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Balkan Wars

Date 8 October 1912 – 18 July 1913

(9 months, 1 week and 3 days)

Location Adrianople · Scutari · Kosovo · Manastir ·

Salonica provinces · Aegean Islands ·

Aegean Sea[1]

Result Treaty of London · Treaty of Bucharest

Belligerents

First Balkan War

Ottoman Empire

First Balkan War

Montenegro

Greece

Serbia

Bulgaria

Second Balkan War

Bulgaria

Second Balkan War

Montenegro

Greece

Serbia

Romania

Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders

Mehmed V

Nazım Pasha

Zeki Pasha

Essad Pasha

Kölemen Abdullah Pasha

Ali Rıza Pasha

Hasan Tahsin Pasha

Nicholas I

Prince Danilo Petrović

Mitar Martinović

Janko Vukotić

Ferdinand I

Mihail Savov

Ivan Fichev

Vasil Kutinchev

Nikola Ivanov

Radko Dimitriev

Balkan WarsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkan Peninsula in south-eastern Europe in1912 and 1913. Four Balkan states defeated the Ottoman Empire in the first war; one of the four,Bulgaria, was defeated in the second war. The Ottoman Empire lost nearly all of its holdings in Europe.Austria-Hungary, although not a combatant, was weakened as a much enlarged Serbia pushed for union

of the South Slavic peoples.[2] The war set the stage for the Balkan crisis of 1914 and thus was a

"prelude to the First World War."[3]

By the early 20th century, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia had achieved independence fromthe Ottoman Empire, but large elements of their ethnic populations remained under Ottoman rule. In1912, these countries formed the Balkan League. There were three main causes of the First Balkan War.The Ottoman Empire was unable to reform itself, govern satisfactorily, or deal with the rising ethnicnationalism of its diverse peoples. Secondly the Great Powers quarreled amongst themselves and failedto ensure that the Ottomans would carry out the needed reforms. This led the Balkan states to imposetheir own solution. Most important, the Balkan League had been formed, and its members were

confident that it could defeat the Turks.[4][5]

The Ottoman Empire lost all its European territories to the west of the River Maritsa, drawing presentday Turkey's western border. A large influx of Turks started to flee into the Ottoman heartland as aresult of the lost lands. By 1914, the remaining core region of the Ottoman Empire had experienced apopulation increase of around 2.5 million because of the flood of immigration from the Balkans.

In Turkey, it is considered a major disaster (Balkan harbi faciası) in the nation's history. Theunexpected fall and sudden relinquishing of Turkish-dominated European territories created a psycho-traumatic event amongst the Turks that is said to have triggered the ultimate collapse of the empire itselfwithin five years. Nazım Pasha, the chief of staff of the Ottoman army has been held responsible of thefailure and was assassinated in 1913 by Young Turks.

The First Balkan War broke out when the League attacked the Ottoman Empire on 8 October 1912 andwas ended seven months later by the Treaty of London. After five years, the Ottoman Empire lostvirtually all of its possessions in the Balkans.

The Second Balkan War broke out on 16 June 1913. Both Serbia and Greece utilizing the argument thatthe war had been prolonged repudiated important particulars of the pre-war treaty and retainedoccupation of all the conquered districts in their possession which were to be divided according tospecific predefined boundaries. Seeing the treaty as trampled, Bulgaria was dissatisfied over the divisionof the spoils in Macedonia, made in secret by its former allies, Serbia and Greece, and commencedmilitary action against them. The more numerous combined Serbian and Greek armies repulsed theBulgarian offensive and counter-attacked into Bulgaria. Romania, who having taken no part in theconflict, had intact armies to strike with and invaded from the north in violation of a peace treaty

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Crown Prince Constantine

Panagiotis Danglis

Pavlos Kountouriotis

Radomir Putnik

Petar Bojović

Stepa Stepanović

Živojin Mišić

Carol I

Ferdinand I

Alexandru Averescu

Germany, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary,

and Britain attempting to keep the lid on the

simmering cauldron of imperialist and

nationalist tensions in the Balkans to

prevent a general European war. They were

successful in 1912 and 1913 but did not

succeed in 1914.

