Bulgarian rule of Macedonia, Morava Valley and Western Thrace (1941–1944)

Macedonia, Morava Valley and Western Thrace were annexed to the Kingdom of Bulgaria during Bulgaria's participation in World War II on the side of the Tripartite Pact, from 1941 to 1944. With the unilaterally annexed territories, Bulgaria acquired 39,756.6 km as follows: Western Outlands – 2,968 km, Macedonia – 23,807 km, Western Thrace – 12,363 km, the island of Thasos – 443 km and the island of Samothrace – 184 km, and the total area of the state became 150,668.1 km.
Between 6–17 April 1941, the German Empire and the Kingdom of Italy attacked and occupied the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As early as April 8, former VMRO activists were considering declaring Independent Macedonia under a German protectorate in Galichki Han in Skopje. On April 9, Stefan Stefanov and Vasil Hadzhikimov arrived from Sofia in Skopje, organizing the Bulgarian Central Action Committee on April 13. A 32-person committee elected Spiro Kitanchev as mayor of Skopje, removed the Serbian metropolitan Joseph of the city, and Radio Skopje began broadcasting in Bulgarian. On April 19, the Fifth Bulgarian Army entered the region in accordance with the decisions of the Provisional Directives for the Partition of Yugoslavia of April 3. The Fifth Army Region was formed in the region, which included the 15th and 17th infantry divisions and other military units. General Nikola Mihov was appointed head of the army region. The number of military units in the region until 1943 was 22,000 soldiers and officers, and then reached 32,000 people. The military units were filled mostly by Macedonian Bulgarians from the region. On October 1, 1941, a military court was established in Skopje, separately in Bitola, Prilep, Strumica and Veles, regional courts were established, and in the remaining cities, district courts.
Bulgarian troops entered Yugoslavia on April 19, annexing the Western Outlands and Morava Valley on the western border with Serbia under the San Stefano Peace Treaty. In addition to the directly annexed to Bulgaria regions of Pirot and Vransko, the Germans later demanded that Bulgaria deploy troops in the interior of Serbia. Thus, on January 7, 1942, Bulgarian troops entered deep into Šumadija. The controlled area included the following territories west of the Bulgarian border: north of the Gollak mountains, east of the Ibar River, including the towns of Kraljevo and Kragujevac, as well as the territories south of the town of Lapovo. In July 1943, the occupation zone was significantly expanded to the approaches to Belgrade.
On April 6, Germany launched an offensive in Greece, which was defeated and occupied by April 30. On April 13, Adolf Hitler issued Directive No. 27, which provided for the future occupation of Greece. On April 20, 1941, the Second Bulgarian Army entered the Aegean Sea in Eastern Aegean Macedonia and Western Thrace. It occupied almost the entire territory between the Struma and Maritsa rivers, with the exception of a narrow demilitarized zone along the border with Turkey west of Maritsa. The zone was under German control, and it was intended to be handed over to Turkey in the event that the latter joined the Axis powers. West of the Struma, including in the strategically important city of Thessaloniki, German occupation units were established. German troops entered the city of Lerin (Florina), although Fascist Italy and Bulgaria disputed it. After Italy's withdrawal from the war, the 7th Rila Infantry Division was ordered to occupy the Thessaloniki region, to organize the defense of the White Sea coast from the Epanomi lighthouse (on the Chalkidiki peninsula, 25 km south of Thessaloniki) to the mouth of the Struma river, which took place on July 5, 1943, thus the Bulgarian units occupied the central parts of Aegean Macedonia with Thessaloniki (excluding the city itself and the Chalkidiki peninsula). The regional civil governors of the White Sea region of the Kingdom of Bulgaria were: Iliya Kozhuharov (from 12.V.1941 – 20. X.1941), ret. gen. M.A. Hristo Gerdzhikov (20. X.1941 – c. 20.I.1942), Dr. Stefan Klechkov (c.20.I.1942 – 18.IX.1944).
