On December 22, 1887, the law on the Border Guard of the Principality of Bulgaria was promulgated in the "State Gazette". Thus, the Border Troops were established.
In 1887, the Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs of the Principality of Bulgaria Stefan Stambolov submitted a bill on the Border Guard to the National Assembly. As its initiator points out, it is an expression of the realized “need for the establishment of a special guard, tasked exclusively with guarding the border.” After a brief discussion, the National Assembly adopted the first Border Guard Law in our country (State Gazette, No. 145, December 22, 1887). The law stipulates that border guarding shall be "carried out by a border guard, consisting of mounted and foot guards, divided into junior and senior." Each guard shall be assigned a section of the border line, no shorter than two and no longer than six kilometers, the Ministry of Interior recalls.
By order of the Minister of Interior No. I-183/22.12.1992, the official holiday of the National Service "Border Troops" (”Border Police”) is celebrated every year on December 22.
At the end of 1894, the second Border Guard Law was adopted. According to him, it is under the Ministry of War and consists of six infantry companies, one formed from each divisional area - at that time Bulgaria was divided into the following divisional areas: 1st Sofia, 2nd Thracian, 3rd Balkan, 4th Preslav, 5th Danube and 6th Bdin. The companies bear the numbers of their divisions and guard the border section of their divisional area. They are also accompanied by 150 mounted guards from the Ministry of Internal Affairs for police service and 200 mounted guards for customs service from the Ministry of Finance.
According to the Regulations for the Border Guard issued in August 1895, it is filled with infantry officers and non-commissioned officers, with priority given to those who voluntarily expressed a desire to join the border guard, as well as to those who had a good attestation from their superiors. The sergeants were required to have at least 2 years of overtime service, to be "well-educated and distinguished by their honesty, accuracy and energy", and the privates were selected from the old infantry units "for their honesty, accuracy, obedience and energy."
After 1895, at intervals corresponding to the needs for border protection under the existing organization of the border guard, so-called training post premises - border towers - were built.
In order to further strengthen the border guard, the first Statute for the Border Service was approved on May 16, 1900. The Statute fixed the powers of the border guard as "the sole competent authority in all respects" on the “border line itself and the area closest to it”, including “those border settlements in which there is no police or administrative authority.”
A border zone was placed under the protection of the border guard, extending 5 kilometers inland from the land border in the territory of Bulgaria. Along the Danube and Black Sea borders, such a zone was not created and “the influence of the border guard was limited only to the coast”, with the service on the water borders being carried out by infantrymen and a small cavalry.
In the memorable year of 1903 with the Ilinden-Preobrazhensko Uprising, incidents on the southern border became more frequent. On September 25, Corporal Sotir Tsanev and his six subordinate privates (Bozhil Yovev, Mihalko Hristov, Krastyo Zarev, Marko Paunov, Georgi Kotev and Ivan Georgiev) fought a fierce battle for several hours against nearly 500 foreign soldiers. That same year, a border patrol commanded by Corporal Atanas Bozhkov (which included three other privates - Georgi Stoyanov, Hristo Trenov and Nikola Zlatarov) arrested two enemy soldiers who had infiltrated our territory, and then fought with about fifty more. During this period, Private Iliya Ivanov with his service dog stopped a gang of 180 people.
During the Balkan War (1912 - 1913), the border guards fought with high spirit and displayed true heroism in the battles. Infantry General Nikola Ivanov, who in March 1913 commanded the Second Bulgarian Army during the capture of the Edirne Fortress, wrote: “These troops, although not many, but the service on the border had created from them real guardians of the inviolability of our land. The frequent incidents… in which the troops from the border posts took part… had created… in the troops from the border… a wonderful spirit and confidence in our superiority…” Of particular importance during the war were the actions of the Burgas detachment, which successfully secured the left flank of the 3rd Army. At Bunarhisar, the fighters of the 10th Border Battalion appeared - they did not hesitate in the face of the fourfold superiority of the enemy. And they won. During the attack on the Edirne fortress, two companies from the 7th and 8th Border Battalions distinguished themselves, overcoming a chest-deep swamp at night.
During the First World War (1914 - 1918), the border guards were again in the front lines. For five whole days in August 1916, the fighters of the 15th Border Battalion were subjected to shelling, but did not retreat. On September 1-2, they went on the offensive, captured a territory of 5 to 15 kilometers and held it until the arrival of the regular armed forces. At the cost of considerable casualties. Their comrades-in-arms in the following year, 1917, took the initiative and, with donations, built the Monument to the Border Guard in the Sea Garden of Varna in memory of the officers and soldiers of the 15th Border Battalion who died for the unification of the Fatherland. This monument is the only one of its kind in our country. For decades, the border guards (also acting from the reserve), despite the difficulties, took noble care of its maintenance, and in 1998, in a solemn atmosphere, they opened the monument restored after major repairs.
Serious difficulties in the organization of the border guard occurred as a result of the restrictive clauses of the Neuilly Peace Treaty of 1919. According to Art. 69 “Bulgaria will be able to form a border guard, which will be recruited through voluntary enlistment and will not exceed 3000 people”, of which no more than 150 officers and 200 non-commissioned officers. In general, the development of the border guard until the mid-1930s took place within the restrictive framework of the Neuilly Treaty.
On December 24, 1920, the Council of Ministers decided to establish a Maritime and River Police Service.
The management of the Maritime Police Service is located in Varna with a group of police ships, a minesweeping unit, a diving command and a ship repair shop. The group of police ships solves a wide range of tasks: police, customs, emergency and rescue, hydrographic, postal, assistance to port authorities, control and assistance to fishing.
The Second World War (1939 - 1945) had a great impact on the border guard. In 1940, Southern Dobrudzha was returned to Bulgaria. Among the first Bulgarian troops to enter the region was the 4th Border Regiment, which immediately took over the border area. During the period 1941 - 1944, the border units were constantly strengthened. After the creation of the Covering Front, three border brigades became part of it and were tasked with preparing for stubborn defense in order to cover up the mobilization. In the same period, special attention was paid to strengthening the security and defense of the Black Sea border - mobile and stationary defenses were formed, covering the entire coast.
Border divisions and units actively participated in the first period of the Patriotic War (September-November 1944). In the decisive battles for the capture of Pristina, the fighters and commanders of the 6th Border Regiment stood out. The sanitary private Stancho Peshev, in the storm that broke out, under the enemy's bullets and shells, carried out, bandaged and saved his wounded comrades. Showing self-denial, Petty Officer Penko Tsekov repeatedly entered the building called the “Bunker” and with his carbine destroyed every enemy that appeared.
During the Patriotic War and immediately after its completion, the organizational structure and deployment of the border guard were preserved as they were during the previous period. At that time, the borders of Bulgaria were guarded by 6 border sectors to the respective divisional areas, 25 sections, 75 sub-sections and 463 posts, of which 33 were maritime and 12 were checkpoints.
The main armament of the border guard during the first years of its existence consisted of "Krinka" rifles, as well as "Berdana" No. 1 and No. 2. From the end of the 19th century, "Mannlicher" rifles entered service, and on the eve of the Balkan Wars - hand grenades and machine guns. The border posts along the Danube and Black Sea coasts were equipped with rowing boats, and the platoons - with motor boats for reinforcement. Immediately after the Patriotic War, each soldier was armed with a "Mannlicher" rifle or a "Mauser" carbine and two DVF grenades (clubs), and each post - with one "Schmeiser" machine gun and one "Bren" machine gun. or MG-34.