Unknown Bulgarian army officers in Sofia, 1941 - Help to ID

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

Hello,

 

Please help me identify these five Bulgarian army officers. The photos were taken in Sofia in 1941.

 

Thanks!

[steveBobby]

Regarding the general in photo No. 5, I think he is Lieutenant General Nikola Markov Totev（Генерал-лейтенант Никола Марков Тотев (1888-1974)）.And the rewards he received are also consistent.I will attach a photo of the general below.

Sincerely

Steve

 

 

I can't make a very accurate guess about the general in photo No. 2. Because only the side of his face is shown. All I can say is that I guess he is Major General Vasil Tsankov Balarev（Генерал-майор Васил Цанков Баларев）. 

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

5 hours ago, steveBobby said:

Sincerely

Steve

Thank you very much Steve!

 

Are number 1 and 4 perhaps the same officer?

[Graf]

Hi,

 

in my opinion 1 and 3 and 2 and 5 are the same generals

That means we have to identify only three generals

one is 100% general Nikola Totev

Number 3 could be the one Steve identified  or General Atanas Zilkov ( he was awarded German Iron Cross 02nd C;ass)  however not sure

 

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

27 minutes ago, Graf said:

Hi,

 

in my opinion 1 and 3 and 2 and 5 are the same generals

That means we have to identify only three generals

one is 100% general Nikola Totev

Number 3 could be the one Steve identified  or General Atanas Zilkov ( he was awarded German Iron Cross 02nd C;ass)  however not sure

 

Don't you mean numbers 1 & 4 and 2 & 5 are the same generals?

If number 5 is Nikola Totev then number 2 should be also?

Steve identified number 2 as possibly Vasil Balarev, not number 3. Number 3 is wearing the 1914 version of the Iron Cross, and I think he is not a General, perhaps a Colonel.

[Graf]

9 hours ago, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

Don't you mean numbers 1 & 4 and 2 & 5 are the same generals?

If number 5 is Nikola Totev then number 2 should be also?

Steve identified number 2 as possibly Vasil Balarev, not number 3. Number 3 is wearing the 1914 version of the Iron Cross, and I think he is not a General, perhaps a Colonel.

9 hours ago, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

Don't you mean numbers 1 & 4 and 2 & 5 are the same generals?

If number 5 is Nikola Totev then number 2 should be also?

Steve identified number 2 as possibly Vasil Balarev, not number 3. Number 3 is wearing the 1914 version of the Iron Cross, and I think he is not a General, perhaps a Colonel.

Yes The Number 1 and number 4 is the same person and the number 2 and number 5 is the same person too.

The number 3 is wearing WW1 cross That is only my opinion I might be wrong and he could be the General Steve identified  as Vassil Balaraev  I assume Steve and myself are using the same sources.however see the things at different angle   Again that is only m  guess The main problem is that the sources for the Bulgarian Generals are limited Only the top and well known Generals  had more pictures taken and more information is available for them

 

 

Regards

 

 

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

1 hour ago, Graf said:

 

Thank you.

 

So number 2 & 5 is definitely Lieutenant General Nikola Markov Totev, like Steve said.

 

Number 1 & 4 (same person) is unknown.

 

And number 3 is unknown. Possibly Atanas Pavlov Zhilkov like you said.

 

I think Steve meant that #2 in the first photo could be Major General Vasil Tsankov Balarev, and not #3. I guess he didn't notice #2 is the same officer as #5 (i.e. Lieutenant General Nikola Markov Totev).

 

By the way, here is another General from the same photo.

He is supposed to be Lieutenant-General Nikola Nikolov Hadzhipetkov. Is that correct?

Edited December 4, 2023 by Kriegsmarine Admiral

[steveBobby]

2 hours ago, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

Thank you.

 

So number 2 & 5 is definitely Lieutenant General Nikola Markov Totev, like Steve said.

 

Number 1 & 4 (same person) is unknown.

 

And number 3 is unknown. Possibly Atanas Pavlov Zhilkov like you said.

 

I think Steve meant that #2 in the first photo could be Major General Vasil Tsankov Balarev, and not #3. I guess he didn't notice #2 is the same officer as #5 (i.e. Lieutenant General Nikola Markov Totev).

 

By the way, here is another General from the same photo.

He is supposed to be Lieutenant-General Nikola Nikolov Hadzhipetkov. Is that correct?

Judging from the uniform, medals and facial features, this is indeed General Nikola Nikolov Hadzhipetkov，But the contours of the ears are somewhat different.And whether he is wearing a graduation certificate from the War College? It can be seen that in the photo of the general below, he is not wearing.

Sincerely

Setve

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

9 hours ago, steveBobby said:

Judging from the uniform, medals and facial features, this is indeed General Nikola Nikolov Hadzhipetkov，But the contours of the ears are somewhat different.And whether he is wearing a graduation certificate from the War College? It can be seen that in the photo of the general below, he is not wearing.