Between 21 and 22 April, a conference was held in Vienna between Joachim von Ribbentrop and Count Galeazzo Ciano, at which the demarcation line between Bulgaria and the Italian protectorate of Albania was determined. The Italian occupation zone included the cities of Tetovo, Gostivar, Struga, Debar and Kichevo, a total of 4,314 km2 with 232,000 people, and Bulgaria – Ohrid and Resen. On 10 July, a dispute broke out between Bulgaria and Italy over the mine near Ljuboten, and after Germany's intervention, the mine remained in Bulgaria. On August 12, 1941, the demarcation line between Bulgaria and Albania underwent a slight change, with Bulgaria receiving Pestani.
On April 24, 1941, Bulgaria and Germany secretly concluded the Clodius-Popov Agreement, which gave Germany unlimited rights to exploit the natural resources in the newly conquered lands, and Bulgaria undertook to pay the costs of German military facilities, to pay off Yugoslavia's financial obligations to Germany and to establish the administration in the annexed lands. Through the agreement, Bulgaria was imposed a number of power restrictions in the annexed lands.
The annexation of Vardar Macedonia, the Aegean Sea and Morava Valley to Bulgaria was not sanctioned by a special act of the Bulgarian Parliament. On May 14, 1941, the National Assembly convened a session, at which, in the conspicuous absence of the plenipotentiary ministers von Richthofen and Count Magistrati, Prime Minister Filov delivered a speech in which he announced the annexation of the Newly Liberated Lands. This annexation was not officially recognized by either Italy or Germany. However, during the war, Bulgaria tried to present this as a fait accompli. While the accession of Dobrudja was made by an international treaty that entered into force, the territorial changes in 1941 were left for a final decision after the war.
In total, the territory of Bulgaria increased by 39,756 km2, and the population by 1,875,904 people, with Macedonia accounting for 23,807 km2 and 1,061,338 people.
Order of the Skopje regional governor Anton Kozarov, introducing Bulgarian administration in the region Bulgaria introduces Bulgarian legislation and establishes three administrative centers - Bitola, Skopje and Xanthi. The dioceses of the Bulgarian Exarchate and Bulgarian schools are restored. The government takes action to support the return of refugees from Macedonia and Thrace to their homelands. In Vardar Macedonia, the Skopje region includes 15 districts: Skopje, Berovo, Boyanovo, Veles, Vranje, Kachanishka, Kochani, Krivopala, Kumanovo, Kratovo, Radoviška, Strumiška, Svetinikolska, Surduliška and Štipska. Since August 1941, 3 more districts have been annexed - Gevgelija, Kavadarci and Negotinska. The population of the district has the following ethnic composition:
There are 141 municipalities in the district with 1,458 settlements, including towns, villages and hamlets.
The following districts are included in the Bitola district: Bitola, Brod, Ohrid, Prilep, Resen and Kruševo. As of March 8, 1942, according to a report, the population of the district has the following ethnic composition:
A police administration has also been established in both districts: three city departments in Bitola, Skopje and Prilep and 21 district departments. In the regional cities of Bitola and Skopje, additional regional police commandants were established. The total number of police officers was 4,797. There were State Security departments attached to the regional and district administrations.
The first sod of the new Bulgarian school "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" in Krushevo, 1941. For the uplift of the newly liberated lands, Bulgaria increased its budget from 8.46 billion leva in 1940 to 14.39 billion in 1942 (1.7 times) and to a colossal 27.58 billion in 1943 (3.3 times) at a relatively constant exchange rate to the dollar in 1941–44. With these tens of billions of the Bulgarian people, the backward areas under foreign rule were transformed - new schools, hospitals, stations, ports, railway lines, civil and industrial sites were built, swamps were drained, roads were laid, irrigation canals were built on the Syarsko Pole, shipyards in Kavala and on the island of Thassos, settlements were developed, and the bare wastelands left by foreign rule were afforested. In 1941 alone, 500 decares were afforested, compared to 650 decares for the entire Serbian rule between 1918 and 1941. 82,128,000 leva were allocated for the strengthening of the floodplains in the Bitola region for 1942, and the construction of 84 km of new forest roads and the repair of 70 km of existing forest roads was planned.
