich.[citation needed] Volunteers and war veterans from the whole region were summoned to join the resistance.[citation needed]
Greece made it clear that it was not interested in Bulgarian territory but demanded compensation.[15]
According to some contemporary newspapers, the town of Petrich was captured.[16] However, it seems that the town successfully resisted the Greek attacks.[17][18] In fact the League of Nations sent a telegraph to both countries to order them to stop their armies, just a few hours before the Greeks launched their attack.[19]
The League ordered a ceasefire, Greek troops to withdraw from Bulgaria and Greece to pay £45,000 to Bulgaria.
Both countries accepted the decision, but Greece complained about the disparity between its treatment and Italy's treatment during the Corfu incident in 1923, in which Italy invaded and occupied the island, forcing Greece to pay war restitutions. There was one rule in the League for the great powers like Italy and another for the smaller powers like Greece.[20]
The League Council sent military attaches from France, Italy and the United Kingdom to report to it when the hostilities ceased and to observe the withdrawal of the Greek troops. The attachés also decided that the Bulgarians should not reoccupy the territory until a certain time had elapsed to prevent incidents.[21]
The material and morale damage Greece had to pay was £45,000 (3 million Bulgarian levas) in compensation within two months,[22] while Bulgaria compensated the victim's family.
Over 50 people had been killed, mostly Bulgarian civilians, before Greece complied.[citation needed]
^ ab"LATEST CABLES". The Western Star and Roma Advertiser. Toowoomba, Qld. 24 October 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 26 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia. Greece. and Bulgaria have clashed, following a frontier incident, where a Greek captain and a sentry were shot dead at an outpost. - "TROUBLE ON GREEK FRONTIER". The Northern Standard. Darwin, NT. 23 October 1925. p. 3. Retrieved 26 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia. After attacking the Greek outpost and shooting the two men, the Bulgarians hoisted the white flag. They explained that the firing was due to a misunderstanding. - "BULGARIA EXPLAINS". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW. 22 October 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 26 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia. The Greco-Bulgarian frontier incident was caused by a Greek soldier who accidentally crossed the Bulgarian-Greek border chasing a stray dog, Bulgarian regulars mistook this for an invasion and attacked a Greek outpost at Belesh, shooting dead a sentry and a captain.
^"BULGARIA EXPLAINS". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW. 22 October 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 27 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia}. He says that subsequently Bulgaria hοisted the white flag and explained that the firing was due to a misunderstanding. The Greek Government, however, despite the Bulgarian expressions of regret and explanations, is determined to throw full light on the incident.
^"GREEKS AND BULGARS". The Argus. Melbourne. 24 October 1925. p. 35. Retrieved 27 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia. The Greek Prime Minister (General Pangalos) has refused the Bulgarian proposal to form a commission of inquiry into the frontier incident at Petrich while Bulgarian troops remain in Greek territory. - "MORE FIGHTING". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 October 1925. p. 15. Retrieved 27 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia. The Bulgarian Government proposed the formation of a mixed commission of Greek and Bulgarian officers to investigate the incident on the spot, but this was declined by the Greek Government.
^"LATEST CABLES". The Western Star and Roma Advertiser. Toowoomba, Qld. 24 October 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 26 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia. the Greek Government has issued an ultimatum to Bulgaria giving a time limit 48 hours.
^"LATEST CABLES". The Western Star and Roma Advertiser. Toowoomba, Qld. 24 October 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 26 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia. ...an indemnity of two million French francs,... - "BULGARIA EXPLAINS". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW. 22 October 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 26 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia. ...compensation for the relatives of the killed.
^ ab"BULGARIA EXPLAINS". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW. 22 October 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 26 June 2013 – via National Library of Australia. According to an Athens telegram the Government has decided to order the Greek troops to advance into Bulgaria and to occupy the town of Petrich, the headquarters of the Macedonian-Bulgarian committee, with the object of enforcing the Greek demands for satisfaction for a violation of Greek territory,...
^"PETRICH NOW CAPTURED". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW. 24 October 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 14 July 2013 – via National Library of Australia. The Greek troops have attained their objective, Petrich. The Greek military operations are now regarded as ended. - "PETRICH NOW CAPTURED". The Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW. 24 October 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 14 July 2013 – via National Library of Australia. Reuter's Athens correspondent from Salonika says: "The town of Petrich is officially reported captured by the Greeks." - "Week End Comment". Singapore Free Press. Singapore. 26 October 1925. p. 8. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013. ...Petrich has been captured by the Greeks, to "learn the Bulgars" to be more careful.
^United Nations for the Classroom. p. 15 – via Google Books. He also urged them to give immediate instructions to their armies until the League Council should meet. The telegraph arrived in Athens, the capital of Greece, only a few hours before the Greek army was due to attack the town of Petrich. - Dorothy V. Jones (2013). Toward a Just World: The Critical Years in the Search for International Justice. University of Chicago Press. p. 63. ISBN978-0226115818. - James Barros (August 27, 1964). "The Greek-Bulgarian Incident of 1925: The League of Nations and the Great Powers". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 108 (4): 354–385. - Dimitar Bechev (2019). Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia. Historical Dictionaries of Europe. Rowman & Littlefield. p. XXX (introduction). ISBN978-1538119624.