between the two states. The Ottoman Empire also attacked Bulgaria and advanced in Thrace regainingAdrianople. In the resulting Treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria lost most of the territories it had gained in theFirst Balkan War in addition to being forced to cede the ex-ottoman south-third of Dobroudja province

to Romania.[6]

The fighting during the Balkan Wars was also disastrous for the region’s Jewish population. 120,000Jewish former citizens of the Ottoman Empire became separated from their country by the conflict, andmany were either directly victimized or suffered as refugees. Numerous documented incidents attest tothe looting of Jewish businesses, destruction of synagogues, murder, and conscription on a vast scale

that impoverished the women and children. [7]

Contents

1 Background

1.1 Policies of the Great Powers

1.2 Young Turk Revolution

1.3 Reaction in the Balkan States

1.4 Balkan League

2 First Balkan War

3 Second Balkan War

4 Reactions among the Great Powers during the wars

5 Aftermath

6 See also

7 Trivia

8 Notes

9 Further reading

10 External links

Background

The background to the wars lies in the incomplete emergence of nation-states on the European territory of theOttoman Empire during the second half of the 19th century. Serbia had gained substantial territory during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, while Greece acquired Thessaly in 1881 (although it lost a small area back to the Ottoman Empire in 1897) and Bulgaria (an

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Nazım Pasha, the chief of staff of the

Ottoman army was assassinated by Young

Turks due to his failure.

autonomous principality since 1878) incorporated the formerly distinct province of Eastern Rumelia (1885). All three as well as Montenegro sought additionalterritories within the large Ottoman-ruled region known as Rumelia, comprising Eastern Rumelia, Albania, Macedonia,and Thrace.

Policies of the Great Powers

Throughout the 19th century, the Great Powers shared different aims over the "Eastern Question" and the integrity ofthe Ottoman Empire. Russia wanted access to the "warm waters" of the Mediterranean; it pursued a pan-Slavicforeign policy and therefore supported Bulgaria and Serbia. Britain wished to deny Russia access to the "warmwaters" and supported the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, although it also supported a limited expansion of Greeceas a backup plan in case integrity of the Empire was no longer possible. France wished to strengthen its position inthe region, especially in the Levant (today's Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian territories and Israel).

Habsburg-ruled Austria-Hungary wished for a continuation of the existence of the Ottoman Empire, since both weretroubled multinational entities and thus the collapse of the one might weaken the other. The Habsburgs also saw astrong Ottoman presence in the area as a counterweight to the Serbian nationalistic call to their own Serb subjects inBosnia. Italy, it has been argued, wished to recreate the Roman empire, though its primary aim at the time seems tohave been the denial of access to the Adriatic Sea to another major sea power. The German Empire, in turn, under the"Drang nach Osten" policy, aspired to turn the Ottoman Empire into its own de facto colony, and thus supported itsintegrity.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Bulgaria and Greece contended for Ottoman Macedonia and Thrace. EthnicGreeks sought the forced "Hellenization" of ethnic Bulgars, who sought "Bulgarization" of Greeks. Both nations sentarmed irregulars into Ottoman territory to protect and assist their ethnic kindred. From 1904, there was low intensitywarfare in Macedonia between the Greek and Bulgarian bands and the Ottoman army (the Struggle for Macedonia).After the Young Turk revolution of July 1908, the situation changed drastically.

Young Turk Revolution

The 1908 Young Turk Revolution saw the reinstatement of constitutional monarchy in the Empire and the start of the Second Constitutional Era. When the revoltbroke out, it was supported by intellectuals, the army, and almost all the ethnic minorities of the Empire, and forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to re-adopt the longdefunct Ottoman constitution of 1876 and parliament. Hopes were raised among the Balkan ethnicities of reforms and autonomy, and elections were held to forma representative, multi-ethnic, Ottoman parliament. However, following the Sultan's attempted counter-coup, the liberal element of the Young Turks was sidelinedand the nationalist element became dominant.

At the same time, in October 1908, Austria-Hungary seized the opportunity of the Ottoman political upheaval to annex the de jure Ottoman province of Bosnia andHerzegovina, which it had occupied since 1878 (see Bosnian Crisis), and Bulgaria declared itself a fully independent kingdom. The Greeks of the autonomousCretan State proclaimed unification with Greece, though the opposition of the Great Powers prevented the latter action from taking practical effect. It has largeinfluence in the consequent world order.

