site.btaUPDATED Paratroopers Day Marked in Sofia with Laying Wreaths
Paratroopers Day and the 81st anniversary of the first combat day of the Parachute Druzhina was marked in Sofia on Saturday with the laying of wreaths and flowers in memory of the fallen paratroopers.
President Rumen Radev participated in the wreath laying ceremony. He received the honour guard and paid tribute to the military paratroopers who died for Bulgaria. The ceremony was also attended by Parliament Chair Nataliya Kiselova, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov, and Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov.
Parachute Druzhina
Saturday marks the anniversary of the first participation of the Parachute Druzhina from the Bulgarian First Army in actual combat in 1944. The Parachute Druzhina was formed in accordance with a confidential letter dated March 18, 1943, from the commander of the Air Force, Major General Dimitar Ayranov, during the final stage of World War II (1944-1945). This took place in actual combat during the Bulgarian Army's Stracin–Kumanovo offensive, where the Parachute Druzhina was used as an assault infantry unit against the 11th Airborne Division of the Wehrmacht, Nazi Germany's armed forces between 1935 and 1945. The Druzhina captured the fortified position, opening the way for the Bulgarian Army's advance, but lost 35 men and had another 65 wounded. Throughout the war, the Druzhina lost 59 soldiers, 151 were wounded, and 23 were left disabled for life.
/NZ/
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