For the first time, Bulgarians got acquainted with a new type of military equipment - tanks, in 1917, when captured Allied tanks were shown to a group of officers who were visiting Germany.
However, on November 17, 1916, during the battle on the Dobruzhany front in Romania, the Bulgarians managed to seize the Austin armored car from the Russian troops. The further fate of the captured armored car is unknown.
After the defeat in the First World War, Bulgaria was prohibited from possessing many types of weapons, including tanks. The Allied Control Commission sympathized with Yugoslavia and Greece and sought to isolate and weaken Bulgaria. However, changes in world politics in the early 1930s, when many European countries ceased to comply with previously reached agreements, allowed Bulgaria to begin strengthening its armed forces.
In 1934, the Ministry of War of Bulgaria made a decision to purchase in Italy 14 Fiat-Ansaldo L3 / 33 tankettes, 14 heavy trucks-transporters, Rada tankettes, anti-aircraft guns and other military equipment worth 174 million levs on a loan for a period of 6-8 years. The actual tankettes cost the Bulgarians 10.770, 6 thousand leva. On March 1, 1935, the first transport with equipment arrived at the port of Varna. This day is considered the birth date of the Bulgarian tank forces, and the Italian tankettes became the first Bulgarian tanks.
All tankettes were sent to the 2nd Automobile Battalion in Sofia. The 1st tank company was formed from them. It became a division of the 1st Engineering Regiment. The company consisted of 4 officers and 86 privates. It should be noted that the Bulgarian tankettes were armed with 8-mm Austrian machine guns Schwarzlose instead of the Italian FIAT 35 or Breda 38. This caliber was the standard at that time in the Bulgarian army.
Italian tankettes Fiat-Ansaldo L3 / 33 at the pre-war exercises of the Bulgarian army
The second tank company was formed in 1936 with a staff of 167 people. Moreover, she had no tanks. On September 4, 1936, the Bulgarian War Ministry signed an agreement with the British company British Vickers-Armstrong to supply the country with 8 light Vickers 6-ton Mark E tanks in a single-turret version, with a 47-mm Vickers gun and one machine gun produced by the same company. The tanks cost the Bulgarians 25.598 thousand leva, including spare parts and ammunition. The agreement was approved by the Bulgarian government a month later, on October 4, 1936. The first tanks began to arrive at the beginning of 1938. Four tanks were sent to two platoons each. At the end of the year, the 2nd Panzer Company took part in the exercises along with the motorized infantry regiment and motorized artillery. Both tank companies took part in 1939 in maneuvers near the town of Popovo.
British light tanks Vickers 6-ton Mark E on the exercises of the Bulgarian army
Since tanks without trucks are only "half the strength", the government also purchased 100 Opel trucks (PKW P-4) 4x2, and in 1938 - 50 Italian Pavezi tractors (P-4-100W) for the needs of heavy artillery. Thus, by 1938, the Bulgarian army had 338 trucks, 100 special vehicles, 160 ambulances, 50 tractors and 22 tanks.
The Italian Pavesi P4 / 100 tractor of the Bulgarian army tows the 88-mm German FlaK-36 anti-aircraft gun
On January 1, 1939, both companies were merged into the 1st Tank Battalion. The battalion had a headquarters, two tank companies, an equipment repair department, a total of 173 servicemen. Formally, the battalion was assigned to the school of reserve officers, however, in reality, the first company was based on the southern border - in Kolarovo and Karmanliysko, and the second company - in the area of Polski Trmbesh and Rusensko, together with the 5th Infantry Division "Dunav".
Naturally, this state of affairs did not suit the Bulgarian leadership, and they turned to Germany with a request to sell them tanks. Oddly enough, Germany did not refuse, and in February 1940 Bulgaria received the first 26 Czech Skoda LT vz. 35 tanks at a very low price, 10 more were expected during the summer. The tanks were armed with the Czech 37-mm gun Škoda A-3. However, the Bulgarians received another 10 LT vz. 35 already in 1941 - 10 T-11 tanks (export version of the LT vz. 35 for Afghanistan), with a 37-mm Škoda A-7 gun. Czech tanks made up the materiel of the 3rd tank company.
Bulgarian Tsar Boris III in the Skoda LT Vz. 35, presumably during military exercises in 1941
Bulgarian T-11 tank (export Skoda LT Vz. 35 for Afghanistan) in pre-war exercises
Build Bulgarian tanks Skoda LT Vz. 35 (left) and T-11 (right) in the exercise
World War II has already begun in Europe, in which Bulgaria supported Germany. However, the modest Bulgarian tank forces were not enough to resist Yugoslavia (107 vehicles: 54 Renault R35 light tanks, 56 outdated Renault FT-17 tanks and 8 Czech Skoda T-32 tankettes), Turkey (96 Renault R35s, 67 Soviet T-26, at least 30 British tankettes Vickers Carden Loyd, 13 light tanks Vickers MkVI b, at least 10 Vickers 6-ton Mk E, 60 Soviet cannon vehicles BA-6). Although the Bulgarians were superior to Greece (11 Renault FT-17, 2 Vickers 6-ton Mk E, 1 Italian Fiat-3000).