Sincerely

Setve

Thank you Steve.

 

Do you agree number 2 & 5 at the top is the same person (Lieutenant General Nikola Markov Totev)?

[Graf]

It could be General  Nikola Nikolov Hadzhipetkov

In the 1st picture he is wearing 2nd Class Order of St Alexander, which  he was awarded in 1940 -a year before the photo

7 minutes ago, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

Thank you Steve.

 

Do you agree number 2 & 5 at the top is the same person (Lieutenant General Nikola Markov Totev)?

I do agree

[steveBobby]

43 minutes ago, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

Thank you Steve.

 

Do you agree number 2 & 5 at the top is the same person (Lieutenant General Nikola Markov Totev)?

yes, I agree. I may not have noticed at the time that it was the same general in the photo. glad to help you.

Yours

Steve

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

Here is the full photo (1st one I posted above). I believe it was taken in March 1941, when Admiral Karlgeorg Schuster (far right) arrived in Sofia to assume the duties of Admiral „Z“.

Edited December 5, 2023 by Kriegsmarine Admiral

[Graf]

21 hours ago, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

Here is the full photo (1st one I posted above). I believe it was taken in March 1941, when Admiral Karlgeorg Schuster (far right) arrived in Sofia to assume the duties of Admiral „Z“.

Excellent photo Thanks

That can explain the presence of those generals

General  Nikola Petkov Hadzhipetkov was Chief of Staff of Bulgarian Army

Lieutenant General Nikola  Totev Markov  was Inspector of the Infantry of the Bulgarian Army

Note :

The correct Names  are  Nikola Totev Markov  - Totev is the middle name

and Nikola Petkov Hadzipetkov  The middle name is Petkov

In Bulgaria middle name of a male person is derived from the father,s name and v is added at the end In this case  his fatther was Petko  plus V  makes Petkov For female - va is added at the end

Interesting fact is the Family name starting with Hadzi It is added to the family name of a person who did religious trip to the Holy land -Jerusalem This Person is called with a respect "Hadzi"  Hadji plas Petkov makes Hadzipetkov Then that name is passed  to the next generation mainly the males In this case either the general father or the grandfather had been to the Holy Land

 

Now we have to identify the third General Who I assume also held a very high position

 

 

 

 

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

Thank you Graf for the interesting and detailed explanation.

 

Here is the other photo:

1: Kapitän zur See Hellmuth Heye, Chief of Staff of the Admiral „Z“ (14 February 1941-03 April 1941)
2: General-leytenant (Lieutenant General) Nikola Totev Markov, Inspector of the Infantry of the Bulgarian Army (1938-11 August 1941)
3: Admiral Karlgeorg Schuster, Admiral „Z“ (04 March 1941-03 April 1941)
4: Herbert Freiherr von Richthofen, German Ambassador to Bulgaria (1939–1941)
5: General-leytenant (Lieutenant General) Nikola Petkov Hadzhipetkov, Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army (10 December 1938-11 August 1941)
6: Oberst Hans Bruckmann, German Military Attaché in Sofia (01 November 1937-19 December 1942)
7: Oberstleutnant Carl-August von Schoenebeck, Military Advisor and Air-Attaché at the German Embassy in Sofia, at the same time Chief of the Luftwaffe-Mission in Bulgaria (01 September 1939-06 September 1944)

[steveBobby]

These are very rare photos! Very beautiful collection! ！

 

[Graf]

On 07/12/2023 at 02:10, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

Thank you Graf for the interesting and detailed explanation.

 

Here is the other photo:

1: Kapitän zur See Hellmuth Heye, Chief of Staff of the Admiral „Z“ (14 February 1941-03 April 1941)
2: General-leytenant (Lieutenant General) Nikola Totev Markov, Inspector of the Infantry of the Bulgarian Army (1938-11 August 1941)
3: Admiral Karlgeorg Schuster, Admiral „Z“ (04 March 1941-03 April 1941)
4: Herbert Freiherr von Richthofen, German Ambassador to Bulgaria (1939–1941)
5: General-leytenant (Lieutenant General) Nikola Petkov Hadzhipetkov, Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army (10 December 1938-11 August 1941)
6: Oberst Hans Bruckmann, German Military Attaché in Sofia (01 November 1937-19 December 1942)
7: Oberstleutnant Carl-August von Schoenebeck, Military Advisor and Air-Attaché at the German Embassy in Sofia, at the same time Chief of the Luftwaffe-Mission in Bulgaria (01 September 1939-06 September 1944)

Very nice.photo

 

I will try to get the third general name

 

From the photos it looks like his position was not as high as the others, however still high enough to be chosen for the meeting.

