The saying “All is fair in love and war” can be perfectly adapted to the story that took place between two European countries 99 years ago. As we will see later, in reality, war conflicts (and not wars) fueled by animals are not a rare bird, but rather an important part of our history, which probably says a lot about humans but how little. Everything needs to explode.

Inside the story. Greece and Bulgaria, former members of the Ottoman Empire and allies of the Balkan Union, clashed after their independence over territorial disputes in Macedonia and Western Thrace. These differences led to conflicts such as the Second Balkan War of 1913 and a series of border conflicts that followed.

World War I further increased such tensions, with Greece joining the Allies while Bulgaria supported the Central Powers, leading to Bulgaria’s territorial losses in the so-called Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Absurd incident. We have come to the moment when everything will blow up. Rumor has it that on October 18, 1925, a Greek soldier ran after his dog. The animal had escaped and accidentally crossed over to the Bulgarian side of the border at the Kemir Kapou Pass. The soldier trying to find his animal that day was shot and killed by Bulgarian guards.

What happened? Greek soldiers responded with fire. In the middle of the fight, everything got a little worse. The incident occurred when a Greek captain was fatally injured during an attempted mediation. Although Bulgaria expressed its regret and suggested that the incident be investigated, the situation escalated further due to the actions of Greek General and Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos.

Petrich’s invasion. Pangalos presented an ultimatum demanding a public apology, punishment of those responsible, and compensation of 2 million French francs. Faced with Bulgarian rejection, he ordered Greek troops to occupy the city of Petric and surrounding areas on 22 October 1925. During the occupation, Bulgarian forces attempted to resist but were unable to prevent the Greeks from maintaining control. More than 50 Bulgarians died in the clashes.

Intervention of the League of Nations. Bulgaria appealed to the League of Nations, which ordered Greece to withdraw and pay £45,000 in compensation for the occupation. Greece complied, although it accused the Union of double standards, citing the example of the Corfu Incident of 1923, when Italy attacked Greece without similar consequences. The Greek withdrawal was supervised by military representatives of France, Italy and Great Britain.

Final and political consequences. The incident marked a humiliation for Greece under the authoritarian Pangalos government, which was overthrown in a military coup shortly afterwards. The so-called “Strey Dog War” has become an emblematic example of how unresolved tensions can lead to conflict over seemingly trivial reasons, leaving lessons about the complexities of international relations and the fragility of peace in tense regions. By the way, it also served to fill that page of conflicts that began with animals.

Animals and conflicts. Seven years after the reported conflict, Australia faced the so-called “Emu War”, in which 20,000 birds wreaked havoc on fields and the Department of Defense was forced to intervene with machine guns chasing the creatures. There are accounts of ancient wars involving tactics such as scorpion bombs and sick donkeys.

If we go further back in history, we must remember the war between Belgian feudal lords over cattle theft between 1272 and 1278. 15,000 people died in the conflict. By the way, although it did not reach the “adults”, in 1859 the United States and the United Kingdom almost entered a world war over a pig.

All stories that emphasize that there are no limits to the weird in the history of conflict, even less so when an animal is involved.

Image | Matt Trostle

in Xataka | The “longest war in history” pitted the people of Granada and Denmark against each other. Reason: 172 years of forgetfulness

in Xataka | The best way to re-immerse yourself in World War II: interactive “Google Maps” of the conflict