Reaction in the Balkan States

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Bulgarian forces waiting to start their assault on

Adrianople

Serbia was frustrated in the north by Austria-Hungary's incorporation of Bosnia. In March 1909, Serbia was forced to accept the annexation and restrain anti-Habsburg agitation by Serbian nationalists. Instead, the Serbian government looked to formerly Serb territories in the south, notably "Old Serbia" (the Sanjak ofNovi Pazar and the province of Kosovo).

On 15 August 1909 the Military League, a group of Greek officers, took action against the government to reform their country's national government andreorganize the army. The League found itself unable to create a new political system, until the league summoned the Cretan politician Eleutherios Venizelos toAthens as its political adviser. Venizelos persuaded the king to revise the constitution and asked the League to disband in favor of a National Assembly. In March

1910 the Military League dissolved itself.[8]

Bulgaria, which had secured Ottoman recognition of her independence in April 1909 and enjoyed the friendship of Russia,[9] also looked to districts of OttomanThrace and Macedonia. In August 1910 Montenegro followed Bulgaria's precedent by becoming a kingdom.

Balkan League

Following Italy's victory in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912 the Young Turks fell from power after a coup.The Balkan countries saw this as an opportunity to attack the Ottoman Empire and fulfill their desires ofexpansion.

With the initial encouragement of Russian agents, a series of agreements was concluded between Serbia andBulgaria in March 1912. Military victory against the Ottoman Empire would not be possible while it could bringreinforcements from Asia. The condition of the Ottoman railways of the time was primitive, so mostreinforcement would have to come by sea through the Aegean Sea. Greece was the only Balkan country with anavy powerful enough to deny use of the Aegean to the Ottoman Empire, thus a treaty between Greece andBulgaria became necessary; it was signed in May 1912.

Montenegro concluded agreements between Serbia and Bulgaria later that year. Bulgaria signed treaties withSerbia to divide the territory of northern Macedonia.

This alliance between Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Montenegro became known as the Balkan League; itsexistence was undesirable for all the Great Powers. The League was loose at best, though secret liaison officers were exchanged between the Greek and theSerbian army after the war began. Greece delayed the start of the war several times in the summer of 1912, to better prepare her navy, but Montenegro declaredwar on 8 October (25 September O.S.). Following an ultimatum to the Ottoman Empire, the remaining members of the alliance entered the conflict on 17October.

First Balkan War

The three Slavic allies (Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro) had laid out extensive plans to coordinate their war efforts, in continuation of their secret prewarsettlements and under close Russian supervision (Greece was not included). Serbia and Montenegro would attack in the theater of Sandjak, Bulgaria and Serbia inMacedonia and Thrace.

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Territorial changes as a result of the First Balkan

war, as of April 1913 showing the prewar agreed

line of expansion between Serbia and Bulgaria

The Ottoman Empire's situation was difficult. Its population of about 26 million people provided a massive pool of manpower, but 3/4 of the population and nearlyall of the Muslim component lived in the Asian part of the Empire. Reinforcements had to come from Asia mainly by sea, which depended on the result of battlesbetween the Turkish and Greek navies in the Aegean.

With the outbreak of the war, the Ottoman Empire activated three Army HQs: the Thracian HQ in Constantinople, the Western HQ in Salonika, and the Vardar HQin Skopje, against the Bulgarians, the Greeks and the Serbians respectively. Most of their available forces were allocated to these fronts. Smaller independent unitswere allocated elsewhere, mostly around heavily fortified cities.