The beginning of the reorganization of cultural life began with the celebration of May 24. On May 23, 1941, Dobri Nemirov, Elisaveta Bagryana and Stiliyan Chilingirov and Professor Nikola Stoyanov arrived in Skopje together with numerous students, cultural figures and others. The former VMRO activist, then chairman of the Ilinden organization, Lazar Tomov, also arrived there, bringing the flag of the Vardarski Yunak society, closed in 1918 by the Serbian authorities. The Day of the Bulgarian Alphabet and Writing is celebrated in many cities of Vardar Macedonia – Bitola, Veles, Prilep, Ohrid, Resen and others. By the end of 1941, 64 cultural, educational, sports and other societies were established in Skopje, including the Boris Drangov choir, the Vardar and Macedonia sports clubs, a society of reserve officers and others. A Macedonian-Adrianople society was established in Prilep, and a Georgi Sugarev choir in Bitola. On 1 September, a National Library with 206,000 volumes of Bulgarian and foreign literature and a folk museum were opened in Skopje. Georgi Shoptrayanov was appointed director of the library. On 3 October 1941, the Skopje National Theatre staged its first production, written especially by the writer Kiril Hristov. Local societies of Brannik and SBNL were also established (see: Boris Drangov Legion), which organized students from Vardar Macedonia and developed anti-communist activities. In the summer of 1941, a Peyo Yavorov community center was established in Bitola. In addition, similar community centers were established in the villages of Dihovo, Velushina, Bach, Staravina, Radobor, Novatsi, Ivanevtsi, Strugovo, Bukovo, which were filled with books sent by the Ministry of Education, the Directorate for National Propaganda and various cultural and educational societies and organizations. The community centers in Bitola were controlled by the Okoliyski Chitalishte Union under the management of N. Naydenov. Separately, a tourist society "Pelister" and a mountaineering society "Pelagoniya" were established. In addition to the societies, a university was also opened in Bitola, the governing board of which included: the regional director Hristo Gutsov, as chairman and members Metropolitan Filaret, the mayor Iliya Nenchev, the regional director for agriculture and animal husbandry Ivan Dimitrov, the regional veterinarian Dr. Tatarchev, Hristo Rizov, Hristo Svetiev, Aleksandar Kostov and Kosta Tsarnushanov.
From the very beginning, branches of the Bulgarian National Bank, the Bulgarian Agricultural and Cooperative Bank, the Macedonian National Bank, the Popular Bank, the Bulgarian Credit Bank, and others began to be established in the larger cities of Vardar Macedonia. The Bulgarian Agricultural and Cooperative Bank had granted loans in the amount of 24,650,000 leva by November 30, 1943. Also through the bank, 365 plows, 270 harrows, 32 triors, and others were distributed by the end of 1941. Agricultural cooperatives began to be formed in the Skopje region (Gorni Polog, Glishik, Romanovtsi, Dolyani, Studena Bara). Regional Economic Chambers and Regional Economic Directorates were established in Bitola and Skopje, which were responsible for harvesting the harvest. 10 million kg of wheat were cleaned and dewormed. At the end of June, Ivan Stranski arrived from Bulgaria, who held talks with local specialists on soil improvement and other issues. In connection with the displaced Serbian colonists, who numbered 36,451 people, a Supreme Agrarian Viceroyalty was established. The lands liberated by them were distributed to the landless and low-income peasants. By the end of 1941, 1,500,000 decares of land were distributed in the Skopje region, and in 1942 another 280,500 decares to 12,020 familiesref name="Makedonia" /> 72 cooperatives were established (by the beginning of 1943) in the Skopje region: 15 in the Gevgelija district, 12 in the Skopje district, 7 in the Strumica district, 6 in the Berovo district, 2 in the Shtip district, 2 in the Ohrid district, and 1 each in the Radovis, Resen, and Svetinikol districts.
