Discover

(Redirected from Balkan War)



The 'Balkan Wars' were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912–1913 in the course of which the Balkan League (Bulgaria, Montenegro, Greece, and Serbia) first conquered Ottoman-held Macedonia, Albania and most of Thrace and then fell out over the division of the spoils.

Contents

Background

Policies of the Great Powers

The Young Turk revolution

Reaction in the Balkan States

The Balkan League

The First Balkan War

Second Balkan War

The Bucharest treaty and the borders of Albania

Aftermath

Notes

See also

External links

Background

The background to the wars lies in the incomplete emergence of nation-states on the fringes of the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century. Serbians had gained substantial territory during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, while Greece acquired Thessaly in 1881 (although it lost a small area to the Ottoman Empire in 1897) and Bulgaria (an autonomous principality since 1878) incorporated the formerly distinct province of Eastern Rumelia (1885). All three as well as Montenegro sought additional territories within the large Ottoman-ruled region known as Roumelia, comprising Eastern Roumelia, Albania, Macedonia, and Thrace (''see map'').

Policies of the Great Powers

Throughout the 19th Century, the Great Powers had different aims over the "Eastern Question", the integrity of the Ottoman Empire. Russia wished for access to the "warm waters" of the Mediterranean and followed a pan-Slavic foreign policy, supporting Bulgaria and Serbia. Britain wished to deny Russia access to the "warm waters" and supported the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, though it also supported a limited expansion of Greece as a backup plan in case integrity of the empire was no longer possible. France wished to strengthen her position in the region, especially in the Levant. Austria-Hungary wished for a continuation of the existence of the Ottoman Empire, since both were multinational entities ruled by a small elite and thus the collapse of the one would affect the other as well. Also, in the eyes of the Habsburg (or Hapsburg) empire, with its large Serbian and Croatian populations, the strengthening of Serbia was highly undesirable. While it has been argued that Italy from that time already wished to recreate the Roman empire, her main aim at the time seems to have been primarily the denial of access to the Adriatic Sea of another major sea power. Germany in turn, under the "Drang nach Osten" policy, aspired to turn the empire into its own de-facto colony, and thus supported its integrity.
The Balkan countries themselves (except Serbia) sent armed bands inside the Empire (in Macedonia and Thrace) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to protect their own nationals and terrorize those of other nationalities. Low intensity warfare had broken out inside Macedonia between Greek and Bulgarian bands and the Ottoman army after 1904, the so-called Macedonian Struggle. After the Young Turk revolution of July 1908, the situation changed somewhat drastically.

The Young Turk revolution

It is no surprise that the "Young Turk" revolution occurred in the troubled European provinces of the Empire. There the threat to its integrity was the most pronounced, and the need for reforms was most evident. When the revolt broke out, it was supported by intellectuals, the army, and almost all the ethnic minorities of the Empire, and forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to readopt the long defunct Ottoman constitution of 1877, ushering the so-called Second Constitutional Era. Hopes were raised among the Balkan ethnicities of reforms and autonomy, and elections were held to form a representative, multi-ethnic, Ottoman parliament. However, following the Sultan's attempted countercoup, the liberal element of the Young Turks was sidelined and 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-Herzegovina, which it had occupied since 1878 (see ''Bosnian Crisis''), and Bulgaria declared itself a fully independent kingdom. The Greeks of the autonomous Cretan state proclaimed unification with Greece, though the opposition of the Great Powers prevented the latter action from taking practical effect.

Reaction in the Balkan States

Frustrated in the north by Austria-Hungary's incorporation of Bosnia with its 975,000 Orthodox Serbs (and many more Serbs and Serb-sympathizers of other faiths), and forced (March 1909) to accept the annexation and restrain anti-Habsburg agitation among Serbian nationalist groups, the Serbian government looked to formerly Serb territories in the south, notably "Old Serbia" (the Sanjak of Novi Pazar and the province of Kosovo).
On August 28, 1909, a group of demonstrating Greek officers (''Stratiotikos Syndesmos'') urging constitutional revision, removal of the royal family from the leadership of the armed forces and a more nationalist foreign policy secured the appointment of a more sympathetic government which they hoped would resolve the Cretan issue in Greece's favour and reverse the defeat of 1897. Bulgaria, which had secured Ottoman recognition of her independence in April 1909 and enjoyed the friendship of Russia, also looked to districts of Ottoman Thrace and Macedonia populated mainly by Bulgarians. In March 1910, an Albanian insurrection broke out in Kosovo which was covertly supported by the young Turks. In August 1910 Montenegro followed Bulgaria's precedent by becoming a kingdom.