 

Regards

 

 

[Graf]

On 07/12/2023 at 11:43, steveBobby said:

These are very rare photos! Very beautiful collection! ！

 

I agree

[Theodor]

On the first photos, officers 1, 3 and 4 are not generals. Senior officers, probably colonels, but not generals. The collar tabs are for all officer ranks, but not the generals' oak leaves. The photo of 1 is pretty dark, but still I think he has the "ordinary" tabs, not general's. So, number 3 can not be Zhilkov, as that unknown man was not higher than a colonel in 1941, while Zhilkov was promoted to general back in 1937

Edited January 4 by Theodor

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

Another unknown Bulgarian officer I need help identifying.

Thanks!

[steveBobby]

On 2/19/2024 at 8:17 PM, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

Another unknown Bulgarian officer I need help identifying.

Thanks!

Greeting！

I currently speculate that there are two candidates，one is Todor Dimitrov Haidukov（Тодор Димитров Хайдуков），He was promoted to colonel in 1938 and served at the First Army Headquarters ans Infantry inspection in 1942-1943.

another one is Mikhail Stoyanov Mihaylov（Михаил Стоянов Михайлов），But he might just be a military school instructor.

Sincerely

Steve

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

19 minutes ago, steveBobby said:

Greeting！

I currently speculate that there are two candidates，one is Todor Dimitrov Haidukov（Тодор Димитров Хайдуков），He was promoted to colonel in 1938 and served at the First Army Headquarters ans Infantry inspection in 1942-1943.

another one is Mikhail Stoyanov Mihaylov（Михаил Стоянов Михайлов），But he might just be a military school instructor.

Sincerely

Steve

I can give you some more information and also the full photo.

"Group photo of the Staff of the XXX. Army Corps and some Kriegsmarine officers from the Staff of the Naval-Commander „A“ in Bulgaria (possibly in Plovdiv) shortly before the German invasion of Greece, late March 1941.
1: Generalleutnant Eugen Ott, Tasked with the Leadership of the XXX. Army Corps (25 March 1941-10 May 1941)
2: Konteradmiral Hans Hubertus von Stosch, Naval-Commander „A“ (14 February 1941-20 April 1941)
3: Oberstleutnant i.G. Walter Botsch, Chief of the General Staff of the XXX. Army Corps (25 October 1940-01 June 1943)"

[steveBobby]

On 2/27/2024 at 7:02 PM, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

I can give you some more information and also the full photo.

"Group photo of the Staff of the XXX. Army Corps and some Kriegsmarine officers from the Staff of the Naval-Commander „A“ in Bulgaria (possibly in Plovdiv) shortly before the German invasion of Greece, late March 1941.
1: Generalleutnant Eugen Ott, Tasked with the Leadership of the XXX. Army Corps (25 March 1941-10 May 1941)
2: Konteradmiral Hans Hubertus von Stosch, Naval-Commander „A“ (14 February 1941-20 April 1941)
3: Oberstleutnant i.G. Walter Botsch, Chief of the General Staff of the XXX. Army Corps (25 October 1940-01 June 1943)"

If the photo was taken in Plovdiv, then maybe the real colonel in the photo is not either of the two candidates I thought. I will continue to look for possible candidates.

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

8 hours ago, steveBobby said:

If the photo was taken in Plovdiv, then maybe the real colonel in the photo is not either of the two candidates I thought. I will continue to look for possible candidates.

I'm not sure if it was taken in Plovdiv. It's just a guess because the headquarters of the Naval-Commander „A“ were located there in March 1941.

[Graf]

On 07/12/2023 at 02:10, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

Thank you Graf for the interesting and detailed explanation.

 

Here is the other photo:

1: Kapitän zur See Hellmuth Heye, Chief of Staff of the Admiral „Z“ (14 February 1941-03 April 1941)
2: General-leytenant (Lieutenant General) Nikola Totev Markov, Inspector of the Infantry of the Bulgarian Army (1938-11 August 1941)
3: Admiral Karlgeorg Schuster, Admiral „Z“ (04 March 1941-03 April 1941)
4: Herbert Freiherr von Richthofen, German Ambassador to Bulgaria (1939–1941)
5: General-leytenant (Lieutenant General) Nikola Petkov Hadzhipetkov, Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army (10 December 1938-11 August 1941)
6: Oberst Hans Bruckmann, German Military Attaché in Sofia (01 November 1937-19 December 1942)
7: Oberstleutnant Carl-August von Schoenebeck, Military Advisor and Air-Attaché at the German Embassy in Sofia, at the same time Chief of the Luftwaffe-Mission in Bulgaria (01 September 1939-06 September 1944)

Number 5 is 100% : General-leytenant (Lieutenant General) Nikola Petkov Hadzhipetkov, Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army (10 December 1938-11 August 1941)

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

On 29/02/2024 at 02:02, steveBobby said:

If the photo was taken in Plovdiv, then maybe the real colonel in the photo is not either of the two candidates I thought. I will continue to look for possible candidates.

I agree he is Todor Dimitrov Haidukov actually.

Look at the photo comparison. They are the same person.

Do you have more information about his career perhaps?