On May 25, 1941, a society of engineers and architects headed by Dimitar Chkatrov was established. The construction of the 105 km long Gyueshevo-Kumanovo railway began. The digging of the Gyueshevo-Kriva Palanka tunnel began, which remained unfinished by 100 m. The labor units of the Bulgarian army, in which Bulgarian youth from Macedonia also participated, built a 262 km narrow-gauge railway line Gorna Dzhumaya-Kochani, Kochani-Shtrubce. 12,000 workers participated in the construction. Separately, 259 km of irrigation canals were dug and 13,692 decares of forests were afforested in the Skopje, Veles and Debar regions. A Sofia-Skopje-Bitola telephone line was laid. Regular buses began to travel on the routes Skopje-Kyustendil-Sofia, Surdulica-Valandovo – Udovo station, Dojran-Valandovo, Shtip-Radovish-Strumica, Strumica-Petrić. 20,400,000 leva were allocated from state finances for road construction. In addition, 6 roads connecting the region with Bulgaria were planned, for which 77 million leva were spent.
A General Commissariat for Macedonia was established, which distributed food supplies to the population. By May 31, 1941, the commissariat had imported 145,000 kg of sugar, 13,000 liters of oil and dozens of tons of flour, wheat and other items into Skopje. At the end of the year, the Bitola Regional Commissariat also distributed significant quantities of flour, sugar, oil, meat, tservuli, and firewood. At the end of 1941, 11,500,000 tons of food were sent to the Bitola region, and 2,000,000 tons to the Skopje region to feed the population. 10,100 tons of wheat seeds were cleaned, and 40,000 fruit trees were prepared for planting. Along with these activities, public kitchens were opened in Skopje, Veles, Bitola (2 kitchens for 400 poor families) and Shtip. There are 90 school canteens in the Bitola region, where a total of 60,000 students are fed. Day kindergartens were opened in Bitola, Prilep, Ohrid and Resen. Children's orphanages, two nursing homes, and two children's homes were opened in Skopje.
Attention was also paid to medical care. On June 18, 1941, the Bulgarian Medical Union for Vardar Macedonia was established. In the period May–December, 37 state outpatient clinics were established in the Skopje region. Hospitals were opened in Skopje with 400 beds, Shtip with 100 beds, Kumanovo with 80, Vranje with 90 beds, and others. A water union was established in Kochani and the drainage of the Skopje and Strumica fields was initiated, and an attempt was made to limit malaria.
On 2 February 1943, the "Law on the Granting of National Pensions to Particularly Meritorious Figures in the Liberation Struggles" was adopted, through which pensions were granted to proven revolutionaries from Macedonia, Thrace, Dobrudja, Morava Valley and Pirot. During the four years of Bulgarian rule in Macedonia, celebrations and commemorations of events and personalities of particular importance to Bulgarian history were constantly held. In 1943, during the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Ilinden Uprising, Anton Ketskarov, Kiril Përlichev and Assen Kavaev established the Ohrid All-Citizens' Foundation "St. Clement", whose goal was the construction of a Macedonian Cultural Center in Ohrid (similar to the centers in Sofia and Varna). For this purpose, the Bulgarian government allocated 10 million leva. On May 4, 1943, a memorial service was held in the village of Banitsa on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the death of Gotse Delchev, attended by a number of Bulgarian public figures from Old Bulgaria and Macedonia. A memorial plaque was erected at his burial site and a donation fund was established with an initial capital of 100,000 leva, through which a monument to Gotse Delchev would be built at that site. For the construction of a monument in Rashanets, Ohrid region, where a major battle took place during the Ilinden Uprising, a sum of 100,000 leva was raised.
