Incident at Petrich

The incident at Petrich, or the War of the Stray Dog, was a Greek–Bulgarian crisis in 1925, in which there was a short invasion of Bulgaria by Greece near the border town of Petrich, after the killing of a Greek captain and a sentry from Bulgarian soldiers. The incident ended after a decision of the League of Nations.

Background
The relations between Greece and Bulgaria had been strained since the start of the 20th century. There were minority problems between the two countries, also problems about the Macedonian issue and the activity of the Komitadjis. All these problems caused many disputes and many border conflicts between Greece and Bulgaria. The climate was tense and escalation could happen at any time.

The incident
There are two versions of how the incident started.

According to some sources all started on October 19, when a Greek soldier ran after his dog, which had strayed across the border from Greece at the pass Demirkapia on Belasitsa (in Bulgarian)/Belles (in Greek); thus, it is sometimes referred to as the War of the Stray Dog. The border was guarded by Bulgarian sentries, and one of them shot the Greek soldier.

On the other hand according to other sources, the Greco-Bulgarian frontier incident was caused when Bulgarian soldiers violated the Greek borders, attacked a Greek outpost at Belasitsa/Belles and killed a Greek captain and a sentry.

Bulgarian and Greek reaction
Bulgaria explained that the firing was due to a misunderstanding and expressed its regret. 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 it as long as Bulgarian troops remained in Greek territory.

Also, the Greek dictatorial government under General Theodoros Pangalos issued an ultimatum to Bulgaria giving a time limit of 48 hours

Greece in its ultimatum demanded:


 * 1)  The punishment of those responsible.
 * 2)  An official apology.
 * 3)  Two million French francs, as compensation for the families of the victims.

In addition, Greece sent soldiers into Bulgaria to occupy the town of Petrich with the object of enforcing the Greek demands for satisfaction.

International intervention
Fighting between Greek and Bulgarian forces started and Bulgaria appealed to the League of Nations to intervene in the dispute. Some chetas of Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), together with the sentries, organised defence lines against the Greeks near Petrich. Volunteers and war veterans from the whole region were summoned to join the resistance. On the other side Greece made it clear that it was not interested in Bulgarian territory, but demanded compensation.

According to the newspapers of that time the town of Petrich was captured,  but according to some other sources, the League of Nations sent a telegraph to both countries ordering them to stop their armies just few hours before Greeks launched their attack to Petrich.

The League ordered: Both countries accepted the decision, although Greece complained about the disparity between its treatment and that of Italy in the Corfu incident at 1923, since the decision showed that there were two different rules in the League, one for the Great Powers, like Italy, and another for the smaller, like Greece.
 * 1) Ceasefire
 * 2) Greek troops should withdraw from Bulgaria and
 * 3) Greece should pay a compensation to Bulgaria.

The compensation that Greece had to pay for material and morale damage was £45,000 and should pay them in two months. Over 50 people were killed before Greece complied, mostly Bulgarian civilians.