Montenegro was the first that declared war on 8 October (25 September O.S.). Its main thrust was towardsShkodra, with secondary operations in the Novi Pazar area. The rest of the Allies, after giving a commonultimatum, declared war a week later. Bulgaria attacked towards Eastern Thrace, being stopped only at theoutskirts of Constantinople at the Çatalca line and the isthmus of the Gallipoli peninsula, while secondary forcescaptured Western Thrace and Eastern Macedonia. Serbia attacked south towards Skopje and Monastir and thenturned west to present-day Albania, reaching the Adriatic, while a second Army captured Kosovo and linkedwith the Montenegrin forces. Greece's main forces attacked from Thessaly into Macedonia through theSarantaporo strait and after capturing Thessaloniki on 12 November (on 26 October 1912, O.S.) expanded itsoccupied area and linked up with the Serbian army to the northwest, while its main forces turned east towards

Kavala, reaching the Bulgarians. Another Greek army attacked into Epirus towards Ioannina.[10]

In the naval front the Ottoman fleet twice exited the Dardanelles and was twice defeated by the Greek Navy, inthe battles of Elli and Lemnos. Greek dominance on the Aegean Sea made it impossible for the Ottomans totransfer the planned troops from the Middle East to the Thracian (against the Bulgarian) and to the Macedonian

(against the Greeks and Serbians) fronts.[11] According to the E.J. Erickson the Greek Navy also played acrucial, albeit indirect role, in the Thracian campaign by neutralizing no less than three Thracian Corps (see FirstBalkan War, the Bulgarian theater of operations), a significant portion of the Ottoman Army there, in the all-

important opening round of the war.[11] After the defeating of the Ottoman fleet the Greek Navy was also free

to liberate the islands of the Aegean.[12] General Nikola Ivanov identified the activity of the Greek Navy as the

chief factor in the general success of the allies.[11][13]

In January, after a successful coup by young army officers, the Ottoman Empire decided to continue the war. After a failed Ottoman counter-attack in theWestern-Thracian front, Bulgarian forces with the help of the Serbian Army managed to conquer Adrianople while Greek forces managed to take Ioannina afterdefeating the Ottomans in the battle of Bizani. In the joint Serbian-Montenegrin theater of operation the Montenegrin army besieged and captured the Shkodra,ending the Ottoman presence in Europe west of the Çatalca line after nearly 500 years. The war ended with the Treaty of London on 30(17) May 1913.

Second Balkan War

Though the Balkan allies had fought together against the common enemy, that was not enough to overcome their mutual rivalries. In the original document for theBalkans league, Serbia promised Bulgaria most of Macedonia. But after the war, Serbia and Greece, in violation of previous agreement between the allies, revealedtheir plan to keep possession of most of the promised territories destined to Bulgaria. This act prompted the tsar of Bulgaria to invade his allies. The SecondBalkan War broke out on 29(16) June 1913 when Bulgaria attacked its erstwhile allies in the First Balkan War, Serbia and Greece, while Montenegro and the

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The apple of discord: King George I of Greece and

Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria at Thessaloniki,

December 1912. Despite their alliance, Greco-

Bulgarian antagonism over the city and Macedonia

in general did not abate.

Cholera was common among the soldiers of the

combatant nations

Ottoman Empire intervened later against Bulgaria, with Romania attacking Bulgaria from the north. When theGreek army entered Thessaloniki in the First Balkan War ahead of the Bulgarian 7th division by only a day, theywere asked to allow a Bulgarian battalion to enter the city. Greece accepted in exchange for allowing a Greekunit to enter the city of Serres.

The Bulgarian unit that entered Thessaloniki turned out to be a 48,000-strong division instead of the battalion,something which caused concern among the Greeks, who viewed it as a Bulgarian attempt to establish acondominium over the city. In the event, due to the urgently needed reinforcements in the Thracian front,Bulgarian Headquarters was soon forced to remove its troops from the city (while the Greeks agreed by mutualtreaty to remove their units based in Serres) and transport them to Dedeağaç (modern Alexandroupolis), but stillit left behind a battalion that started fortifying its positions.

Greece had also allowed the Bulgarians to control the stretch of the Thessaloniki-Constantinople railroad that layin Greek-occupied territory, since Bulgaria controlled the largest part of this railroad towards Thrace. After theend of the operations in Thrace—and confirming Greek concerns—Bulgaria was not satisfied with the territoryit controlled in Macedonia and immediately asked Greece to relinquish its control over Thessaloniki and the landnorth of Pieria, effectively handing over all Aegean Macedonia. These unacceptable demands together with theBulgarian refusal to demobilize its army after the Treaty of London had ended the common war against theOttomans and alarmed Greece, which decided also to maintain its army's mobilization.