The Border Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia under the leadership of Metodi Shatorov did not recognize the Bulgarian troops as occupying, refused to wage armed struggle against them and made attempts to join the Bulgarian Communist Party. After the attack on the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany, the communists in Bulgaria became more active. In the period 1941–1944, a partisan communist movement was formed within the borders of Vardar Macedonia, dominated by the Yugoslav Communist Party, and led to the restoration of Yugoslavia after the end of the war. The main role in the armed resistance during the second period of the campaign was played by the so-called People's Liberation Army of Macedonia. It was led by the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army and the partisan detachments of Macedonia (General Staff of NOV and POM). The partisan detachments in Vardar Macedonia grew into the NOVM as the war progressed.
The Bulgarian administration created counter-units, the purpose of which was to pursue the partisan detachments and their helpers. The proposal for this was made by Stefan Simeonov, the regional police chief of the Skopje region. He read in a Yugoslav brochure how the Serbs had fought against the Bulgarian bandits (IMRO) until 1941 in Yugoslavia, namely with counter-units led by Mihail Kalamatiev, Mino Stankov and others. The regional governor of Skopje, Dimitar Raev, sent a request to the minister of internal affairs, Petar Gabrovski, who gave his consent to the formation of counter-units, mainly from supporters of Ivan Mihailov's IMRO.
After the occupation of Greece, the Communist Party of Greece created the National Liberation Front and the Greek People's Liberation Army under it, which played a major role in the liberation of the country. On October 16, the Greek collaborationist prime minister, Gen. Georgios Tsolakoglou sent a memorandum to the leadership of the Third Reich against the developing "Bulgarian propaganda" in Aegean Macedonia. At the end of September 1941, the Drama uprising broke out, which was hastily suppressed by Bulgarian troops.
As early as 1941, the Bulgarian officer Andon Kalchev took the initiative to form Bulgarian organizations in the Bulgarian-populated territories of Aegean Macedonia that remained unoccupied by the Bulgarian army. In Lerin, the paramilitary organization "Ohrana" was established, in Thessaloniki a Bulgarian club of officers who lobbied for the protection of the local population against the Greek communist and pro-German formations, such as ELAS, the Security Battalions, the Thanatos Battalions and others. In early 1943, in Kostur, Andon Kalchev created the "Bulgarian Committee Freedom or Death" with the help of senior Italian officers. Counter-groups of the committee, armed with Italian equipment, were formed in the Kostur, Voden and other regions. After the capitulation of Italy, German units occupied the Kostur and Lerin regions and also assisted the committee.
In 1943, Bulgarian military units were invited by the German command to occupy the Thessaloniki region, but were not allowed into the city of Thessaloniki itself.
The decision to exterminate all Jews on the territory of Germany, the territories it occupied and the territories of its allies was taken by the government in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee in 1942. Then their mass deportation to German concentration camps in occupied Eastern Europe began. The danger for Bulgarian Jews loomed at the end of 1942, when Germany began to put pressure on the Bulgarian government for a "final solution to the Jewish question" within Europe. On February 12, 1943, the Council of Ministers approved an agreement for the deportation of 20,000 Bulgarian Jews to Germany. The government only agreed to Jews from the "new" lands, arguing that they were not Bulgarian citizens. In March 1943, 11,480 Jews were deported from Thrace, Macedonia, and the Pirot region. This was done on the direct order of Heinrich Himmler and under pressure from the German ambassador Adolf Beckerle. Between March 22 and April 1, Macedonian Jews were concentrated in the Tobacco Monopoly building in Skopje. The German consul in Skopje Witte testified that the population of the city welcomed the deportation of Macedonian Jews. The Bulgarian authorities released several dozen Jews of Italian origin, doctors, and others. Separate cases of rescued Jews from Macedonia include those of Rafael Moshe Kamhi and Illés Spitz. Nearly 50,000 Jews were deported from German-occupied Thessaloniki, with the help of Greek collaborators. The remaining Jews were deported by the Bulgarian administration and handed over to the Germans, who sent them to the Treblinka extermination camp, as a result of which the Jewish community of the New Lands was almost completely destroyed. Since they numbered about twelve thousand citizens, the required number of up to twenty thousand was planned to be filled from the old borders of the country. However, the deportation marked the beginning of mass protests in Bulgaria, led by the Orthodox Church and supported by both politicians and many citizens. As a result, the government postponed the deportation of Jews from Old Bulgaria and 48 thousand people were saved.
