The Hristo Botev Partisan Battalion was a Bulgarian partisan detachment created by deserted Bulgarian servicemen which operated during the partisan movement in Bulgaria from 1941 to 1944.
It was named after Bulgarian writer, Partisan and national icon Hristo Botev.
The detachment was formed by soldiers from the 1/15 border subdivision in the village of Konsko, Gevgelija region, led by its commander LieutenantDicho Petrov on December 14, 1943. Its initial composition was 62 Bulgarian soldiers and 9 Macedonian partisans. The commander was Lieutenant Dicho Petrov, the Deputy Commander was Nikola Gruev, the Political Commissioner was Hristo Bayaltsaliev and the Deputy Political Commissioner was Mito Mitsaikov.
On May 23, 1944, after crossing the Iskar River, they fought a fierce battle with army and gendarmerie units near the village of Batulia and were almost completely defeated. Surviving guerrillas joined other guerrilla formations, thus resulting in the dissolution of the Battalion.[4][5]
E. P. Thompson's first novel 'There is A Spirit in Europe: A Memoir to Frank Thompson (1947)' [6] describes his Special Operations Executive brother's role 'Major Frank Thompson' in the fighting. It describes his capture at Batulia and later execution by firing squad by Gendarmerie forces at Litakovo. A re-released and fully illustrated version with map illustrations of the Battle of Batulia is available from Imprint Lulu.
References
↑ Victory 1941 - 1944. Yearbook of the Museum of the Revolutionary Movement in Bulgaria. Sofia, 1969, pp. 16 - 63
↑ History of the anti-fascist struggle in Bulgaria, vol. II 1943/1944, Sofia, 1976, pp. 117, 118, 126
↑ History of the anti-fascist struggle in Bulgaria, vol. II 1943/1944, Sofia, 1976, p. 119
↑ Bulgaria during the Second World War, Written by Marshall Lee Miller, Published by Stanford University Press, 1975, ISBN 0-8047-0870-3, p. 197.
↑ There Is A Spirit In Europe: A Memoir Of Frank Thompson 80 Years On
by Jonathan R P Taylor (2024) as first published E. P. Thompson (1947). Brittunculi Records & Books: 2024. ISBN 9781304479525 Imprint: Lulu