Zhabokrek Raid

The Zhabokrek Raid was a battle fought by the Rila–Pirin Partisan Detachment against Bulgarian military and gendarmerie units and a German military unit. It took place during the partisan movement in Bulgaria. The movement itself formed part of the resistance to the countries of the Tripartite Pact. It lasted from 24 June 1941 to 9 September 1944 and was organised by the Bulgarian Revolutionary Party (BRP). This period was characterised by active partisan operations and terrorist attacks against state authority in Bulgaria. The partisans aimed to establish workers' and peasants' rule and a dictatorship of the proletariat. A wartime regime was already in force in the country, described as a "monarchical totalitarian regime", an "authoritarian monarchical regime" or a "monarchical dictatorship". 

The Zhabokrek Raid simultaneously targeted four government-force sites spread over 20 kilometres along the Rilska River valley. Conflicting views about the raid's objectives and nature exist today, based on published documentary sources. According to communist partisans, the raid was an attack on active Wehrmacht units in Bulgaria and Bulgarian government forces. According to participants' recollections, it targeted Wehrmacht soldiers, including wounded German soldiers convalescing there. According to Regent Bogdan Filov, who visited the area four days after the event, the attack targeted sick and wounded German soldiers. He stated that seven of the German soldiers killed had been ill. From the perspective of the German military attaché in Bulgaria, the raid targeted German military installations and units. This view was expressed in two highly classified telegrams.

Two partisans were wounded during the Zhabokrek Raid. An unspecified number of unarmed German servicemen convalescing at the rest home were killed. After the attack, the partisan group set fire to the rest home.