On August 26, 1944, under the threat of the Red Army advancing in Romania, the government of Ivan Bagryanov declared Bulgaria's neutrality in the war between Germany and the Soviet Union. It ordered German troops to leave the country, and those who refused to do so were to be disarmed. Within a few days, it broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, demanded a formal armistice from the United States and Great Britain, and began preparing the withdrawal of Bulgarian troops from the territories annexed by Yugoslavia and Greece. Under these circumstances, the leader of the "Ratnik" (Warrior) group, Prof. Assen Kantardzhiev, tried to call to convince the commander of the Fifth Army, Gen. Kocho Stoyanov, to march on Sofia and establish military rule in the country, overthrowing the government and making Alexander Tsankov prime minister. On 30 August, Stoyanov, who hesitated, left Skopje on his way to Sofia to survey the situation. Meanwhile, on 4 September, German troops captured the headquarters of the Bulgarian occupation corps in Niška Banja and the headquarters of the three Bulgarian divisions stationed there. Despite these circumstances, on 5 September the Soviet Union declared war on the Kingdom of Bulgaria. During this period, after consultations in Sofia, Ivan Mihailov arrived in Skopje with the intention of proclaiming the creation of the Independent Republic of Macedonia, but realizing that its fate was once again predetermined, he gave up.
On 6 September, the Bulgarian government decided to declare war on Germany, effective 8 September. The aim was to regroup Bulgarian troops in Macedonia and Eastern Serbia within this period, in order to prevent the Germans from attacking Sofia in order to support the planned coup. However, the plot failed and Major General Stoyanov was arrested on 6 September in Sofia. On the same day, the headquarters of the Fifth Bulgarian Army received an order for all occupation units to gather in Prilep by September 9 and then move together to the old borders. In this way, the Fifth Army was to effectively prevent the Germans from advancing towards the old borders of Bulgaria. Meanwhile, the new commander in place of Stoyanov - General Alexander Popdimitrov - concluded an agreement with the German headquarters in Skopje on September 7, 1944, for a "symbolic" war between the two countries in Macedonia. This action of his played a dual role. The Bulgarian units were confused and demoralized and began their retreat in a disorganized and chaotic manner. The German troops withdrawing from Greece confronted the fragmented Bulgarian units and took them prisoner en masse. Since over half of the soldiers were local cadres, they simply deserted and later handed over their weapons to the partisans or joined them. Arrests and murders of commanders in some units were carried out.
Fighting between the Bulgarian army and Wehrmacht units in Macedonia began immediately after the coup on 9 September 1944. General Vladimir Ketskarov was appointed as the new commander of the Fifth Army. Ketskarov was ordered by the Minister of Defense Damyan Velchev to contact the Main Headquarters of the Partisan Movement in order to agree on joint actions against the Germans. Such contact was established in Pehčevo, but due to the behavior of the Partisan representatives, no positive results were achieved. Thus, the Bulgarian army continued its withdrawal. Only the 17th Infantry Division, which was closest to the old border, managed to withdraw completely, and only the 15th Division resisted and fought at Bitola and Prilep with the support of Bulgarian aviation until 21 September, after which it withdrew in small groups to Bulgaria. The Yugoslav partisans, despite the fact that the new government in Sofia had announced a break with the Hitlerite coalition, were instructed to treat the Bulgarians as an enemy force, which they did. However, in the first few days after September 9, 1944, Bulgarian troops managed to repel the advancing German troops on the Kula-Vidin and Kyustendil-Sofia directions.