The 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 and fulfill their desires of expansion.
Initially under the encouragement of Russian agents, a series of agreements were concluded between Serbia and Bulgaria in March 1912. Military victory against the Ottoman empire was not possible while it could bring reinforcements from Asia. The condition of the Ottoman railways of the time were primitive, thus most reinforcement would come by sea through the Aegean. Greece was the only Balkan country with a navy powerful enough to deny use of the Aegean to the Turks. Thus a treaty was signed between Greece and Serbia in May 1912. Montenegro subsequently concluded agreements between Serbia and Bulgaria respectively in October 1912. The alliance formed by the agreements became known as the Balkan League, whose existence was undesirable by all the Great powers. Furthermore the league was loose at best, a secret liaison officer between the Greek and the Serbian army was exchanged after the war broke out.
Serbia and Bulgaria had signed treaties to split between them the land of Vardar Macedonia. Greece did not take part in it though. After Greece vetoed the breakout of war several times in the summer, in order to better prepare her navy, the First Balkan War broke out in October 1912 following an impossible ultimatum given to the Porte.

The First Balkan War

Main articles: First Balkan War


No formal plan existed between the Balkan allies on how to wage the war, except for some cooperation between Serbia and Montenegro over Novi Pazar. The war was practically four different wars fought against the same enemy, at the same time, and in the same region. The Ottoman plans called for the use of an army from Syria to be transferred in the Balkans as part of the defense. Due to Greek maritime operations this proved impossible. The Turks raised their normal forces and in order to make up for the shortfall they raised the Army of Axios, which proved to be of low quality.
Before the ultimatum Montenegro first declared war on October 5th. The main thrust was towards Shkodra, with secondary operations in the Novi Pazar area. Bulgaria attacked towards Eastern Thrace, being stopped only at the outskirts of Constantinople in the Chataldja line. Serbia attacked south towards Skopje and Bitola. Meeting the Greek army later, they turned west towards the Adriatic. Greece landed forces in the Halkidiki peninsula while the main force of the army attacked from Thessaly into Macedonian through the Sarantaporo straight. After the liberation of Thessaloniki (October 26 1912, Julian calendar) the Greek army linked up with the Serb army north and they turned west. Another Greek army had attacked into Epirus, and forces were deployed to that front.
Following the declaration of war the Ottoman Navy did not dare exit the safety of the Dardanelles and spent most of its time in Nagaras. The Greek Navy was free to liberate the islands of the Aegean, starting with Lemnos which was used as a base to monitor the Dardanelles. Following a ceasefire in December between the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, the Turkish fleet twice exited the Dardanelles but was twice defeated in the battles of Elle and Lemnos. In January after a coup, Turkey decided to continue the war. Bulgarian forces managed to conquer Adrianople while Greek forces liberated Ioannina. The war was ended with the Treaty of London on May 17 1913.