Similarly, in northern Macedonia, the tension between Serbia and Bulgaria due to later aspirations over VardarMacedonia generated many incidents between the nearby armies, prompting Serbia to maintain its army'smobilization. Serbia and Greece proposed that each of the three countries reduce its army by one fourth, as afirst step to facilitate a peaceful solution, but Bulgaria rejected it. Seeing the omens, Greece and Serbia started aseries of negotiations and signed a treaty on 1 June(19 May) 1913. With this treaty, a mutual border was agreedbetween the two countries, together with an agreement for mutual military and diplomatic support in case of aBulgarian or/and Austro-Hungarian attack. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, being well informed, tried to stop theupcoming conflict on 8 June, by sending an identical personal message to the Kings of Bulgaria and Serbia,offering to act as arbitrator according to the provisions of the 1912 Serbo-Bulgarian treaty. But Bulgaria, bymaking the acceptance of Russian arbitration conditional, in effect denied any discussion and caused Russia torepudiate its alliance with Bulgaria (see Russo-Bulgarian military convention signed 31 May 1902).

The Serbs and the Greeks had a military advantage on the eve of the war because their armies confronted

comparatively weak Ottoman forces in the First Balkan War and suffered relatively light casualties[14] while theBulgarians were involved in heavy fighting in Thrace. The Serbs and the Greeks had time to fortify their positions in Macedonia. The Bulgarians also held some

advantages, controlling internal communication and supply lines.[14]

On 29(16) June 1913 General Savov, under direct orders of tsar Ferdinand I, issued attacking orders against both Greece and Serbia without consulting the

Bulgarian government and without any official declaration of war.[15] During the night of 30(17) June 1913 they attacked the Serbian army at Bregalnica river andthen the Greek army in Nigrita. The Serbian army resisted the sudden night attack, while most of soldiers did not even know who they were fighting with, asBulgarian camps were located next to Serbs and were considered allies. Montenegro's forces were just a few kilometers away and also rushed to the battle. TheBulgarian attack was halted.

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Boundaries on the Balkans after the First and the

Second Balkan War (1912–1913)

The Greek army was also successful.[14] It retreated according to plan for two days while Thessaloniki was cleared of the remaining Bulgarian regiment. Thenthe Greek army counter-attacked and defeated the Bulgarians at Kilkis-Lahanas (Kukush), after which the mostly Bulgarian town was destroyed and its population

expelled.[16][17] The Greek army destroyed altogether 161 Bulgarian villages and massacred thousands of inhabitants.[18] Following the capture of Kilkis, theGreek army's pace was not quick enough to prevent the destruction of Nigrita, Serres, and Doxato and massacres of non-combatant Greek inhabitants at Demir

Hisar and Doxato by the Bulgarian army.[19][20] The Greek army then divided its forces and advanced in two directions. Part proceeded east and occupiedWestern Thrace. The rest of the Greek army advanced up to the Struma River valley, defeating the Bulgarian army in the battles of Doiran and Mt. Beles, andcontinued its advance to the north towards Sofia. In the Kresna straits the Greeks were ambushed by the Bulgarian 2nd and 1st Army newly arrived from theSerbian front that had already taken defensive positions there following the Bulgarian victory at Kalimanci.

By 30 July the Greek army was outnumbered by the counter-attacking Bulgarian army, which attempted to

encircle the Greeks in a Cannae-type battle, by applying pressure on their flanks.[21] The Greek army wasexhausted and faced logistical difficulties. The battle was continued for 11 days, between 29 July and 9 Augustover 20 km of a maze of forests and mountains with no conclusion. The Greek King, seeing that the units hefought were from the Serbian front, tried to convince the Serbs to renew their attack, as the front ahead of themwas now thinner, but the Serbs rejected it. By then, news came of the Romanian advance toward Sofia and itsimminent fall. Facing the danger of encirclement, Constantine realized that his army could no longer continuehostilities, agreed to Eleftherios Venizelos' proposal and accepted the Bulgarian request for armistice as this hadbeen communicated through Romania.

