balkan war

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).


[edit] 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

Balkan Wars

Balkan Wars, 1912–13, two short wars, fought for the possession of the European territories of the Ottoman Empire. The outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War for the possession of Tripoli (1911) encouraged the Balkan states to increase their territory at Turkish expense. Serbia and Bulgaria accordingly concluded (1912), with the aid of Russian secret diplomacy, a treaty of alliance. In a secret annex, the treaty provided for joint military action and the division of prospective conquests.

The outbreak of the war (Oct., 1912), in which Greece and Montenegro joined the original allies, was followed by the speedy expulsion of the Turks from all of European Turkey, except the Constantinople area. After the conclusion of hostilities Serbia showed intentions of annexing a large part of Albania, in order to gain an outlet on the Adriatic, but this step toward a “Greater Serbia” was opposed by Austria-Hungary and Italy and by the Albanians, who had proclaimed their independence. Conferences of the ambassadors of the Great Powers at London created (1913) an independent Albania of fair size, thus cutting Serbia off from the sea. Dissatisfied with these terms, Serbia demanded of Bulgaria a greater share of Macedonia. Bulgaria thereupon attacked (June, 1913) Serbia, only to be attacked by Romania, Greece, and Turkey.

As a result of this Second Balkan War, Bulgaria lost territory to all her enemies by the Treaty of Bucharest (Aug., 1913). The Balkan Wars prepared the way for World War I by satisfying some of the aspirations of Serbia and thereby giving a great impetus to the Serbian desire to annex parts of Austria-Hungary; by alarming Austria and stiffening Austrian resolution to crush Serbia; and by giving causes of dissatisfaction to Bulgaria and Turkey.