Bulgarian Military Rifle Cartridges – A little bit of everything!

Paul Scarlata's report in the 11/1 SGN will cover rifle ammunition of Bulgaria, a Balkan nation that saw plenty of combat during the first half of the 20th century. The Bulgars used an unusually large variety of ammunition to fight its neighbors.

Bulgarian irregulars received Pushka Berdana obrazetz 1880g rifles during the period of

Russian influence. This tended to recede after Russia backed Serbia in a two-week 1885

war with Bulgaria.

A Bulgarian army court martial during the First Balkan War in 1912. The two sentries

are armed with the Pushka Krnka obrrazetz 1869. These were clearly just for the symbolic

value.

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Bulgarian soldiers during the First Balkan War were armed with the Pushka Mannlicher

obrazetz 1895 and a Madsen light machine gun. This shot was taken well before combat

began.

Bulgarian irregulars, armed with the Pushka Mannlicher obrazetz 1888 90, during the

Second Balkan War in 1913. There are plenty of steep mountains like this throughout the

Balkans.

This Bulgarian squad is ready for war with an assortment of M.95 rifles and carbines, a

Broomhandle Mauser with shoulder stock, various Gasser revolvers and daggers and at

least one grenade.

Bulgarian communist partisans enter Sofia in 1944. They are armed with a mixture of

ex-German Mausers and Mannlichers, while the girl in the truck cab is armed with a

German MP40.