Romania had raised an army and declared war on Bulgaria on 10 July(27 June) as it had from 28(15) Juneofficially warned Bulgaria that it would not remain neutral in a new Balkan war, due to Bulgaria's refusal to cedethe fortress of Silistra as promised before the First Balkan war in exchange for Romanian neutrality. Its forcesencountered little resistance and by the time the Greeks accepted the Bulgarian request for armistice they hadreached Vrazhdebna, 7 miles from the center of Sofia.

Seeing the military position of the Bulgarian army the Ottomans decided to intervene. They attacked and findingno opposition, managed to recover eastern Thrace with its fortified city of Adrianople, regaining an area inEurope which was only slightly larger than the present-day European territory of the Republic of Turkey.

Reactions among the Great Powers during the wars

The developments that led to the First Balkan War did not go unnoticed by the Great Powers, but althoughthere was an official consensus between the European Powers over the territorial integrity of the OttomanEmpire, which led to a stern warning to the Balkan states, unofficially each of them took a different diplomaticapproach due to their conflicting interests in the area. As a result, any possible preventive effect of the commonofficial warning was cancelled by the mixed unofficial signals, and failed to prevent or to stop the war:

Russia was a prime mover in the establishment of the Balkan League and saw it as an essential tool in case of a future war against its rival, the Austro-

Hungarian Empire.[22] But it was unaware of the Bulgarian plans over Thrace and Constantinople, territories on which it had long-held ambitions, and on

which it had just secured a secret agreement of expansion from its allies France and Britain, as a reward for participating in the upcoming Great War

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Tirana Bazaar at the turn of the 20th

century.

against the Central Powers.

France, not feeling ready for a war against Germany in 1912, took a totally negative position against the war, firmly

informing its ally Russia that it would not take part in a potential conflict between Russia and Austria-Hungary if it

resulted from the actions of the Balkan League. The French however failed to achieve British participation in a

common intervention to stop the Balkan conflict.

The British Empire, although officially a staunch supporter of the Ottoman Empire's integrity, took secret diplomatic

steps encouraging Greek entry into the League in order to counteract Russian influence. At the same time it

encouraged Bulgarian aspirations over Thrace, preferring a Bulgarian Thrace to a Russian one, despite the assurances

the British had given to the Russians in regard to their expansion there.

Austria-Hungary, struggling for a port on the Adriatic and seeking ways for expansion in the south at the expense of the Ottoman Empire, was totally

opposed to any other nation's expansion in the area. At the same time, the Habsburg empire had its own internal problems with significant Slav populations

that campaigned against German-Hungarian control of the multinational state. Serbia, whose aspirations in the direction of Austrian-held Bosnia were no

secret, was considered an enemy and the main tool of Russian machinations that were behind the agitation of Austria's Slav subjects. But Austria-Hungary

failed to secure German backup for a firm reaction. Initially, Emperor Wilhelm II told the Archduke Franz Ferdinand that Germany was ready to support

Austria in all circumstances—even at the risk of a world war, but the Austro-Hungarians hesitated. Finally, in the German Imperial War Council of 8

December 1912 the consensus was that Germany would not be ready for war until at least mid-1914 and passed notes to that effect to the Habsburgs.

Consequently no actions could be taken when the Serbs acceded to the Austrian ultimatum of 18 October and withdrew from Albania.

Germany, already heavily involved in internal Ottoman politics, officially opposed a war against the Empire. But in her effort to win Bulgaria for the Central

Powers, and seeing the inevitability of Ottoman disintegration, was toying with the idea of replacing the Balkan area of the Ottomans with a friendly

Greater Bulgaria in her San Stefano borders—an idea that was based on the German origin of the Bulgarian King and his anti-Russian sentiments.