Meanwhile, Bulgaria withdrew from the central parts of Aegean Macedonia at the end of August, but the 7th Infantry Division blocked the direction along the Struma River valley, leading to its eastern parts. There in mid-September it successfully repelled several limited attacks by German troops. Thus, Bulgaria hoped to retain that part of the Newly Liberated Lands, which included the Aegean Sea. The Soviet Union also initially believed that it was possible to include at least Western Thrace in the country's post-war borders and thus secure a strategic outlet to the Aegean Sea. But Great Britain, whose troops were entering Greece at the same time, declared that a precondition for signing an armistice with Bulgaria was the withdrawal of Bulgarian troops to the old borders of the country. Thus, at the end of September, the transfer of administrative power in the Aegean Sea region to local Greek partisan governments began. In early October, Sava Ganovski arrived in the region to organize the final surrender of power, and on October 10, the army quickly began to evacuate, leaving behind property worth about 26 billion leva. Thousands of Bulgarians, forced by yet another Bulgarian setback to become refugees, set off north with the army. The withdrawal was completed by October 26, on which date a delegation led by Dobri Terpeshev finally handed over power to ELAS.
In practice, military operations against the Germans began after the Fatherland Front government came to power. It was led by Kimon Georgiev ("Zveno") and immediately signed an armistice with the Soviet Union, joining the war against Germany. The situation in the Balkans created in the fall of 1944 was favourable for the implementation of the foreign policy program of Yugoslav politicians to restore the pre-war borders of Yugoslavia. As a former ally of the Third Reich, the Bulgarian state fell into severe international isolation. To get out of the situation, it could not rely on the support of Romania, whose situation was similar to that of Bulgaria. Turkey's attitude was openly hostile, and as for Greece, the country was on the verge of civil war. In this situation, the most stable partner of the Fatherland Front government in the Balkans was the so-called National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia. As a result of October 5, 1944 In Craiova, an agreement on military cooperation was concluded between Bulgaria and representatives of the resistance from occupied Yugoslavia. An agreement was reached not to raise the issue of the Western Outlands, as well as that of the Pirin region, until the end of the war. On October 28, the so-called Moscow Armistice was signed with the Soviet Union, the United States and Great Britain in Moscow, with which Bulgaria sided with the Allies.
On September 18, 1944, the Bulgarian Army passed into operational subordination to the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin. The mobilization of the Bulgarian Army (renamed the Bulgarian People's Army) began on September 18 and ended at the end of the same month. The Bulgarian Army, as part of the forces of the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front, was tasked with securing the left flank of the Red Army, defeating the enemy forces in Serbia and Vardar Macedonia, and cutting off the retreat path of Group "E" of the German armies from Greece along the valleys of the Morava, Vardar, and Ibar rivers. The military group consisted of 10 divisions, 8 brigades, and other military forces. From October 8 to 14, 1944. Bulgarian troops conducted the offensive Nish Operation – the elite VII SS Division was defeated and Niš was captured. From October 8 to November 19, the Stracin–Kumanovo operation was carried out – Stracin, Kumanovo, Skopje were captured. At the same time, the Bregalnica-Strumica Operation was conducted, as a result of which the Wehrmacht units were pushed out of Tsarevo Selo, Kočani, Štip, Strumica, Veles and other settlements. From October 21 to November 30, the Kosovo Operation was carried out, during which the cities of Podujevë, Pristina, Mitrovica, Raška and Novi Pazar were captured. Everywhere, the Yugoslav partisans were instructed to treat the Bulgarians as occupation units, which they demonstratively carried out. Thus, under political pressure from the Yugoslav partisans, after the liberation of Vardar Macedonia and Morava Valley, the Second and Fourth Armies were forced to withdraw back to the old borders of Bulgaria, and only the First Bulgarian Army was left at the disposal of the Third Ukrainian Front.
This fulfilled the provisions of the armistice, by which Bulgaria had undertaken to place its armed forces under the leadership of the Soviet High Command, and the Bulgarian army, civil administration and all Bulgarian citizens to withdraw from Vardar Macedonia, Morava Valley and the Aegean Sea. The armistice placed Bulgaria in the position of an occupied state under the administration of an Allied Control Commission.