Second Balkan War

Main articles: Second Balkan War

Though the Balkan allies had fought together against the common enemy, that was not enough to overcome their mutual rivalries. While Serbian and Bulgarian claims, or Serbian and Greek claims, could be compromised upon, Greek and Bulgarian claims proved irreconcilable. When the Greek army entered Thessaloniki, the Bulgarian 7th division was only a day away, and they asked to allow a Bulgarian battalion to enter the city. Greece accepted in exchange for allowing a Greek unit to enter the city of Serres. The Bulgarian unit that entered Thessaloniki turned out to be a brigade instead of a battalion and caused concern among the Greeks, who viewed it as an attempt to establish a condominium over the city. It was removed (along with the Greek unit from Serres) by mutual treaty and was transported to Dedeağaç (modern Alexandroupolis), leaving only a small force behind. Greece had also allowed the Bulgarians to control the stretch of the Thessaloniki-Constantinople railroad that lay in Greek-occupied territory, since Bulgaria controlled the largest part of this railroad anyway. Bulgaria however was not satisfied with the territory it controlled in Macedonia and asked Greece to relinquish control of land even west of Thessaloniki, in Pieria. This alarmed Greece, which decided to maintain a high level of alert on its army. Furthermore tension between Serbia and Bulgaria was rising.
After a series of negotiations Greece and Serbia signed a treaty of mutual defence against an attack on any part, not only Bulgarian but also Austro-Hungarian on May 19/June 1, 1913. With this treaty a mutual border was agreed between the two and an agreement for mutual diplomatic support. Both countries decided to remain on the defensive and not attack Bulgaria. Still the Serbians kept the entire Vardar Macedonia because of the majority of population and historical claims. Claiming that the Serbians did not recognize the border treaty they signed, it was Bulgaria that first attacked, without formally declaring war. On June 17, 1913 they attacked the Serbian army in Gevgelija and then the Greek army in Nigrita.
While the Serbian army faced superior Bulgarian forces and had problems, the Greek army was more successful. Retreating according to plan for two days while Thessaloniki was cleared of remaining Bulgarian detachments, the Greek army counterattacked and defeated the Bulgarians at Kilkis-Lahanas. However, the Greek army did not enter the city of Serres in time to prevent it being razed by irregular Bulgarian units. The Greek army then divided their forces and advanced in two directions. Part proceeded east and occupied all land west of the Mesta River. The rest of the Greek army advanced up the Struma River valley, defeating the Bulgarian army in the battles of Doiran and Mt. Beles before themselves being defeated at the Kresna straights. The Greeks offered a ceasefire and the Bulgarians accepted due to the danger posed by the Romanian army in the north.
Seeing the military position of the Bulgarian army, Romania and the Ottoman Empire decided to intervene. Romania raised an army and declared war on Bulgaria on June 27. They encountered little resistance from the Bulgarians, and by the time of the ceasefire were only 30 kilometers from Sofia.
The Ottomans managed to retake Adrianople (Edirne) which had historic significance for the Turks, being a former Ottoman capital city (see Adrianople). The Ottomans also managed to recover eastern Thrace which was largely lost in the First Balkan War, and thus regained a land mass in Europe which was only slightly larger than the present-day European territory of the Republic of Turkey.

The Bucharest treaty and the borders of Albania

This section is in need of expansion.

Aftermath

The wars were an important precursor to World War I, to the extent that Austria-Hungary took alarm at the great increase in Serbia's territory and regional status. This concern was shared by Germany, which saw Serbia as a satellite of Russia. Serbia's rise in power thus contributed to the two Central Powers' willingness to risk war following the assassination in Sarajevo of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914.
Then the Austro-Hungarian Army had a 3-year struggle to annex Serbia and Montenegro. This was accomplished when Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria joined the central powers along with Germany.
Urlanis estimated in ''Voini I Narodo-Nacelenie Europi'' (1960) that in the first and second Balkan wars there were 122,000 killed in action, 20,000 dead of wounds, and 82,000 dead of disease.

Ethnic exchanges & expulsions between 1912 and 1915
	Ottomans	Greeks	Bulgarians
Greek Macedonia	100,000		50,000
Greek+Serbian Macedonia			100,000
Thrace		150,000–160,000
Eastern section of Thrace			51,000
Western section of Thrace	40,000–50,000
Bulgaria-Ottoman Empire Border	47,000		49,000
Totals	190,000–200,000	''150,000–160,000''	250,000

Notes

See also

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

★ The Ottoman wars in Europe

★ The Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885)

★ The Balkan campaigns of World War I (1914–1918)

★ The Balkan campaigns of World War II (1940–1945)

★ The Yugoslav wars (1991–1999)

External links

★ Macedonia and the First Balkan War, by Carl K. Savich

★ US Library of Congress in the Balkan Wars

★ The Balkan crises, 1903–1914

★ Military uniforms and insignia of the Balkan Wars

★ Third Balkan War (1991–2001)

★ Balkan Wars: An Overview

★