The Second Balkan war was a catastrophic blow to Russian policies in the Balkans, where Russia had focused its interests for access to the "warm seas" forcenturies. First, it marked the end of the Balkan League, a vital arm of the Russian system of defense against Austria-Hungary. Second, the clearly pro-Serbianposition Russia had been forced to take in the conflict, mainly due to Bulgaria's uncompromising aggressiveness, caused a permanent break-up between the twocountries. Accordingly, Bulgaria reverted its policy to one closer to the Central Powers' understanding over an anti-Serbian front, due to its new nationalaspirations, now expressed mainly against Serbia. As a result, Serbia was isolated militarily against its rival Austria-Hungary, a development that eventuallydoomed Serbia in the coming war a year later. But most damaging, the new situation effectively trapped Russian foreign policy: After 1913, Russia could notafford losing its last ally in this crucial area and thus had no alternatives but to unconditionally support Serbia when the crisis between Serbia and Austria brokeout in 1914. This was a position that inevitably drew her, although unwillingly, into a World War with devastating results for her, since she was less prepared(both militarily and socially) for that event than any other Great Power.

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Austria-Hungary took alarm at the great increase in Serbia's territory at the expense of its national aspirations in the region, as well as Serbia's rising status,especially to Austria-Hungary's Slavic populations. This concern was shared by Germany, which saw Serbia as a satellite of Russia. This contributed significantlyto the two Central Powers' willingness to go to war as soon as possible.

Finally, when a Serbian backed organization assassinated the heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne, causing the 1914 July Crisis, nobody could stop the conflictand the First World War broke out.

Aftermath

Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis estimated in Voini I Narodo-Nacelenie Europi (1960) that in the first and second Balkan wars there were 122,000 killed inaction, 20,000 dead of wounds, and 82,000 dead of disease.

See also

International relations (1814–1919)

Since the area has been referred to as the Balkans, notable conflicts have included the following:

The Ottoman wars in Europe

The Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885)

The Albanian Revolt of 1910

The Albanian Revolt of 1912

The Balkans Campaign (World War I)

The Balkans Campaign (World War II)

The Yugoslav wars (1991–1999)

List of places burned during the Balkan Wars

Trivia

Members of Beşiktaş J.K. fought in the war for the defense of the Ottoman Empire. The club's colors, which were originally red and white were changed

to black and white following the heavy loss of the territories as a sign of mourning.

Notes

1. ^ Edward J. Erickson, Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913, Westport, Praeger, 2003, p. 40.

2. ^ Christopher Clark (2013). The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 (http://books.google.com/books?id=TE0iZ4U2ZvUC&pg=PT45). HarperCollins.

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Further reading

Clark, Christopher (2013). The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 (http://books.google.com/books?id=TE0iZ4U2ZvUC&pg=PT45).

HarperCollins.

2. ^ Christopher Clark (2013). The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 (http://books.google.com/books?id=TE0iZ4U2ZvUC&pg=PT45). HarperCollins.

pp. 45, 559.

3. ^ Richard C. Hall, The Balkan Wars 1912–1913: Prelude to the First World War (2000)

4. ^ Ernst C. Helmreich, The diplomacy of the Balkan wars, 1912–1913 (1938)

5. ^ Richard C. Hall, The Balkan Wars, 1912–1913: Prelude to the First World War (2000) online (http://www.questia.com/read/109249433/the-balkan-wars-1912-1913-

prelude-to-the-first-world)

6. ^ "The World Crisis, 1911–1918" Winston Churchill, http://books.google.com/books?id=6l6Fgnz8fXIC,1931 Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 278

7. ^ ”The Balkan Wars and the Jews” in The American Jewish Yearbook 5674. Herbert Friedenwald and H. G. Friedman, Eds. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society,

1913, pp. 188–194.

8. ^ "Military League" (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9052680), Encyclopædia Britannica Online

9. ^ "THE BALKAN WARS" (http://countrystudies.us/bulgaria/12.htm). US Library of Congress. 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2008.

10. ^ Balkan Wars (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9011972) Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

11. ^ a b c Erickson 2003, p. 333

12. ^ "History of Greece" (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-26429) Encyclopædia Britannica Online

13. ^ Hall 2000, p. 65

14. ^ a b c Hall 2000, p. 117

15. ^ George Phillipov (Winter 1995). "THE MACEDONIAN ENIGMA" (http://macedonia-istinata.hit.bg/MacEnigma.html). Magazine: Australia &World Affairs,.

Archived (http://web.archive.org/web/20080420191403/http://macedonia-istinata.hit.bg/MacEnigma.html) from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.