Under an agreement with Germany on April 23, 1941, the Bulgarians purchased 40 Renault R-35 tanks. The price was 2.35 million German marks. The captured French vehicles were in poor technical condition and could only be used as training vehicles. Nevertheless, four companies were formed from them, which made up the 2nd Tank Battalion.
Bulgarian Renault R-35 on exercise
Also in 1941, 100 FIAT 626 army trucks were delivered from Italy for the Bulgarian army.
Italian truck FIAT 626
In the spring of 1941 Bulgaria announced a partial mobilization. The 1st tank and 2nd tank battalions became part of the 1st tank regiment. Its formation was announced on June 25, 1941 in Sofia. He became the backbone of the tank brigade. It included headquarters, reconnaissance, armored, motorized infantry, motorized artillery, special motorized, medical and service units. The regiment was quartered in the barracks of the 1st Cavalry Regiment and was subordinate to the army headquarters. The regiment consisted of six companies. In addition to tanks, the company included 24 (4x2) 3-ton Austrian trucks 3, 6-36s "Opel-Blitz", 18 BMW R-35 motorcycles and 2 motorcycles "Praga". The regiment was commanded by General Genov. The commanding staff of the regiment underwent specialized training in Germany.
Truck 3, 6-36s "Opel-Bltz"
At the end of July, the 1st Tank Regiment was transferred to a new location - to the Knyaz Simeon camp, 10 kilometers west of Sofia. The main problem of the tankers was the lack of radio equipment; Czech Skoda tanks were equipped with them, but French Renault tanks were almost completely deprived. The Bulgarians quite rightly believed that this was the result of sabotage by the French, who were preparing the tanks for shipment to the Balkans. Another problem was the inexperience of the Bulgarian tankers - they were not able to participate in the battles. On August 15, the regiment consisted of 1.802 officers and lower ranks.
Bulgarian officers of the 1st tank regiment in front of the T-11 tank
In October 1941, the tankers had a chance to excel. The tank regiment was sent to the east of Bulgaria, to the city of Yambol, where military exercises were planned. And then the Renault R35 tanks of the 2nd battalion "showed themselves". Many of them got up on the way to the maneuvering area due to mechanical breakdowns and road conditions. In fact, the battalion did not take part in the exercises. Skoda of two companies of the 1st battalion and Vickers of a separate 2nd tank company turned out to be much more reliable.
At the end of 1941, the brigade underwent minor staff changes. Her engineering company received a hitherto missing bridge column. On March 19, 1942, two platoons of the brigade took part in the firing. One platoon of 5 Skoda LT Vz. 35 fired at targets at distances of 200 and 400 meters from 37-mm guns and showed, in the opinion of Bulgarian and German observers, good results. Tankers from the Renault R35 platoon fired only with machine guns, their crews still lacked experience.
In March 1942, the brigade had the following amount of military equipment:
Brigade headquarters: 3 Skoda LT-35s (1 tank with radio equipment).
- Headquarters of a tank regiment: 2 Skoda LT-35 (1).
- 1st tank battalion:
headquarters: 2 Skoda LT-35 (1).
- 1st company: 17 Skoda LT-35 (4);
- 2nd company: 17 Skoda LT-35 (4);
- 3rd company: 8 Vickers Mk. E and 5 Ansaldo L3 / 33.
- II tank battalion:
headquarters: 1 Renault R-35 (1) and 3 Ansaldo L3 / 33;
- 1-3 companies: 13 Renault R-35s each (all without radio equipment).
Reconnaissance party: 5 Ansaldo L3 / 33.
Interestingly, the Vickers company was not considered a tank, but, on the contrary, an anti-tank unit.
Soldiers and officers near the Vickers 6-ton Mark E tank, 1941
In the spring of 1942, a motorized air defense battery was handed over to the brigade. She had fifteen 20-mm guns and 15 light machine guns.
The Germans noted significant progress in the development of the brigade, but German advisers also noted major shortcomings. The main of them was the brigade's materiel - the slow-moving and deprived of radio stations Renault R-35 in combat conditions could not be used in one echelon: the brigade could only be involved in parts. The way out was seen in the complete replacement of French cars - either with Skoda, or with German-made tanks with 75-mm guns. The Bulgarians also needed armored vehicles for the reconnaissance unit, light mortars for the infantry regiment, and bridge-laying machines for the engineering company.
In the period from May 29 to May 31, 1942, the brigade took part in exercises near Sofia, which showed some improvement in the elements of interaction between tankers and infantrymen. The actions of brigade reconnaissance and a number of other units were assessed as "bad." The Bulgarian command made a decision: to call a German specialist. On July 11, such a specialist arrived in Sofia. It was Lieutenant Colonel von Bulow. Its main task was to coordinate the actions of tankers, artillerymen and infantrymen on the battlefield. Gradually, the efforts of the German began to bear fruit. If at the exercises in Dimitrovo, near the town of Pernik, at the end of August, the old problems of the brigade again made themselves felt, then at the maneuvers in the Stara Zagora area from October 14 to 20, 1942, the "bronevichs" showed themselves, according to the estimates of the officers of the General Staff, "good ". By the way, by this time the brigade already numbered 3.809 fighters and officers.
