'''Ohrana''' ({{lang-bg|''Охрана''}} with meaning: "Protection"); ({{Lang-el|Οχράνα}}) were armed collaborationist detachments organized by the former [[Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization]] (IMRO) structures, composed of Bulgarian<ref>* [http://www.promacedonia.org/mpr/ohrana.html Добрин Мичев. Българското национално дело в Югозападна Македония (1941 — 1944 г.)]</ref> ([[Slavic-speakers of Greek Macedonia|Slavophone]] pro-[[Bulgaria]]n) oriented part of the population in Nazi-occupied [[Greek Macedonia]] during [[World War II]] and led by Bulgarian officers.<ref>[http://www.virtuality.gr/macedonia/#section8 "The Second World War and the Triple Occupation"]</ref><ref name=Miller/> Bulgaria was interested in acquiring [[Thessalonica]] and Western Macedonia, under Italian and German occupation and hopped to sway the allegiance of the 80,000 Slavs who lived there at the time.<ref name=Miller/> The appearance of Greek partisans in those areas persuaded the Italians to allow the formation of these collaborationst detachments.<ref name=Miller>{{cite book |title= Bulgaria During the Second World War |last= Miller |first= Marshall Lee |year= 1975|publisher= Stanford University Press |isbn= 0804708703|page= 129|quote= In Greece the Bulgarians reacquired their former territory, extending along the Aegean coast from the Struma (Strymon) River east of Salonika to Dedeagach (Alexandroupolis) on the Turkish border. Bulgaria looked longingly toward Salonika and western Macedonia, which were under German and Italian control, and established propaganda centres to secure the allegiance of the approximately 80,000 Slavs in these regions. The Bulgarian plan was to organize these Slavs militarily in the hope that Bulgaria would eventually assume the administration there. The appearance of Greek partisans in western Macedonia persuaded the Italian and German au authorities to allow the formation of Slav security battalions (Ohrana) led by Bulgarian officers.}}</ref>