16. ^ Hugh Poulton, "Who are the Macedonians?", 2000, p.75

17. ^ "Balkan Forum", Volume 5, Issues 1–2, 1997, p.132

18. ^ Targeting civilians in war; Alexander B. Downes; 2008; [http://books.google.bg/books?

id=TWEEW8SBvEAC&lpg=PT30&dq=%22second%20balkan%20war%22%20greeks%20massacres&pg=PT30#v=onepage&q=%22second%20balkan%20war%22%20greeks%20massacres&f=false

p.35 (http://books.google.bg/books?id=TWEEW8SBvEAC&pg=PT30&dq=%22second+balkan+war%22+greeks+massacres&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nCodT-

uyLdHiswb_nNlH&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22second%20balkan%20war%22%20greeks%20massacres&f=false)

19. ^ Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars, published by the Endowment Washington, D.C. 1914, p. 97-99

pp.79–95 (http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/en/carnegie/chapter2_2.html)

20. ^ The Great Events by Famous Historians, Charles F. Horne, 2006, ISBN 978-1-4264-4107-3, p. 420

21. ^ Hall, Richard (2000). The Balkan Wars, 1912–1913: Prelude to the First World War. Routledge. p. 121. ISBN 0-415-22946-4.

22. ^ Stowell, Ellery Cory (2009). The Diplomacy Of The War Of 1914: The Beginnings Of The War (1915). Kessinger Publishing, LLC. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-104-48758-4.

1/25/2015 Balkan Wars - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Wikimedia Commons has mediarelated to Balkan Wars.

Erickson, Edward J. Defeat in Detail, The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913. Praeger. (2003) ISBN 0275978885 OCLC 845518305

(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/845518305) Available as an e-book. ISBN 0313051798 OCLC 57426266 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57426266)

Gerolymatos, André. The Balkan wars: conquest, revolution, and retribution from the Ottoman era to the twentieth century and beyond. Basic Books

(2002) ISBN 0465027326 OCLC 49323460 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49323460)

Hall, Richard C. The Balkan Wars, 1912–1913: Prelude to the First World War. Routledge. (2000) online (http://www.questia.com/read/109249433/the-

balkan-wars-1912-1913-prelude-to-the-first-world) ISBN 0415229472 OCLC 45144367 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45144367)

Helmreich, Ernst C. The diplomacy of the Balkan wars, 1912–1913. Harvard University Press.(1938) OCLC 3819108

(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3819108) Reprinted in 1969 by Russell. OCLC 847291378 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/847291378)

Macmillan, Margaret. The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 (2013) ch 16 excerpt and text search (http://www.amazon.com/War-That-Ended-

Peace-Road-ebook/dp/B00CNQ9PFK/)

Winston Churchill. "The World Crisis, 1911–1918" , (1931) http://books.google.com/books?id=6l6Fgnz8fXIC, pp. 278

External links

U.S. State Department. "The Formation of the Balkan Alliance of 1912" (1918)

(https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos143.htm)

Project Gutenberg's The Balkan Wars: 1912–1913, by Jacob Gould Schurman

(http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11676/11676.txt)

US Library of Congress in the Balkan Wars (http://countrystudies.us/bulgaria/12.htm)

The Balkan crises, 1903–1914 (http://cnparm.home.texas.net/Wars/BalkanCrises/BalkanCrises00.htm)

Balkans (http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/page/all-balkans-home)

Military uniforms and insignia of the Balkan Wars (http://forum.uniforminsignia.net/viewtopic.php?t=3656)

Balkan Wars: An Overview (http://www.lahana.org/blog/Balkan%20Wars.htm)

Facts and historical notes about Macedonia and Bulgaria, contemporary historians obejectivism issues, etc. (http://www.mak-truth.com/)

Balkan Wars from a Turkish perspective (http://www.turkeyswar.com/prelude/balkanwars1.htm)

Wikisource: The New Student's Reference Work/The Balkans and the Peace of Europe

Historic films about the Balkan Wars at europeanfilmgateway.eu

(http://www.europeanfilmgateway.eu/node/33/efg1914%20balkan%20war/multilingual:1/showOnly:video)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Balkan_Wars&oldid=642763014"

Categories: Balkan Wars Modern Europe Causes of World War I

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